I'm having a difficult time selecting the right pick

[Matt W]

Hi guys,

I have a lock with five pins, some of which are security pins, but I don't know how many of them are security pins and how many are regular pins. I was hoping you guys might be able to help me figure out which pick to use. I don't know if it's possible to do this, but I thought that if I show you the key for the lock, you might be able to advise me based on the key bitting.

Thanks,
Matt

[GWiens2001]

It depends on what you are used to. Some here would have a medium or short hook as their go-to pick, while others of us would use a diamond pick. Either one would work fine.

Gordon

[Matt W]

Thanks for your reply, GWiens2001. I've tried both a short hook and a small diamond pick. I don't have a medium hook, so that's not an option for me. As best as I can tell, the problems I seem to be having is that I'm over setting at least one of the regular pins and I'm unable to set the security pin properly. I'm not sure about this, but I think there's only one security pin and I believe it's the third pin. In any case, this is my first attempt at SPPing a lock with security pins and so far it's really getting the best of me.

[GWiens2001]

Pay attention to what your tension wrench is telling you. Most of the time, security pins will talk to you through the tension wrench. All you need to do is learn to understand what it is saying.

In many cases, your tension wrench is more important than your pick.

Gordon

[Matt W]

Pay attention to what your tension wrench is telling you. Most of the time, security pins will talk to you through the tension wrench. All you need to do is learn to understand what it is saying.

In many cases, your tension wrench is more important than your pick.

Gordon

I think this is some of the best advice for anyone who's into picking locks, whether as a hobbyist or as a professional.

It's through what my tension wrench is telling that I came to the conclusions I listed in my previous post. I started getting better feedback from my tension wrench when I switched from BOK to TOK tension. My problem, however, is that I don't have 100% confidence that I'm correctly interpreting what my tension wrench is telling me. This is just one of those things that will only come with more practice.

Thanks, GWiens2001.

[Kenneth_V]

I have to agree 100% with the posts above. took me a long time to get this!!

I bought a ton of different pics because i couldnt get a lock open so I would buy a few new ones. Kinda like the golfer with the putter that doesnt work!! need to buy a new one.

Once I earned to control the tension with a soft touch and listen to what the lock was telling my fingers through the tension wrench, feedback was much better and everything kinda fell into place. Picking became much easier

Applying tension should be like listening with your fingers. There is a fine line between using enough to bind and feel the feedback and too much that you cant hear what the pins are telling you.