Southord pin tumbler jigglers
I’m curious.
I recently bought a set of Southord pin tumbler Jigglers (SDJ-13 Jigglers).
There are 13 different shapes and about 6 of them can be used inverted. They are made of “tempered stainless steel” and are 25 thou (0.65 mm) thick.
The first thing to note is that they will not fit into paracentric keyways.
The next thing is that, jiggling, raking and applying torsion all at the same time is (for me) impossible.
You WILL need to use a torsion tool.
To use them you first have to insert them all the way in then jiggle and rake (about 1 pin for and aft) while applying a bit of torsion with a separate tool.
So, do they work?
Yes, sometimes. I first tried them out on locks that I have the keys for and selecting a jiggler that was close to the key. The locks they worked on were ones that were fairly easy to pick anyway.
Next I set up Mr Wizards lock with various different bitting and had about a 20-30% success rate (sample size = 10). They don’t work very well on hi-low bittings.
The one surprise that I did get was an old, made in Australia (when we actually made things here), Lockwood padlock. This lock was on an old fence post I was cutting for firewood and had been out in the elements for many years. I don’t have a key for it.
I have been trying for about nine months to crack it – with no success. Even Bogota style picks that usually open Lockwoods failed. Someone else commented, in another thread, how difficult they are. I was beginning to think that the lock was broken. I had cleaned and lubed it.
Well, on about the fifth jiggler I tried the bugger opened !!!!
Should you get them?
I suppose that if you want another tool to try opening a lock before drilling it, it might be worth it on the off chance that they work.
If you are into picking for the sport, you won’t be interested.
Overall, it’s up to you. They will open some locks sometimes but don’t expect miracles (though they can happen) and you don’t get that “feeling” when you finally defeat that lock that has been defying you for ages. More of a "I'll be dammed".
I would not recommend or advise against getting a set. The success rate might improve with peactice.
Look at the picture and see what you think. I left the file fairly large so that you can enlarge it to get a better look as the shapes. The Bogota style one could be trimmed down and the peaks smoothed off a bit as the peak to peak distances are spot on. As they are, they act more like a saw and are far too fat.
I would be interested in hearing from anyone else that has tried them or your opinions in general.
Cheers.
For every expert there is an equal and opposite expert.