graphite

[pickersRus]

Hello once again to all my fellow pickers. I know this is kind of a silly question so please do not laugh at me to much. I was just wanting recommendations on the use of graphite to help loosen pins. What is the best way to apply (insert) the graphite into the keyway and about how much should be applied ? Also is there any common "household" substitutes that are better than graphite ? Thanks to all

[cred]

you can buy it in a little tub with a puffer on the end just insert into the keyway and press

[locksmistress]

Household product substitute: pencils (still graphite, yes) - take one and run it along a key and then stick the key in the lock. Repeat a few times.

Household product substitute not recommended: WD40. Gums stuff up nasty. Seems like it works, but harmful in the long run.

I'm pretty into graphite and the little tubes it comes in work pretty good - just shake the tube before you use it and shoot it in the keyhole - work a key (or a rake) through a couple of times to distribute and you're golden.

Caveat - try to pick the lock without it first. Especially older ones. I had a nasty old cylinder I scavenged off a commercial kitchen door (replaced it with something pretty). Grease, dirt, probably an independent culture... If I had filled it full of graphite, it probably would have formed concrete. I picked it open to see if it was worth cleaning up and re-using (it was, with a little quality solvent time) and it wasn't difficult at all.

[Varjeal]

Any kind of teflon or silicone or PTFE spray would be cleaner than trying to use graphite, which even when properly used can be messy. The nice thing also with silicone sprays is that there's no harm in overuse, the precise opposite can be said about graphite.

My personal favorite is either Superlube or 12/34.

[locksmistress]

Varjeal-

I prefer the mess from graphite to the mess from sprays. Sprays drip.

Do you have any experience with mixing them? Not on purpose, but, say you have a lock that you've always used graphite on, you hit it with teflon spray, is that going to mess it up? Or vice versa?

I use Tri-Flo (teflon) on lock mechanisms but I'm pretty devoted to dry lube for cylinders. Again, I'm kind of inclined toward consistency because it seems that alternating could be sort of disasterous. The teflon will dry between uses, but I don't know if it would gum up the graphite in the mean time.

[Varjeal]

locksmistress: Not too sure where you're from exactly, but I'll explain a little more why I prefer the mess from sprays....

Here in Canada, and in my climate in particular, we have the two extremes when it comes to temperatures. In the winter we get the -40C weather and in the summer we 've gone as high as +38C. From my own personal experience, unless one is extremely careful in the usage and deployment of graphite, the dry stuff can be abused all too easily.

I'll be the first to admit that in assembling or rekeying, a new or thoroughly cleaned lock, I will use a spot of graphite.

I accept the drip of sprays because of the tendency of graphite in harsh climates to switch (often gradually) to the consistency of gum. Not only that, but the dark film it leaves on the customers keys (or my picks) can lead to stains on clothes, furniture, the door I'm working on, and numerous other surfaces.

I do not recommend the use of graphite to anyone but skilled locksmiths for that very reason. I have had experience in accidently mixing the two, and have found little complication other than the spray generally displaces the graphite from the lock. For this reason I'm careful in the use of the spray even until the lock is on my bench, where I flush it out thoroughly.

There's no chance of the mixing products to damage the lock in any way. The reason I use products such as super lube (and I like Tri-Flow too btw) is that it can serve a dual purpose as both a cleaner and as a lubricant.

The only products I've found that really conflict with graphite are WD-40 (which seems to attract dirt much more quickly than other ACTUAL lubricants) and oil-based products.

My general procedure when lubricating an unknown lock is to give the lock a small squirt (the straw on spray lubes works great as long as you don't lose it ) and then run a keyblank into the lock several times, wiping between passes. This will quickly tell me if graphite or any lubricant at all has been used in the lock. I keep a pack of towels close by to quickly clean any mess I might make.

I just find graphite too much of a bother. But that's my own personal preference.

[CaptHook]

There is an oil of sorts on the market that contains graphite. It is marketed as a lock lube in hardware stores, name escapes me right now. Ive never bothered with it, but may buy a bottle just to try it now......
Chuck

[locksmistress]

Varjeal-

Thanks! I'm actually in Minnesota - I thought it was on my tag... We do the weather thing. Graphite has been very good to me. We're an IR distributor so I send out a lot of Primus - definately a high maintenance cylinder - expepecially in an exterior North-Westerly facing sort of application.

The one thing that would switch me over is if you told me that the teflon sprays lasted longer without reapplying. Especially on the high security, it's an every 4-6 month thing in some places with graphite.

Plus I think I acquire a professional dignity I would not otherwise posess with a broad grey smear across my forhead.

CaptHook -

Not like the stuff they use for plumbing? That's just graphite suspended in oil of some sort... But it's too thick for locks!

Liquid graphite would be pretty sweet.

[randmguy]

Sorry Lockmistress Teflon sprays are still every 4-6 months on high use cylinders. The only real difference I've seen between graphite and Teflon is that I've found is that locks I've used graphite on tend to freeze at higher temps than the Teflon or silicone lubes. I use TriFlow because it doesn't leave residue on the keys when its over applied...You would not believe the histrionics when someone hangs a dirty key around their neck and ruins an Abercrombie shirt

[Luke]

People abusing graphite isnt a pretty site. I took the dead bolt part off the inside of a door becuase it was sticking.... about half a cup of graphite fell out onto the carpet... Not nice and it sticks to skin, clothes, carpet and dogs tongues!

[CaptHook]

Nope, its marketed as a lock lubrication. The manufacturer makes powdered graphite and lock de-icer also. I will head down to the hardware store in the next day or 2 and pick up a bottle.
Chuck

[S3rratedSp00L]

I like tri-flow because I can get it cheap and it does a good job.. If I get a lock that already has graphite, I usually just leave it alone as long as it works smoothly and if it sticks I clean it out and spray it with tri-flow. Sometimes I use WD-40 to clean it, but I flush out the WD with the silicone spray afterwards...

If you live in a warm climate such as California, then graphite works perfectly fine. When I lived in the Midwest, some people had problems with graphite, but I think it was an overuse thing. It's the removal that I don't like.. I take the lock completely apart to remove graphite, where I just flush it when a spray is used.. So I guess I am just lazy..

When I first "check the oil" on a lock that I intend to service, I will take it completely apart to check for dirt and things other than lube.. It's the right thing to do.

One cool thing about graphite is that you only need a tiny bit to do the trick. Same with the spray, but sprays seem to be more forgiving and some people do not take much care with their locks. That is probably not the case here, though!