Afisch wrote:A member here surgested hanging a key from you wrench. It has to be right for each lock though, there is no once force fits all situation.
Actually, a while back Squelchtone, aka Mr. Bling and I discussed using a very simple modified tension wrench specifically for this purpose. I found in the end that for example, with me I pick mainly American 5200 padlocks, I found that hanging one to two American 5200 uncut blanks at the end of the tension wrench provided more than enough weight to tension the lock properly and swing open on its own when picked unless the lock was extremely gunked up and turning was directly affected.
I still practice picking locks this way mounted in a vise as it provides for a lot of single hand picking and it focuses more on the pick movement and feedback than the tension wrench. However, that's not to say that using a tension wrench with a key hung off the end isn't a bad thing. If I had to compare it to something mostly everyone can relate to, i'd say the reaction of a weighted tension wrench with picking locks with any kind of pin is very similar to watching the end of a fishing pole as the fish tags the bait a few times before taking off with it when he's hooked. It's very jerky in that sense, but again, it's also very informative. Encountering spool/spoorated pins using this approach is also beneficial. Without your second hand manipulating the tension wrench, you see the full swing of counter rotation as the pin stack clears the lower portion of the spool pin. Especially for noobs, I really suggest trying to pick locks in this manner as it provides the means to focus on one thing, picking the lock, the tensioning is done for you, just don't be suprised when the lock swings open and your keys end up on the floor!
