Picking wafer locks with...

[Hak]

Hey people..

Yesterday i was bored so i went to the local Home Depot store. I was just walking around and i came acoss a a type of filing cabinet. I had pickset on me, so for fun i decided to try to pick it right there. The thing had a wafer lock, and i didnt have any wafer picks in my set on me, but i tried picking it anyway. Using only a snake rake (and tension wrench) i got the wafer open in about 10 seconds. I was a bit surprised becuz i didnt know that you could use normal pin tumblers to open a wafer. So is this cabinet i picked some sh!tty brand, or can you actually use pin tumbler picks for a wafer lock?

On a side note... i've also used the flat end of a tension wrench to open some wafer locks too

[Hak]

On a side note... i've also used the flat end of a tension wrench to open some wafer locks too

Scratch that.. i meant ive used the flat end for a *warded lock*.. so forget i even said that. I havent slept in two days, so my mind is elsewhere

[CaptHook]

Im curious as to what you consider to be a wafer pick...... I use pretty much any rake, diamond of ball on wafers, and in a pinch have used hooks. There is no different "wafer picks" that I am aware of(schlages dont count).
Chuck

[Hak]

Im curious as to what you consider to be a wafer pick

Hmm, i donno. I thought there was some different kind of pick used for wafers. I've never paid much attention to wafers, as i dont come across them that much. I guess i just learned something new

So you can use just some snakes,diamonds, and balls (no pun intended ) for wafers?

[Guitar_J]

I can open some wafer locks with toothpicks... Wafers are just too easy..

[Hak]

Cool, i thought wafers were a bit difficult. I remember reading somewhere online that wafers require a diff kinda pick and that wafers are difficult to pick. Guess it was just a piece of crap guide

[AlterEgo]

I have heard half-rounds, half-balls, whatever you want to call them, recommended for wafer locks. Haven't tried it yet. I've just used half-diamonds, without much trouble.

[snowcat]

I prefer ball or half balls or a flat hook, the wafers are usually very thin and a half diamond tends to slide off the wafer a bit.

But if you have some patience you'll get them w just about everything.

I did a small safty box for a friend that lost his keys a few days ago. The only usable things he had where paper clips, took me about 5min. you should have seen his face he thought his personal items where better protected.

[S3rratedSp00L]

I just use a small metal rod and standard wrench to pick wafers. They are not very hard but I hate the way they feel... You can give these things a bit more tension than pin tumblers and develop some bad habits really quickly! Unfortunately that happens to me sometimes when I pick wafers. I will then go to pick a pin tumbler and end up giving waaaaaay to much tension...

That being said, I got a schlage wafer lock open today without the proper tools! I don't know specifically what makes the old schlage wafer different, so I am gonna go read some old posts about it and find out.. It seemed to have an extra wafer or something waaaay in the back. when I thought I had everything set, I levered on whatever was in the back, heard some clicks, pushed some wafers back up(and some down I think), levered the back a few times and that last time I must've gotten something right. It opened! I used a small metal rod and a standard tension wrench wedged in there however it would stick.. I think this was the W keyway, but I am not so sure.... Now I am really curiuos about how this thing works.. I could never pick it before and assumed that I neede the proper tools. I can pick other wafer locks pretty easily with the same piece of rod... Wafers are a good use for the other end of a tension wrench that has been made out of rod! (Which is exactly what I use! )

Wafers are defintely good to know how to pick. You may need to help someone back into their filing cabinet or drawer some day. They might reward you for it or something... (They might even pay you, if you're a lockie!) I used to be so proud that I could get wafers open when I was a kid hehe, yeah I guess I still do find it fun! It's a lock, so it's fun!

I'd like to try ball, half ball, and even double-ball shapes, but every time I start grinding, a new hook, rake, diamond, or deforest comes out! I need to make a small warded set, jigglers, and a couple of ball style picks for wafers darn it! It will happen eventually...

[Guitar_J]

The wafer WAYYYY in the back of a schlage wafer lock is called the master wafer...

The way it works is there are wafers called series wafers and combination wafers and master wafers...

The master wafer is only used in the back of the lock, its purpose is to test the key for the proper type, if it is, the master wafer will be retracted into the plug and all is good... the wrong key type either won't retract the wafer or won't fit at all depending on which type of key it is.

The series wafers are what keep the plug from turning. They are loaded in such a manner that their locking pin is forced into the cylinder body whilhe no key is inserted into the keyway. When a blank key inserted, all of these wafers will be retracted. However, upon insertion of the blank key, the combination wafers will be extended.

These wafers require a cut in the key at their position in order for them to remain in the plug when the key is inserted. Otherwise they will extend into the cyinder and prevent the plug from rotating.

There are usually (that is unless it is in a master system) 4 combination wafers, 3 series wafers, and 1 master wafer in each lock.

I've not had the chance to examine one of these locks... but I'd really like to. They seem so simple, but I'd like to examine the way they operate in reality rather than just knowing the theory of them.

[locksmistress]

I have to admit, the first lock I ever picked was wafer lock on a file cabinet and it was pretty easy - I don't think I even had to unbend the paperclip...

When I think of wafer locks now, as far as picking, skill, special tools, I think automotive. Hak, if you were under the impression that picking wafers would be more difficult than picking that file cabinet, try picking your car door next.

It's not as if they are impossible or anything, but I have a much harder time with cars than with pin tumbler locks.

Be gentle if you do try - less tension seems to work ok and some of the smaller wafers bend pretty easy.

[S3rratedSp00L]

FIle cabinet locks are usually pretty easy, until you get one with a bend or stuck wafer... ouch! That would not be fun on the old car door lock. If you are worried about your car locks, go to the junkyard and pick the old car doors there. People don't usually even look at you funny and you can disassemble the locks etc.. (This gives Pick'n'Pull a whole different meaning, hehe)

I found a wafer lock on an old floppy disk box with only 2 wafers in it.. I also have a wafer lock with only one.. It doesn't get much easier than that.

GuitarJ, thanks for that bit of information!.. I think I understand this schlage wafer a little better now! Are the series wafers and combination wafers staggered? It seemed to me that all the wafers on the bottom may have been the combination wafers, as there were only 3 wafers on the top not counting that master wafer that I could feel!? I didn't do a good job of counting wafers... I am gonna pick at it again when I get bored... I can't seem to find a diagram of the insides... I may just take it apart...