Short Hook or Small Half Diamond?

[Johnfar62]

I'm using a short hook and a regular tension on a ace brass lock but I swear I don't know why I can't single pin set unlock it I wish I knew why I can't get it to open by single pin
Any advise

[Divinorum]

I'm using a short hook and a regular tension on a ace brass lock but I swear I don't know why I can't single pin set unlock it I wish I knew why I can't get it to open by single pin
Any advise

If By Ace you mean Ace Hardware, there are probably spool pins in the lock. I have a brass and also a few laminated Ace padlocks and they all have spools. If you have the package to the lock check out the back. Sometimes it will say spool pins for extra pick resistance. To deal with spool pins you need to feel for counter rotation in the tension wrench and lighten up on your tension while setting the pin.

Check out this video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3H2rK-3FaQ

[crowley]

Yes, you can increase or decrease the slopes on the half diamond, and also the height of the peak. If you polish the pick well, it can be a little surprising how smoothly it will work in the lock even with somewhat steep angles.

Normally make my diamond rakes with a roughly 45 degree angle on each slope, giving me a peak that is 90 degrees.

In cases of very high and low bittings in the lock, a hook pick, gonzo, or deforest can be very helpful.

Diamond picks are also very useful when picking dimple locks.

Gordon

Well I finally managed to get a Tricircle 265 open by SPPing using the half diamond. Now working on a Yale V140.50, which is a hard one - with a hook it sometimes takes me about half an hour on a bad day.

I'm quite curious about your comment on the dimple locks, I assume you mean inserting the pick sideways and give slight rotations. Why would a half diamond be advantageous in this situation?

[bembel]

There's a half-diamond in almost every pickset, so the advantage is that you will most probably have one when you need it.
For better results you should use dimple picks.

[GWiens2001]

I'm quite curious about your comment on the dimple locks, I assume you mean inserting the pick sideways and give slight rotations. Why would a half diamond be advantageous in this situation?

Yes, or inserting it at an angle, and using said rotations. You can SPP them this way, or you can rake them lightly. Used one of Raimundo's Bogota sets to open a steering wheel lock yesterday ($5 find at a thrift shop with a key) that has dimples from both sides and a row along the inner edge of the keyway. Took about thirty seconds the first time. So the 'too much coffee' method of raking with a Bogota works with dimple locks, too.

The advantage of using the half diamond with a dimple is the same as using a half diamond instead of a hook on other pin tumbler locks - you can rake the pins in both directions, rather than only in the outward direction. You can also do the 'speed bump' method of finding the binding pin - light rake until your pick hits a 'speed bump' and that is likely to be your binding pin.

Gordon