Security pin? Or bad pin?

[Josh_Your_IT_Guy]

Found this pin inside a lock, is it some sort of security pin, or is it a malformed pin.
Obviously a re-pinned lock, and this type of pin was only in one chamber.

[Raymond]

Very interesting. Now you have to tell us what brand of lock you found it in.

[Josh_Your_IT_Guy]

"Advantage"
It is a basic Schlage SC4 6 pin cylinder, this was in chamber 4

[ggpaintballer]

It looks awesome. I wonder if it's cheaper to thread something instead of producing standard serrated pins. Does anyone know how serrated pins are mass produced?

[Divinorum]

was there any counter milling inside the chamber? I could see those threads getting caught on counter milling really easy.

[cj101]

I dont think, these pins are cheaper to manufacture. You can use either centerless grinding to produce them or you can press the serration the same way as done with the threads.
Maybe, this pin has been handmade. In this case, cutting a thread would be easier.

[Josh_Your_IT_Guy]

No counter-milling in the chamber.

The weird thing is the spiral. I wonder if this is just a bad pin based on how some pins are made. I think some manufactures use long rods and mill them down to size, cutting the tips to the cone shape, if that is the case, maybe something happened to the milling tool, or a burr got caught?

I am about to put it in a practice lock and have a go at it to see how it feels in comparison to a serrated pin.

Here is a pic of the tip with the spiral.

[blue60]

it looks like it was intentional to me, it would only be a small extra step to make them...
very cool pin

[I Pik U]

Never seen a pin like that.

[KPick]

It looks like someone cut the end off a screw and put it inside the lock and painted it green with dye. Cool pictures though. I will tell you now that I've NEVER seen anything like it.

[deolslyfox]

You will be amazed at the stuff you find used as pins. I have seen screws, machine bolts and wooden skewers just to mention a few.