Tension Wrench Width?

[chief001]

Hey guys and gals,
I'm a newbie practicing and trying to learn with a few different locks. I've had success with #3, #5, 2 N575s padlocks, and I've opened a few Schlage door locks and a couple of door bolts.
I've invested in a couple of different sets of Lock Pins from Peterson, Sparrow and a set of small Bogota's. Still learning which I prefer a bit, even though I'm starting to develop my personal preferences even with my limited experience.

All things considered I can honestly say I've been happy with my progress. Sometimes a lock might take me 20 min to open, sometimes a couple of minutes. I find myself playing with and trying different picks and learning from my results. Basically I'm tinkering with what I have. Not sure how hard these locks I've opened are but so far so good.
One thing I've learned the hard way was how valuable some WD40 can be on the success of opening a lock.

So my question to you guys would be, is there a rule of thumb as to how wide a tension wrench one should use? I'm not sure if it's in my head or not but sometimes I have luck with a little wider pick but then if I'm a bit stuck I'll got to a thinner one and it'll give me a bit more play up and down and help open the lock.
So am I reading the feedback right or am I just getting lucky?

Thanks guys for this info and for all the other info a lot of you have shared on here.

Chief

[GWiens2001]

Just barely thinner than the keyway is best.

Gordon

[chief001]

Thanks GWiens2001, much appreciated.

[cuttinedge1]

A good rule of thumb is have at least one (if not two) tension wrenches for every pick you have. Every keyway is different so have different widths. I know that windshield wiper inserts don't fit well in Master locks but are great for top of the keyway tension.

[cheerIO]

Many times getting the right tension is the MOST important thing to open the lock. It can be impossible to set anything and then you move the wrench or adjust something and it is as easy as pie.

I have 29 tension wrenches right now.

These are the six that are in the front of my case.



The top two I use 90% of the time. The shorter ends are for top of the keyway tension (TOK), and the longer ends are for Bottom of the keyway tension (BOK). These are invaluable to me and I need to make copies of them.

The rounded one is a bicycle spoke. These are great. I have a little jeweler's anvil and I just smack the end of the spoke with a hammer until it reaches the correct thickness for TOK tension with absolutely no play. This specific one is for my Master 6 pin cores.

Keep lots of widths around and try them out in a lock. You will find different widths fit into different wardings in different ways. And most of all, don't be afraid to modify each wrench to fit a specific lock. Bend it, grind it, file the ends so they are narrower, pinch the ends with pliers to get serrations on them, do what ever. The other wrenches I have are pretty much sitting in my case waiting for me to bend them up when I get to a new lock.

[cuttinedge1]

I have even gone so far as to file tension wrenches to fit into the warding with a grove specific to one kind of lock. This provides a perfect fit. There is a tutorial for how to make them but I can not find it.

[chief001]

I have even gone so far as to file tension wrenches to fit into the warding with a grove specific to one kind of lock. This provides a perfect fit. There is a tutorial for how to make them but I can not find it.

Thanks cuttinedge1. You have an interesting set of tension wrenches there and something I'll definitely have to try in my practicing.

Much appreciated

[daniel22747]

I agree that you should eventually get a large collection of tension wrenches of various sizes. This can be important for lock that have unusual warding.