Best way to get at Best pins

[Korver15]

So I bought a half dozen Best 7 pin cores and they are kinda kicking me. The issue is they are the WB keyway http://imgur.com/UZr6FjU. I cant seem to get the pick around to access the pins without oversetting everything. Obviously there is no quick fix but what kind of attacks can I hit pins that are almost perpendicular to they keyway?

[GWiens2001]

There just ain't no easy way to get at those pins. That keyway was designed to make picking very difficult. Also, both of the WB keyway SFIC cores I have were keyed up with spool pins, too.

My way of picking them (which usually fails, but on occasion works) is to use a very fine half diamond with a short tip to start with. Then I have some hooks that I bent so the very end of the hook is bent with a circular radius to the side. That can get a bit more lift.

But if you have some high pins hiding behind low ones, you are fairly screwed unless you have some crazy good picking skills. which, unfortunately, I do not.

Good luck,

Gordon

[cledry]

I use a rotary pick, very quick, never fails.

[Korver15]

Do you have any good places to buy/ make rotary picks? In fact, I am not familiar with rotary picks care to elaborate?

[UnlockingBoredom]

Does your rotary pick look like mine?

[GWiens2001]

Mine is the 20 volt version, but otherwise, mine matches that one.

Gordon

[Korver15]

Oooooh well it turns out I have a rotary pick. That's pretty neat .

[daniel22747]

A half diamond off set pick might do the trick.

[HT4]

So I bought a half dozen Best 7 pin cores and they are kinda kicking me. The issue is they are the WB keyway http://imgur.com/UZr6FjU. I cant seem to get the pick around to access the pins without oversetting everything. Obviously there is no quick fix but what kind of attacks can I hit pins that are almost perpendicular to they keyway?

There are tools specifically designed for "pins that are perpendicular to they keyway" ... Dimple picks. experiment with what works best for your keyway, but you can usually find one that will wedge in such that you lift the pins by rotating the pick. I've found that curved flags work well.

Good luck.

[nite0wl]

Peterson (and I am sure other manufacturers) make 'slender' versions of some of the most common and essential pick designs. These picks are usually in .0018" or .0015" thickness, the thinnest can sometimes follow the curve of those extreme Best keyways. Euro profile picks can sometimes also reduce the shaft height enough to allow you to fit the pick between the pins and the 'shelf' of the warding (TOOOL's custom pick sets have some extremely thin shafts which may be best for this).

Beyond that, yea I would probably end up reaching for the 'rotary pick' or if the core was already removed, the decoding jig and a hammer.

[Daedalus Erebus]

Some Best Coremax models also have an additional security feature at the back of the plug. It's a side pin (really it's a kind of "tab") that must be pressed out in the same direction as the key enters the lock, which is normally accessed by a slot near the tip of a Best key. This side pin is located between the 2nd and 3rd pins from the back, on the lower right side of the keyway (the same portion of the keyway where your pick will be inserted). You'll feel the spring if you push your pick straight toward the back of the plug along this groove, but be sure to keep your pick along the bottom edge (because the side pin has a rounded top which your pick can easily glide off of). Without this pin being pushed out, even with all the pins set the plug will not turn.

Normally, this side pin cannot be set until you've set all the pins and the plug is free to rotate. So once you think you've got all the pins set (which you should know, because the plug will significantly rotate), slide a straight pick back into the plug to depress the side pin.