Cruciform Lock Picks

[fgarci03]

Hi there,

I have a question about cruciform lock picks but i've not been able to find any answer by searching the forum... So here goes:

I want to buy a cruciform pick but I've been searching for good deals and I find lots of sizes for them.
Most commonly 4,8; 6,5 and 7,0mm. I suppose the 4,8mm is the size in paddlocks, and the bigger ones in door locks right?

But are their sizes so different that I need one tool for each one?

I mean, I live in Portugal and here it is pretty common to use these locks (not the small ones) in doors but it gets a bit expensive to have one tool for each size. In fact, if I just need to have 2 (the 6,5 and the 7,0mm) it would be ok but these are just the ones I find more often for sale (there are the 6,0 and 5,5mm also I think).

If in this case "size really does matter" (:D) what are the most common sizes around?

Thank you!

[Solomon]

I don't know much about 2-in-1 cruciform picks, but any cruciform locks I've come across picked easily enough with standard tools. The only issue is getting a wrench small enough to fit one side without slipping, and that's easy enough to sort out... the ones with recessed keyways and anti drill shields are a bit more tedious to tension but they're not the worst in the world. Anyway, once you have tension sorted, just pick like any other lock moving from one side to the next until it pops. You don't usually have to go round in circles too much. I'm sure the 2-in-1 picks are handy, but for me they seem a bit unnecessary considering they're not very common.

As for sizes, I've seen them sold in a set of 3 in different sizes so I'm sure that'd have you covered. The format doesn't have anything to do with the size; I have a cruciform cylinder which came out of a steering wheel lock and a mortise cylinder, both have the same size keyway and from what I can tell they even take the same blank.

[fgarci03]

Yeah, I see what you mean!

I've been able to pick a cross lock a few days ago that way. But I still want a pick for these locks so I take less time doing that.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all about knowing the "real stuff" and not just the easy way... But when I know it, I like to have a quick way to do the same thing.

A bit like pin on pin picking and raking... Every lock I pick, I absolutely have to pick pin on pin. But raking is faster in a real life situation (lost keys, etc. NOT illegal stuff ), so I always pick both ways.

I boght one klom cross pick of 6.0mm ( i measured a common key used in portugal and its 6,5mm) and i'll see what it is all about. Maybe I won't need other sizes, but when I have more info i'll post...

But anyone with usefull info please post here. I never get tired of learning

[fgarci03]

Already got the cross pick.

Truth to be told, good thing it was cheap!

I broke it easily. And not by picking (light tension remember!). I went to my grandma's since she has a couple os cruciform locks laying arround in a drawer and she decided to give them to me. Put the tool in my bag and when I got there it was broken

Even so, I had already tried it on a couple of locks and it was just weird. I could SPP or rake them alot faster than with the pick. I know it was probably because I wasn't used to it. But even so...

Maybe sometime I'll get another one, but for the moment, just normal picking those locks is fun enough!


The pick is cool though. Not a very quality finishing but good enough. Didn't wiggle like most "cheap tools" do. One of the picks came sligthly bend but I straighted it right away. I'll still keep the tensioning tips, I read in Deviant Ollam's Practical Lockpicking book that Klom has good varied tensioning tips and GOSO has fine picking tips. So Maybe in the future I'll try the GOSO and switch parts. Here's a pic of it already broken: https://www.dropbox.com/s/yakfkddfj70ekv3/2013-01-25%2018.04.03.jpg

My advice is, if your not going to pick many cross locks, don't bother to get a pick. Raking them is fast enough. If you do, be sure to buy a really cheap one (I didn't dislike this one) since it's not a precision pick.

Be safe!