Lock Shims

[vector40]

gnoff -- there are basically two different types of shims with wholly different purposes (talking about padlocks, here). One is a sort of metal shank that you slide alongside the hasp into the body of the lock, pushing back the locking bar and disengaging it, allowing you to pull the shackle open.

The other kind, which you're talking about, is used for all sorts of pin tumblers (already disassembled), and is for separating the pin stacks.

Both use "thin things," but that's about where their similarities end

[gnoff]

aha, got it... i had seen padlock shims and wondered how you would use them, cuz they dont resemble regular shims at all...and padlocks dont have pins eiher, lol.

so how does the shim slide up in padlocks like a masterlock, where the keyhole is on the back and not the bottom of the lock?

[vector40]

You'd have to remove the cylinder, I think, assuming it's possible. If it's not removable, it's not rekeyable, so there'd be no point in shimming the pins anyway.