Schlage pin tumbler locks, just some of my thoughts.

[dlink]

G,day
I find that if you put the tension wrench with the longest side into the lock just at the point below the pin were it goes off on a angle it set the height for your pick.
I use a half arrow pick with the tapering made flat.I can seem to get the pins to set with just 1/4 to 1/2 a mm of up movement.
I'm still trying to fine tune the pick for this type of lock, but I might have to make the tip abit shaper and a fraction lower.

Hope it helps some one.

[raimundo]

half arrow pick? is that the broken key remover? a pointed thing with a barb to hook on things as it comes out.

[Engineer]

I'm guessing it's a half diamond?

[dlink]

I don't think its a dimond, it a arrow with the thicker in tapered back to the front.
If it is a broken key remover I might try some other picks

+++++++++++-----------
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[datagram]

It sounds like the broken key remover, which is not so good to use as a pick, of course!

Half diamonds are like this:

/\
________/ \
-----------------------\

while the broken key extractor in most sets is like:

|\
_________| \
-----------------------\

Having had friends not know the difference has led to back-cutting as well as needing a broken key extractor to remove bits of a broken broken key extractor!

dg

[datagram]

And here's the ascii with a little less fail:

Code: Select all

                  /\
_________________/  \
---------------------\


Code: Select all

                  |\
__________________| \
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dg

[Engineer]

From your new description, it does indeed sound like a broken key extractor!

Key extractors have the steep sides of the slope pointing backwards towards the handle.

[5thcorps]

Schlage for me has always been easier to pick whith the hook. It goes around previous set pins and can easily be placed directly on one pin at a time. Half diamond picks are great for kwikset and others but seem to be a little large for spp.

[dlink]

do you use the small hook?
when i tryed to pick the lock i found it inposable untill i used the tension wrench like that, do you think its a bad habit to get into i really feel the pins just move the pick around

[sparkster]

Dont worry abt using the extractor m8, your not the first person to use it as a pick and you wont be the last (no i did not use it as a pick ) learning to pick locks takes time and patience, everyone has their own preference to the type of pick they use, as you become more experienced you will get use to a few picks and these will become your favourites to use, try one type of pick and if you get no joy with it then move onto another type, you will soon learn whats best for you, its all down to personal preference and confidence, if your confident with a pick then half the battle is won, just practice and you'll be opening locks in no time, if you need advice then there is always this forum where a lot of guys will help you in the right direction.

[5thcorps]

Small hook for Schlaege. Half diamond just doesn't cut it for me. Everybody prefers their own tension method, but whatever one gives you the best feel id the one you stick with.

[Engineer]

Hi dlink,

Don't worry at all about using a broken key extractor as a pick. Something that never gets discussed much on this group is what is the best pick/the right pick to use? The reason it's not discussed very often, is because nearly everyone will have different answers. I personally prefer a deep hook and "SPPing" (Single Pin Picking) a lock. Many swear by a diamond pick (actually a triangular shape, so should really be called a half-diamond pick). Many more swear by a rake. Each tool has it's positive and negarive points.

So the great unspoken truth is that it is whatever works best for YOU. Once you get the general feel for picking (most begin with too much tension on the wrench - Including me), then you can practise with all the picks you have. You will soon find one that gives you more and quicker openings of locks than the rest, that is your "natural" pick.

I am lucky, I have lots of picks now, but I still practise with paperclips occasionally as I don't want to loose the feel for them. Some of the best pickers use picks they have made themselves. That is one of the great things about lockpicking, you can make your own pick and get better results with that, than you would with the most expensive commercially-made pick.

I've done a great deal of work with electronics and electrics and find a broken key extractor is a wonderful aid for fishing about in rat's nests of wires and guiding a wire through. That maybe a complete mis-use of a broken key extractor, but I don't care, it works really well for me and gives me the edge in speed on a job, so I use it.

So don't worry if it turns out you like using a BKE as a pick, that doesn't matter at all.

[raimundo]

Engineer, you should see the tools that manual typewriter repairmen used to use, various pigtail hooks and such for reaching in and picking up the loop on the end of a coil spring and fitting it onto its attachment post. Its amazing what you can do with different types of hooks
You'll find them very helpful in fishing wires from a bundle.

[Engineer]

THAT'S IT! Thank you for that Raimundo - I couldn't for the life of me think of the name "pigtail" tool yesterday. I've not seen one used since I was a trainee electronics technician. I've not even seen them in the tools catalogues since IDC (Insulation Displacement Cables) became popular in the early 80s. That is exactly what I use a BKE for though.

I remember installing wall-mounted sockets for RS-232 Parallel cables in rooms, where a pigtail tool could take minutes off each socket. The older "100" bus was almost impossible without one.

In theory, you can still get something like a pigtail tool on one of the ends of the "soldering aids" tool sets you can buy, but I still find a BKE better and wouldn't be without one in my electronics toolboxes. I had no idea typewriter repairmen used to use them, but thinking about it, I don't think they could hook up those tiny springs without them. I bet the VCR assembly lines used to use them as well come to think of it? They used to be full of tiny springs hooked up all over the place as well.

Thanks for the memory jog, I appreciate the help!

Engineer, you should see the tools that manual typewriter repairmen used to use, various pigtail hooks and such for reaching in and picking up the loop on the end of a coil spring and fitting it onto its attachment post. Its amazing what you can do with different types of hooks
You'll find them very helpful in fishing wires from a bundle.