Curved keyway

[samfisher85]

So I just got a new lock to learn on from a friend who got a high security lock and then lost the key. The problem that i'm having is that up at the top the key-way is curved where the pins are, making it difficult to get the pins up. Are there any special techniques or picks that I should be using on this?

It seems that the most pins I've been able to get up in a try is one. this could be because of the curvature or because of the difficulty I don't know because basically the only thing I've been able to get are simple keyed bike locks or cupboard wafer locks.

any help is appreciated i've tried for hours at a time for a couple days with no luck on anything

[GWiens2001]

Use a short hook or a half diamond, and try rolling the pick around the wards. It is not easy, at least until you have some practice.

Good luck!

Gordon

[YouLuckyFox]

Please post a picture of the keyway, in order to give specific answers there needs to be a more specific question ! For all we know there's a sidebar which would make a huge difference in what needs to be done to open that lock. That said, I had trouble for the longest time getting the hang of the SC1 and a Yale keyway that I'm not sure of the specification on (not gonna say Y1/11+ etc for historical reasons! ) I learned to rotate the pick (along an axis parallel with that of the lock's rotation) slightly to help me not jam the pick against the warding of the lock (it was sometimes difficult to realize if I was on the warding or a pin when I started out.) Gordon mentioned once about using the warding to his advantage once, something clicked and I have lately learned to curve the pick around the warding in the lock AND using the warding as a fulcrum point to get my pick where I need it to be; not sure if this is what he meant but this has helped me nonetheless. Thanks, Gordon! Also to get to a pin in the back I will insert the pick at a downward angle to clear front pins and then bring my pick level and pick the pin. Hope some of this helps, if not there are certainly other more qualified members on the site to make up for it.

Post Script:
I see that Gordon responded to this right as I clicked submit, glad to know that's what you meant Gordon about taking advantage of the warding. Thanks again!

[cledry]

Sounds like a paracentric keyway. They are a little trickier to pick at first.

[ARF-GEF]

Or it could be useful if you could write the name of the lock

Thin and paracentric keyways are much more common here in Europe, that is why most pick here are thinner and specially shaped (see peterson SS series with the blue handles or the DCAP series as an example )
You can get inspiration though that what kind of picks might be helpful to you.

Possibly it has security pins, anyway it looks like the lock is a big jump up from wafer locks, maybe, after a bit more trial put it away for a while, while practising on easier tumblers with increasing amount of security pins or increasingly restrictive wardings.

F(AR,GE)

[samfisher85]

Thanks for that info
I cant get a picture cause I don't have a camera and my phone is crappy but I found that it is a "brinks marine high security" lock and from diagrams online I would say that it is a Yale E1R (para) stock key-way.

Just goes to show how new I am, I didn't even know they had classifications and names for all the keyways (although I probably should have figured there would be)

[dat_pony]

Hi!

As I am somehow now much more aware of locks in everyday life, I too noticed some locks having very curved keyways. Would the following locks be pickable using standard slim line picks? If so, how? If not: What can be used on these locks?





regards

P.S. Do you know some cheap locks with one of these "difficult" keyways? I need a training lock!

[GWiens2001]

Many of the euro profile locks have paracentric (twisty keyways that a straight line from top to bottom can not fit because of the warding of the keyway) keyways.

Seeing the KALE, guessing you are in Turkey, or somewhere near there. If you fill in your location information, people in your area can probably let you know where to find the kind of locks you are looking for.

eBay is a good source for locks, but shipping can get expensive depending on your location.

Good luck!

Gordon

[mechanical_nightmare]

Hello,

I've never seen that lock or keyway, but pretty sure it's not a KALE, as the face reads 'KKL'. A quick google search didn't turn up anything about the lock. It doesn't look like a very well made lock, it has a snaky keyway though and may have spools.

The no-name cylinder has an even nastier keyway. I'd say if you are just starting out leave these kinds of locks alone for a while and try to find something without spools and a straighter keyway.

[GWiens2001]

Just now looking at this thread on a laptop instead of my cell phone, and can now read that it says KKL instead of KALE.

I agree with leaving those alone for now, untill you gain more experience.

Gordon

[dat_pony]

Note to self: Check whether "Notify me upon replies by default" is enabled when registering to a new forum. So, sorry for the late answer..
Yup, it does say KKL. I also assume that it's a cheap lock somebody just branded. But to make things more interesting: I was able to get a lock with an even nastier keyway which I can try to pick as I own it right now (unfortunately, the person I got it from can't find the key for it anymore, but as it's Evva, it probably has some decent bitting too):

Got another, fairly old Evva (the key says, i's a GPI) from a flea market which also has a pretty decent keyway (but no way as nasty as the one above):


Any ideas of how to pick such a think? Especially the first one.. I'm not even able to fit one of my picks (Southord Slimline) in there. Not even the short hook. (the two topmost wardings have no pinholes drilled) And yes, I'm using much simpler training locks right now.. Asus 80Ti/45 atm.
Does anyone know, which Evva the first one is exactly? I've got about 5 or 6 different, old Evvas lying around, most of which have different keyways. Is there anywhere a source for the history of Evva locks (Which models did exist when and how to distinguish them)?

regards
dat_pony

[Divinorum]

Geez, that first key way is insane!