Difficult keyways

[ski610]

I fumbled about with my dads spare schlage deadbolt that he doesn't use and I could barely fit any of my picks in let alone manipulate the pins, how do you guys work around really tight keyways? The schlage I'm talking about has a "ward?" Or a ledge that runs the length of the plug under the pins which makes it a really tight space.

[fgarci03]

That is specially common here in Europe.
You will need to practice a lot with those. And it sure helps to get slimline picks.

Even with slimlines I find some locks really hard because of the tight keyway!

[Squelchtone]

Speaking of tight keyways, I got that KeyMark keyed up!



I agree with fgarci03, slimline picks do make a tremendous difference. When picking a keyway that is very tight, I put the pick in at an angle and make a sort of rotating or spinning type of motion to lift the pins up. The more you practice with tighter keyways the easier it will become. I am still not real good at it... practice, practice, practice.

[daniel22747]

A slimline small half diamond will often do the trick. There are also slim style tension wrenches that may be helpfull in some cases.

[ski610]

Thanks for the advice guys, now I just have to work my way up to being able to pick something like a schlage haha.