Single pin picking and wafers

[eulachon]

Or would that be single wafer picking?

Anyways, I finally got my hands on a wafer lock from an old cupboard. 6 wafers. It raked open with the greatest of ease in a second or 2. Fun and easily repeatable (raked it maybe 10x, open and shut). Why do they put so many wafers in these things if they are so easy to rake??

But when I have at it with my hook, it either gets stuck in between the wafers when I push them high, or doesn't seem to set them at all. They all seem really loose, even with a lot of tension. It seems the thin-ness of the wafers is tough to me so far when trying to single pick, as I only have experience with pin tumblers.

Is there any point trying to go pin by pin on a wafer lock, or do they all rake open easily enough that there is no point wasting time practicing pin by pin on them? And if there is, any reccomendations as to how I should do it?

{edited by Varjeal: Please avoid the use of inappropriate language. See forum rules for details. Thanks}

[Varjeal]

Are you sure it was six? It may have been five and the sixth may be an open-ended one that actually retains the plug in the housing.

Anyways, the idea of putting so many wafers in the lock is to give the illusion of security, and to keep your average joe (or jane) from sticking a screwdriver into the lock and opening it. They are a convenience lock, and not really meant for security purposes.

There is a point to picking wafer locks by individual wafers, and your best bet is to use a pick with either a fairly flat tip or a rake. But honestly, whatever is successful for you is best.

The reason why wafer locks are generally not good for beginner's to start on (other than for confidence) is that bad habits (such as sloppy tension and wild, indiscriminate raking procedures) form very quickly, then when you switch to pin tumbler locks...everything changes and suddenly your confidence can fly out the window in a hurry.

I personally tend to rake wafer locks, and if that doesn't open it, then I'll probe for individual wafers.

That's just me though...

[Chucklz]

I always rake wafers, either with a half ball, or snake rake. Opens every time, unless there is a sidebar, which is a whole nother ballpark. Varjeal, as always, brings up a good point. Wafer locks are meant for only the bare minimum of security (and in some cases durability). Take, for example, the keying of a great many wafer locks. I've used the CH751 key as a tryout key for wafer locks, and a supprizing amount of the time it opens. Definately an eye opener for people who loose keys.

[Varjeal]

re:CH751...Around here 505's, 511's, and 515's are extremely popular. I have a set of five or six that I'll try out before I even reach for the picks...you should see some people's eyes open and jaws drop when they work. Then they think I have special "Master" keys. Often, if those don't work, I'll just impression the lock and be done.

[HeadHunterCEO]

somtimes you can just stick blank y11 or fr3 in them with a slight tension of the wrist and pull the core out of deks,draws etc.

I always tell customers never keep anything valuable behind them