Tension wrench

Tension wrench, “llave de tensión” in Spanish, is another name for the tensioner: the tool that keeps constant turning pressure on the cylinder plug while the pins are manipulated with a pick. It gets the name because it does the turning a key would do, although on its own it opens nothing.

It is a professional tool that we locksmiths use for non-destructive openings when the lock allows it. How effective it is depends very much on the cylinder it comes up against.

As an owner, what matters to you is what your cylinder does to make it hard to use. A narrow key profile leaves little space to fit it alongside the pick. Security pins catch at false points when tension is applied. And the side locking elements of some cylinders do not respond to normal tension.

If you want to know what level your cylinder offers, we will check it for you under security cylinders.