Art of Impressioning

[marso]

I have read the paper on impressioning pin tumbler locks. Could someone discribe any differences when doing a wafer lock? Is there any different markings to look for? Is there any tricks that you would not try with a pin lock but you would with a wafer?

[Varjeal]

Wafer locks are more likely to leave tell-tale marks on the sides of a keyblank than pin tumbler.

Pin tumbler locks can be trickier because you must decipher between a true impression mark and a mark made on the blank while removing it from the lock. A proper mark will be a more defined dot, while a "false" one might look more like a squiggly line or a dot "stretched" if you can picture that.

This is a personal thing with me, but I don't knife-edge as much as some locksmiths I've seen. I like the potential marking surfaces of the key to be as "shiny" and mark free as possible, so that when manipulating the blank in the lock, I have a better chance of seeing a defined mark. If you don't use your file correctly, you can sometimes cause false markings to appear.

I also generally use a lighter touch on wafer than with pin, but again, that's personal preference. I've been doing an awful lot of impressioning lately.

[marso]

Thanks again varjeal, I think i will go out and get a file and blanks today

[Chucklz]

For those of you who shrink at the cost of a pippen file, some people report that the chain saw sharpening files work very well for impressioning. I havent tried it myself, your mileage may vary.

[Varjeal]

If you cannot afford a pippin file, find the smoothest round or half-round that you can get your hands on.

[hozer2k]

What is a good source for files? I still cant see the darn marks...are there any good videos on impressioning?

[Pheniox]

h2k from what i remember had a good explination and deminstration of it. not sure where, will watch when i get back to barracks in an hour and tell ya then. impressioning is fun though, I did a key for my brother while I was home on leave and its not as easy as it looks or sounds. at least for me it wasn't

[hozer2k]

It sure is a lot more difficult than I was led to believe. It would definately be an impressive thing to do...I just gotta keep working at it. Let me know if you find the file, that would be great

[Chucklz]

www.lockpicks.com sells impressioning files for those who dont have them.

[hozer2k]

I meant electronic file or video.

I think the files can be had cheaper elsewhere, lockpicks.com is pretty pricey.