Placement of Tension Wrench is Everything?

[AngryHatter]

If I put the wrench on one side of the lock and have trouble, I flip it over and try another placement.
That usually does the trick.
I also find one side of the opening allows the wrench to move to more than one position where the other is more restrictive.

Is this common?

[Squelchtone]

photos of what you mean would help. I find a lot of beginners I teach have the wrench in the keyway correctly but pull on it with their finger wrapped around it instead of pushing down on it.

It's important to have a bunch of tension wrenche of different sizes and thicknesses because different keyways have different shapes and widths, so some wrenches tend to cam out or flop when you apply some pressure to them.

I had a photo of how to hold a lock and tension wrench somewhere around here..

[kwoswalt99-]

Your tension wrench might be binding on the bottom the cylinder. Different placement, or a different wrench will get around this.

[AngryHatter]

Imagine this is the setup. And assume the wrench is any flat tension wrench.

The wrench is set at 3 o'clock. Now...flip it over to 9 o'clock.
One direction I find harder than the other.
In one you are pulling up and in the other you are pushing down.
And in the 9 o'clock setting there is more than one placement to be made.

[Squelchtone]

at 3 oclock I would tension clockwise
at 9 oclock I would tension counter-clockwise

Ive seen folks put wrench in on left side of keyway at 9 oclock, and push up on it clockwise, which is not what I personally would do to tension a lock.

Which way are you turning at 3 and at 9 ?

and yes, the binding order changes in either direction, and based on keyway shape you may have a more comfortable place to rest the wrench. Schlage SC1 is like that, I prefer to rest wrench in the \ part of the keyway at 9 oclock and turn the plug counter clock wise, but if it is mounted on a door, and I have to unlock it for someone, then the way I turn depends on which side of the door the lock is mounted on, so I dont always get to put the wrench in my favorite spot.

[AngryHatter]

The lock I have been playing with turns in both directions.
I have been applying clockwise tension no matter where I place the wrench, thus the pull on one side and push on the other.

[davesnothere11]

Yes.

I have found it very helpful to try several diffrent tension tools on the locks I practice with.

The best tool is a a personal preference. I find that it doesn't just depend on the key way but also on which pick I am using at the time. For example with my hooks, top of the keyway is my preferred and for my half diamond often I do better with bottom of the keyway.

It doesn't always work but I try to pick my practice locks with all variety and combination of tools I have. I feel like I learn a lot in the end.

[Malekal]

Related Q.

Is it ok to put the lock upside down when it allow to position the tension tool in a favourable way?

Have a look here: http://imgur.com/a/HWCxR

[kwoswalt99-]

Yes, picking will be a little different, but then it will help you get better. I would probably hold that one in a vice, and tension ccw in the bottom of the keyway.

[jbrint]

After I find something that works on a lock, I go through my wrenches and see if I can find something else that works better. If I opened it Bottom of keyway I make attempts at Top of keyway and in different places of the keyway for a better open. Its amazing what you can find from playing.

[Malekal]

Ok Thanks for the tip.

My tools are pretty lacking at the moment. I need to craft some or buy some more.
I already ordered some Peterson tension tools from the Canadian lp site, but I have not received them yet.

I'd love a deforest diamond but I haven't found one solo yet. I'm starting to think my wipers are going bad

[jbrint]

The following statement may only be true for me but I bought a set of Raimundo's Titanium picks from Serepick. I haven't spent much time using them to open locks but they have been my go to tension wrenches for padlocks. The thickness/width of them are perfect for the padlocks I have been working on. I can finely control tension, they provide plenty of feedback and they are thick enough to be snug in the bottom of the keyway without binding. I have had excellent success using them like this.

[knowspicker537]

Just because a tension tool fits better in one direction doesn't mean it will be easier to pick in that direction, when I pick locks a try both ways and pretty much can immediately tell which direction I should be picking said lock

Knowspicker537