My very first post here. I've done a ton of searching so I'm hoping this isn't a complete newb question...
I've been trying to buy pre-bent TOK tension wrenches. The only place I can find that sells them pre-bent is Mad Bob in England, and it's currently a five week wait. I know that I can bend a Peterson myself, and that's what I'll most likely end up doing, but if anyone should happen to know of a place that sells pre-bent TOK tension wrenches, it would be great to hear about it.
My very first post here. I've done a ton of searching so I'm hoping this isn't a complete newb question...
I've been trying to buy pre-bent TOK tension wrenches. The only place I can find that sells them pre-bent is Mad Bob in England, and it's currently a five week wait. I know that I can bend a Peterson myself, and that's what I'll most likely end up doing, but if anyone should happen to know of a place that sells pre-bent TOK tension wrenches, it would be great to hear about it.
TOK as in top of keyway, right? I've seen them over at Brockhage aka lockpicks.com. They sell to hobbyists but I don't know if they ship internationally.
Hi OP, do you mean like a normal tension wrench that has a shorter bend at one end for Top of Keyway tensioning or do you mean a flat metal "pry bar" style wrench?
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Reading over my post, I realized I wasn't exactly clear...
I have a set of Peterson Pry Bars, and they are perfectly flat. If you position them in the top of the keyway, they extend upwards vertically. What I would like, is a top of the keyway (TOK) tension wrench that is bent, so that when it is positioned in the top of the keyway, it extends horizontally to the right.
That way, when you are holding the lock in your hand, it is easy to put tension on the wrench with your index finger. Basically, it would be bent so that you would use the same finger positioning as if you were using a bottom of the keyway tension wrench.
I'll see if I can find a link to the Mad Bob tension wrenches so that it's a bit more clear....
I'm in the US, btw.
Edit: Found it. https://www.madbobpicks.co.uk/6-Piece-Pry-Bar-Set-p/021.htm If you look at the three wrenches in the top of the picture of that page, you'll see that they're TOK wrenches that have a bit of a bend to them. I'd like a bit more of a bend, so that it would extend 90 degrees to the right from the top of the lock. Perfect for placing an index finger on.
That's the set I currently have. I'd just like them to be bent 90 degrees to make it easier to hold a lock in your hand while using a TOK tension wrench.
that looks like a purchased prybar he just bent to his liking, I think that's what you'll have to do as well. I've never seen them pre-bent the way you want.
his comments say (and he's a member here too by the way):
LockPickingLawyer wrote:"Thanks. The tension wrench is a toothless .040" Peterson Pry Bar that I bent for comfort. The pick is an .018" standard hook from Peterson."
If you want to bend a prybar, heat it with a torch, and then bend it otherwise it may snap. The bent wrench is great and everything, except if you want to put it in your pick case.
disclaimer: I haven't bent any of my prybars this way - many other things, but not the prybars.
--Ted Edit: I believe that the Lockpickinglawyer discusses this in one of his videos, but that's only from memory - it may have been someone else too.
that looks like a purchased prybar he just bent to his liking, I think that's what you'll have to do as well. I've never seen them pre-bent the way you want.
his comments say (and he's a member here too by the way):
LockPickingLawyer wrote:"Thanks. The tension wrench is a toothless .040" Peterson Pry Bar that I bent for comfort. The pick is an .018" standard hook from Peterson."
Squelchtone
Yeah, I did read the comments, and am aware that he bent his himself. I was just hoping to avoid trying to bend one, but it looks like the only commercially available pre-bent TOK tension wrench is the one from Mad Bob.
Guess I'll just order another set of Peterson's and bend them. :/
Peterson made some of those that were bent at 90 degrees from Bosnian Bill doing that or suggesting it, or something like that. They stopped making them and sold the remainder some time back. You can bend their prybar cold as long as you dont bend it to a sharp corner. Must bent it in a radius to avoid stress concentration in the bending. Try clamping it between 2 16 penny nails in a vise when bending it.
tpark wrote:If you want to bend a prybar, heat it with a torch, and then bend it otherwise it may snap. The bent wrench is great and everything, except if you want to put it in your pick case.
disclaimer: I haven't bent any of my prybars this way - many other things, but not the prybars.
--Ted Edit: I believe that the Lockpickinglawyer discusses this in one of his videos, but that's only from memory - it may have been someone else too.
Wish I would have read this earlier. This is what happens when you don't use heat. Well now I get to see if I can tig weld it back together.
I have quite a few tension wrenches that I made from wiper inserts that are short enough to be used TOK, just like Squelchtone suggested. Just grabbed some from my primary kit and snapped some pics for you.
The little notches on the ends of the smallest tensioners on the bottom of the picture are to help grip the sides of the keyway to reduce slippage. The little notches before the end bends on the ones on the upper row left side are so I can quickly identify which ones are longer and which are shorter. That also allows me to grab a tensioner that does not reach too deep in the keyway binding the first pin stack.
Seen from the side, you can see that they are in varying widths of wiper inserts.
Gordon
Just when you finally think you have learned it all, that is when you learn that you don't know anything yet.
Here is a home-made pry-bar wrench out of wiper blade. Nothing is polished up, just functional.
All bends were done at a red heat. It is a little hard to bend the metal like this and keep it flat, so after getting the angles I wanted, heated up the bends again and stuck that end of the wrench in a smooth-faced vise to flatten it out. To get enough thickness to have a snug fit, doubled up the ends of the wrench. Then filed to fit.
Got tired of not having a good fitting wrench for Yale keyways so beat out, ground, and filed the other end to fit. Ended up putting a bend on the Yale end of the wrench so it would not stick out too far to the side. Would have been no problem to have bent it to 90 degrees.
