Yellow padlock

[Eab]

I have been going though this bucket of padlocks that my friend gave me and most of them havent really been a problem, but this one is much different.




-The first strange thing is that there is no brand name on it. The body is goldish yellow with a steel colored top. The only text on it is "HARDENED" imprinted on the top part of the shackle (whats that thing called?). Anyway I have seen many BEST locks that look like this, but none quite like this one.

-Most pads turn clockwise, this one turns CCW... I think

-The pins are... wierd. If I put anything over a feather touch on the tension wrench the pins get hard to move and they always stuck all the way up, way over what I think is the sheerline. Also since I use close to no force on the tension wrench, by the time I'm working on the third pin (I usually start from the front) )I hear the first pin slowly slide back down.

-I never felt any rotational give in the lock at all. Normally once you get two or 3 pins you feel it move a little, not in this lock; and sometimes I start in the back of the lock, sometimes in the front, and even in the middle. I spent over 2 and a half hours over 4 days on this lock with no give what-so-ever.


Is this some kind of high security lock, or am I just really bad at padlocks? Lol

[vector40]

Could be serrated pins in there.

Try lubing it, as well.

[Shrub]

The yellow is brass, the shackle is called the shackle,

You dont always pick in any particular order, each lock is differant, the fact that the 3rd pin sets and the first drops means the first pin isnt the first to set.

It may be a very cheap lock thats gummed up hence vecs suggestion to lube it or it could be a good quality one but if that was so i would have thought it would have a brand name on it.

[Eab]

Pardon me newbishness, any links to a guide to lubing? (Wow that sounds wrong...)

[Chrispy]

Pardon me newbishness, any links to a guide to lubing? (Wow that sounds wrong...)

Graphite or Tri-Flow.

[Shrub]

Squirt it in the key hole.

[ThE_MasteR]

Squirt it in the key hole.

Ouch..!!!

[SFGOON]

I have a rash approach I take to those sort f locks - heavy tension and I literally PRY at the pins with a snake rake - (you'll need something sturdy - like a peterson pick, no slim lines.) Lube will help - use graphite if you can at all, as this will keep the lock from atracting grit in the future.

[grit1]

use graphite if you can at all, as this will keep the lock from atracting grit in the future.

[devnill]

Squirt it in the key hole.

Ouch..!!!

better watch out or you will knock it up

[SpaceCow]

easy way to get graphite: rub a penicil on paper for a while then make into kinda a tube and blow the graphite in the keyway

[quickpicks]

wd40 works well too.

[SpaceCow]

yes, but wd40 will accumalate dirt and dust after a while gumming up the lock.

[vector40]

Can we just sticky (no pun intended) something about lubrication? Or do we need to have this little mini-exchange every time it comes up?

[digital_blue]

If somebody were to write up a nice, comprehensive post about lubrications (oh man, what am I asking for here ) and explain what works well, what does not, and why, I'd be happy to add it to the FAQ section.

But if you're gonna do it, please mention it here before you start so we don't get six different posts.

db