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How to deal with long pins?

Picked all the easy locks and want to step up your game? Further your lock picking techniques, exchange pro tips, videos, lessons, and develop your skills here.

How to deal with long pins?

Postby Zigatron » 19 Mar 2012 23:21

I'm pretty new to lockpicking, but I like it and want to improve.
I just got some cheap kwikset deadbolts from the hardware store and took most of the pins out. I can pick with four or five pins if none of the pins are too long.

I am having a problem picking past a long pin. If the long pin is at the end it is ok, but if there are any pins after the long pin, the long pin always seems to lock up and prevent me from getting any of the pins behind set. I am using hacksaw blade half diamond pick.

What should I try next, is there anything I am doing wrong?
Zigatron
 
Posts: 2
Joined: 29 Apr 2008 18:41

Re: How to deal with long pins?

Postby wpg » 20 Mar 2012 7:19

Have you tried using a long or short curved pick? They're designed to help you work past the longer pins: http://www.lockpickshop.com/SP-08.html

Hope this helps...
Wpg ::
wpg
 
Posts: 3
Joined: 12 Mar 2012 22:39
Location: Winnipeg

Re: How to deal with long pins?

Postby gibson » 22 Mar 2012 9:30

try using a long hook as wpg suggests. you might get a couple of those sp-08 hooks, and experiment by filing/grinding down the tip until you find the height that works best for you. deviant ollam describes them in his book as 'gonzo' hooks after the nose of one of the muppet characters(er, Gonzo?), but as they come initially they are kind of long for anything except the most open of keyways.
gibson
 
Posts: 67
Joined: 16 Feb 2012 11:50
Location: southeast new york

Re: How to deal with long pins?

Postby Zigatron » 22 Mar 2012 18:33

:lol: LOL, I figured out what I was doing wrong. My tension wrench (a crappy bent pen-clip) was obscuring most of the keyway. The only area that I had to pick in was the area right under the pinstacks, where the key's teeth go. This makes it almost impossible to pick past long pins because, once they set, you have just a fraction of a mm to move your pick. I filed the pen-clip down so it took less room and I was able to pick the lock in a few seconds. I feel quite stupid. :oops:

Good suggestions though. I definitely want to make myself a long hook pick and an actual tension wrench. Hacksaw blades work well for the picks, any advice on where I can find sweeper bristles, wiper inserts, or any other kind of springy, heat-bendable material to make a proper tension wrench.
Zigatron
 
Posts: 2
Joined: 29 Apr 2008 18:41

Re: How to deal with long pins?

Postby gibson » 23 Mar 2012 12:10

my neighborhood has a scheduled cleaning of municipal parking lots every Tuesday. a trip through there usually turns up a few. look for where the sweeper has to make a turn. just call city hall to find out where they clean up by you. wiper blades can be found in the garbage cans around Auto Zone or similar stores, gas stations, and junk yards (which are cool places to find all kinds of neat stuff).
gibson
 
Posts: 67
Joined: 16 Feb 2012 11:50
Location: southeast new york


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