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Well I got my Squire SAL/40 today and have spent all day trying to SPP and raking it....total fail after day one. However having said that I am well pleased as I wanted to move from a basic padlock to something just a little higher so its fit for purpose and this fits the bill as it means I will need to improve my technique to get this one open. It does have a couple of spool pins and is a 5 pin lock.

I have watched the videos etc so will keep at it. One thing which I am sure would help is some more tensioners and a couple more picks as I am using a basic 5 piece Southord set and even previous to this lock felt my set was inadequate on some locks although I still managed to SPP them.

What is it they say, " a poor tradesman blames his tools" ....Oh well

Great attitude! It's that type of thinking that leaves you open for learning & improving...
rather than the frustration that can completely shut your mind & coordination down.

Also, you mention SouthOrd's basic 5 piece set possibly being part of the problem.
I've mentioned it before, but I think SouthOrd's standard short hook is too tall.
Not the height of the hook itself (that's fine), but the height of the shaft.

Not saying that's the problem here... just that it's a possibility.
I like SouthOrd, but many of them need some modification.

Have yet to see a factory collection with enough tension wrenches to meet all your needs. Have to make them yourself! It is not difficult to do - much easier than picks!

You will end up with tension wrenches for BOK, TOK, cruciform locks, dual sided wafer locks, tubular locks, disc detainer locks...

And that does not include specialty locks like a Vachette AXI Home or a Maxis lock.

Have more tension wrenches than picks in my kit I use the most.

Gordon

Thanks for the support.

I do like the quality of the Southord but the shaft for some locks I find a hindrance. I do intend to make my own TB and picks but I need the weather to improve so I can `grind/file` outdoors, made one pick indoors but other half not keen on metal dust polluting the house

I will never be a master at lock picking....too old now but as long as I can improve on where I was a few months back then I will be a happy bunny, and so far the progress has been good enough for me.

Ha ha I am out to Turkey in 5 weeks and already got a few locks lined up, going to have some fun times!

We'll want pictures!

Gordon

Well you wanted a challenge and sounds like this paid off ...keep at it !

Try for tension also these are great for control

Peterson Pry Bar!
Open the Door to Single Pin Picking!

Gordon, yes I will get some pics.

Paterson pry bar.............
Trying to find in the uk so I can purchase one. To but from america the postage is quite expensive for one pry bar.

If all else fails I will attempt to make one as I would like to get one before I go to Turkey.

There's also the Technical Entry set of tensioners.

Mech did a review of them here in this vid.

And Xeo compared them with Petersons here.

Mmmm £30 total cost for the 2 pry bars.

There in the shop above Alans got them for sale 13.95 for a set UK LOCKPICKERS

Thanks for that ringo10 I have ordered the set from above.

I am also struggling with the SAL/40. I'm guessing the first 3 times was just lucky due to the fact I have not managed to
pick it for a few days!

I think I have found one reason I may be struggling with my sal/40. As mentioned previously I would put the Sal/40 away for a few days and repin my cutaway with 2 spool pins so I could get a better feel for them, I did this plus one normal pin.
pin 1 = normal
pin 3 = spool
pin 5 = spool

I have found with my Southord standard short hook I am catching pin 3 when I try to reach for the 5th pin, I reckon I need to get a long hook tip to get past some of the pins. It was interesting with the cutaway as I only had 3 pins and could watch my progress and what I was doing but still couldnt get that 5th pin properly.