Noob question

[spectre1989]

Hey all,

I'm extremely new to all this, and am attempting to pick my first padlock. I have a southord jackknife pick in order to do this. What I'm wondering is, does the tension wrench actually need to be touching the bottom of the lock? Or is it just used to provide a force TURNING the lock, or is it to provide a force DOWNWARDS on the lock?

Just because the tension wrench on this is a bit too wide to fit in the very bottom of the lock, but I can insert it near the bottom of the lock, and I can apply a good clockwise force with it.

Anywho, I seem to be having a weird problem that I can lift the first couple of pins, then apply some pressure with tension wrench, at this point these two pins kind of lock in the up position. Am I right in thinking they shouldn't be doing this, and rather should fall back down but with no springyness anymore?

Thanks in advance, and sorry you must get these kind of posts all the time!

Cheers
-Jay

[spectre1989]

Sorry, I got an error the first time I tried to post the thread and thought it hadn't done it, please delete one of them.
Cheers
-J

[Squelchtone]

Hi, and welcome to the forum.

1st.. what brand and model padlock are you trying to open?

2nd, the pick you are sticking in the lock is like the teeth on the key, and the tension wrench you are putting into the keyway in order to turn the lock clock-wise, is like the head of the key that you turn after the teeth lift the pins to the correct position.

So, the tension wrench is NOT to pull the keyway down, it is used as a keyhead to turn the lock once the lock pick lift all the pins to the correct heights.

Most new pickers use too much tension, so don't press on the tension wrench so hard that your finger turns white.

You could also post a picture for us of how you're holding the padlock and the pick and the wrench and we can tell you if it's correct.

welcome and have fun,

Squelchtone

[Eyes_Only]

A jack knife pick tool probably isn't the best tool to start with either. The handle is way too bulky and harder to move around and manipulate in your hand. Start with something like a 14 piece SO set or something similar instead. A jack knife pick is more of a "no other options left" type of tool.

[Legion303]

You definitely don't need to put force downward on the plug, just rotational force. I've found you can save yourself a lot of time in this hobby by really thinking about how everything works together while you pick--for example, does your key push down on the plug or does it rotate it? :)

-steve

[spectre1989]

Thanks for the replies. Yeah that's what I thought with regards to the rotational force.

I've also since found out that jackknife picks are tricky, but by now I'm not really prepared to buy another pick set until I'm sure this hobby is for me.

The lock itself is a Kasp lock, and has the numbers 12540 printed on the front of it, is that of any relevance?

[Eyes_Only]

If I were you I would take the jack knife pick tool apart if it is possible on the one you have so you can have the individual pick tools out of the case like you can on a SO jack knife set and use the picks by itself.

But try to find or make something that can serve as a handle as well because the individual pick in those sets have almost no handle material you can use if you are a beginner.

[spectre1989]

Ok thanks for the tip. By SO Jackknife do you mean Southford? It's a SouthFord JPXS-6. I think the lock is probably way too good to try picking for my first lock, as it says on the packet about security pins, and mushroom pins, which doesn't sound good to me... I went out and bought a door lock for a fiver, I'll see if I have any better luck with that..

[Shrub]

You in Ashford Derbyshire?

Click on my www button for a great guide on learnign to pick

[spectre1989]

You in Ashford Derbyshire?

Click on my www button for a great guide on learnign to pick

Not as such, Ashford Kent. Thanks for the link I'll give it a read! This new lock is proving both easier and also in a funny way more difficult to pick than the padlock... oh well!

[Shrub]

Ah, differance of 20 mins away to 4 hours away from me i guess lol

[spectre1989]

Ah, differance of 20 mins away to 4 hours away from me i guess lol

Haha indeed, well it's nice to see a fellow englishman anyway. That guide is awesome! I was under the impression my lock couldn't be taken apart but the lock shown being taken apart in this guide is almost identical to the one i grabbed from wilkos earlier today. Though I don't have many of the needed tools and stuff so I guess I should just play with my padlock instead, rather than just attempting to take the door lock apart with bits and bobs I can find around the house...

[spectre1989]

Just been down to the shed and taken the jackknife pick apart, got all the picks out. Not so comfortable to hold as before, but I can feel a lot more now, even kind of feel the pins get to the shear line, much better!

Thanks for the link to that guide, just took the lock apart with a screwdriver, hammer, leatherman and a rolled up toilet roll tube! up to 3 pins now...

Cheers for all the help!

-Jay