reverse is always harder. I messed with mine enough last night to get a feel for how the lock behaves. It seems there is some sort of problem that happens if pin tension is released in mid-turn. Basically what happens is the lock jams, so you have to force it back via lowering the pins back to the unlocking height and shimmying it around till it gets where it is supposed to be. It takes time and luck. It's also a wise idea to find out if your pen rubs the outside, and if it does, gently sand the outer area of the pen for a few seconds to thin it...any friction on the outer ring of the lock is bad since it will affect your ability to shimmy the mechanism effectively, which seems to be required to "un-jam" these things.