ASSA Twin Combi - Pick & Gut 

Thanks my friend! I really appreciate the kind words! Amazingly, I managed to buy a Twin Pro on eBay today. I look forward to getting a pick in that one and learning its secrets :) Hopefully I can get a video of that one in not too long.

Funny you say that, +Noctis Motus! I made a Gin & Tonic to celebrate getting this thing opened. It was hours later until I decided to put it back together.

Thanks Nick! I have a couple more crazy locks coming in so hopefully I'll have some more videos in the pipeline soon.

Thanks man! Really happy you enjoyed it and that it was informative.

Thanks mate :) If I'm shaking, it means I was working on something that was at the absolute limits of my capability. The adrenaline rush is real, and really compounded by not wanting to screw up the gutting or take too long. Appreciate your comment!

Thanks man! I'm definitely a UNIX guy, but not so much Linux. I like illumos personally. You'll be surprised by how quickly you can get into a sidebar lock if you just take a structured learning approach. Let me know when you're ready and I can share some tips. Thanks for watching :)

tumbl3r I will, thanks.

Thanks man! Really happy you are enjoying the videos :)

Thanks so much, +Pick Beard Really happy you enjoyed the video. This lock was a big challenge and a lot of fun to pick.

Hahah... Yeah! This one was something special for me! I've looked so long to even find this lock and I bought it not being sure if I'd ever be able to pick it. Since I couldn't find any videos of it being picked, I was not even sure it would be possible :) Thanks for your comments man! I'm really happy to hear you are enjoying the videos!

Thanks man! Yeah, the excitement and adrenaline rush is part of what makes picking fun for me. I think what made it so pronounced this time was I had no real expectation of getting the lock open on that take. It was literally on the very first camera take, and I had only successfully picked it open once before that. I always kinda assume that I'll need to do a few takes before I get it in a reasonable amount of time, so when I could tell I was getting close, I got really excited. I decided to post this video because I think those things are an important part of the experience for me and it's fun to share them. Thanks for you comment and kind words man!

I don't know if this is a first for this lock being picked on RU-vid. All I really know is that I looked pretty hard and couldn't find any existing videos of it being picked in its complete state. There are a few videos of it being picked either without a sidebar or with no sidebar pins, but nothing I could find with it completely assembled. Several of the very talented pickers from years past have taken down all their videos, so it's entirely possible one of them had a video picking it. It's also possible there is a video out there on another platform or on RU-vid that I just couldn't find.

Thanks my friend! I'm certain that you'll have no problems with the ASSA. Just like the Emhart and Primus, just stick with it and use a structured approach and you'll get it to pop for you :) Thanks for your comment man!

How'd you know??? I hired ILM to do it so nobody could tell, LOL.

Thanks man! Really appreciate it!

You win the American padlock! You were actually the only one with the correct answer. I'm very much a UNIX guy, but not a Linux guy. I am a died in the wool SVR4 guy, which means I like illumos, of which my favorite distribution is SmartOS. PM me your address and I'll send you your winnings.

Thanks! So much about these locks is really just not letting them psych you out. I think a lot of people don't try them because they think they are just impossible. Once you think of them as a project and just start working through things, you can develop a plan and eventually get it open. I honestly don't really feel like my skills are all that great. I just keep after it until I get it to open.

+Bronx-LockPicker60, Thanks so much for your kind words and well wishes! I really really appreciate that, my friend. I wish you and your family all the best in health and happiness as well :) If you have an extra prayer, please say one for my Dad, who has been dealing with a few health issues.

Sir, my wife and I always have plenty of prayers to go around! I will pray for your Father as soon as I hit post! And thank you for all your contribution to our Locksport Community! God Bless!

Thank you for subscribing to my channel Sir!

Thanks man! I feel like I'm very far from mastering side pins. I think in order to really feel as if I had a mastery, I'd need to reference dozens of locks of the same kind and be able to pick them blind and in a reasonable amount of time. For now, I'm just happy to develop the touch and feel and have fun sharing the experience with friends.

Thanks for your kind words! I think this lock definitely warrants an "Everything I know about" video. I'm sick right now so my voice is all messed up, but I'll make one when I'm better. Thanks for the idea!

Thanks man!

Thanks Jeff!

I think you and I must be competing for the ASSA gold, LOL. This one came up on eBay a month or so ago and I snatched it up. That's not to say I got a deal though. I think I paid over $70 for it after shipping from the UK. I've never picked a Ruko, but they've been on my list for a while. Makes me think I should go shopping for one.

tumbl3r lol unspoken competition. I'm going to have to comb through a little closer. the Rukos are from what I can see and read the same as the other assa locks with a different name. The 1200 is pretty nice I've only picked it with 5 /6 pins. one day I'll make a video or post some pics on reddit. it has the provisions for a side bar, I think thats called the d12 though.

tumbl3r lol unspoken competition. I'm going to have to comb through a little closer. the Rukos are from what I can see and read the same as the other assa locks with a different name. The 1200 is pretty nice I've only picked it with 5 /6 pins. one day I'll make a video or post some pics on reddit. it has the provisions for a side bar, I think thats called the d12 though.

