Padlock security pin - which end is which

[Kbarb]

Pretty much a beginner here . . .

I'm rekeying a new American Padlock A700 to the old key.

One thing I didn't notice until too late is that one of the security pins is not symmetrical - one end is "fatter" than the other.
There are three of those pins (and two spool pins, or perhaps vice versa).

I'd thought the fatter end would point away from the key, but it seemed like the tumbler was catching a bit so I reversed the orientation.
It seems to work fine, but did I get the orientation correctly ?
Anyone know which way it goes . . . Does "A" end face the key, or away from it ?

[billdeserthills]

It may not matter but I prefer having the A end face away from the key

[demux]

My guess would be that the machine they have to cut the serrations is set up to do them at a relatively hard-to-change interval, and the length of that particular pin was such that there just wasn't enough room to put another one at that one end. If the pin was an increment or two longer, there probably would be.

In either case, I'd tend to agree with Bill that it doesn't really matter here. Put it in in whatever direction seems to work best in the cylinder.

[Kbarb]

Ok thanks you guys.

I think there were a couple of those pins actually.

I was asking because I was thinking that if the A end was away from the key, it would be harder to pick.
That is, the B end would catch and be sticking more readily than the A end at the shear line.

At first I did it that way, and the core was catching a bit, but I hadn't installed the cylinder into the padlock body yet.
So I reversed it with A end toward the key and it didn't catch anymore.
But it may have been the installing of it in the padlock that smoothed things out, although it shouldn't, really.
I'll trying reversing what I did to "A" away from the key again as an experiment.

Thanks again !

Kent