Thanks for watching! Your description of my sidebar tool is correct. It's from the SouthOrd dimple set, and it has been thinned and ground down substantially. Incidentally the little notch you see was just an idea I had that did not pan out at all. As far as I can tell it makes no difference whatsoever. Basically when making the tool you want it to be as small and smooth as possible to prevent it getting trapped. The little flag needs to have sharp edges to be able to sneak under bound finger pins, and it needs to be tall enough to lift them to their maximum height. You can use your disassembled lock while you are making the tool to check this. I hope this helps! Good luck with your picking and have fun with it! These locks are my absolute favorite. Fun to pick and very very secure.

Thanks Jay! ASSA locks are easily my favorite. There is just something about the build quality, key, and the elegance of their design that I love. Security Snobs has some pretty good pricing on their large lot locks section for the Twin 6000. That's where I got the ones I've picked anyhow. Generally they go for big bucks on eBay because there is a lot of competition for them. As for picking hi-sec locks, I think the biggest thing is to just jump right in and not let them psych you out. It just takes time, effort and a structured approach :)

has to be one of my favs aswell, I live in a apartment building with a v10 kik in front, and mortise in back, wish I owned it tho :P hard to look at that beauty every day and not be able to play with it, haha ive also checked out Security Snobs but the shipping is a bit high for me right now, since i live in canada

Kokomo has a video on the Combi, but the lock had no sidebar in it. At least the one I could find anyway. I really wanted find a video of this thing so I searched pretty hard and was surprised to not really find much. I guess they're just very uncommon.

Whatever lock you have coming, it sounds like it's going to be awesome! I'll be excited to see what it ends up being!

tumbl3r ya Monday is going to be a good day. I got an ASSA twin and Sargent Keso both coming from Security Snobs also. I paid $25 for 2 day delivery on Tuesday for them. They didn't pull them till Thursday and FedEx doesn't deliver on the weekend, so $25 well spent. I should've just picked USPS and saved the money.

That's a bummer about spending the extra cash on shipping and then not getting them in time. I've had that happen too. Can't wait to see your new locks, Randy! I bought a Keso from SS a while back, but haven't spent too much time with it. Right now it's on loan to LockPickingLawyer, who I'm sure will chew right through it. The ASSA Twins that comes from them seem to all have the older style gin bottle spools. I wrote up my findings on how I picked them on keypicking if you are interested. It's on the "Picking the ASSA Twin" thread.

I'm actually trying to open 1 right now I got from Steel Pinnings. I bought the other just because it was $20 used and it will have a key. I have an oval Lockwood with no pins I've been waiting on till I get a Dremel. I was gonna buy 1 a week ago and my oldest said wait till x-mas. Once it's done I was gonna send you it to give out. Don't want anything back this time just want to give out a challenge lock and not start making videos myself, lol.

I was laughing constantly after he picked it

Thanks man :)

Yeah, the plug turns a little when you're done with the side pins. It's the same if the top pins bind first... You're looking for a distinctive slight plug rotation to confirm completion of picking one element or the other.

cheers buddy

Hahah... The devil is in the details. In this case, with the words "passive sidebar". The one he picked had no sidebar element. His lock had only a round passive sidebar with no sidebar pins. This means the only thing he had to do to open it was pick the top pins, which is trivial compared with the difficulty of the rotating serrated pins and sidebar element of a complete Twin Combi. While his key said "ASSA Twin Combi" the lock was actually just a standard six pin ASSA residential cylinder. Not a "Twin" at all; let alone a Twin Combi.

Oh wow I didn't know that but I wanted to tell you that you're extremely talented at picking if I can one day pick half as well as you I'll be in good shape I watched almost all ur vids today I just found out about u

Thanks Ken! I really appreciate that! Sorry if I sounded defensive about the BB video... Just wanted to make clear the distinction between the two :) I really appreciate you watching, and please let me know if you have questions or if you think I might be able to help you in any way.

tumbl3r I didn't take it as you being defensive I didn't realize the difference but after you telling me I would've corrected me too that is a big difference and I'd would want my accomplishment known and not compared to a lesser one too. but I do enjoy ur vids I commented on a bunch you don't have to WB on all of them I prolly sent like 10 lol but thanks for the help offer it's def appreciated.

Not that it matters because both channels are great but Bosnianbills skill set doesn't even compare .You just don't see videos of Bill touching the highest of security stuff . Very few people in the world can open the type of locks that tumbl3r does let alone produce such good quality pick and gut videos.

That's true with all twins. Generally you can isolate one from he other by experimenting with tension and directional rotation, but sometimes they just mix up the binding order. It's pretty rough when that happens.

I did on this one. Really it just depends on what is binding first. In some cases the drivers will bind before the sidebar, and in others the sidebar binds first. The order is usually reversed if you switch rotation direction.

Not too likely that someone could copy a twin combi key.

Thanks :)

Right now I'd say it's probably one of the ASSA Twin Maximum with CLIQ. There are a few things in the pipeline that could surpass that, however.

They can be bought directly from ASSA, provided you have a proof of ownership to show. The profile is copyright protected.

Sorry, but no. I would like to keep this one in my collection.

i could differently understand that choice. i have a S&G 831-b padlock if you are ever interested.

You say tomato, I say tomato