The L-Rake and a Proper Technique?

[valeguy]

I am completely new to lockpicking, and i just ordered a southord set which includes an L-Rake. I haven't yet mastered single pin picking but I've managed to open almost every lock I own by jiggling it with the L-Rake. The thing is, while these locks are opening, sometimes it takes me five seconds and other times five minutes so I really have no idea what I'm doing right or wrong. I know jiggling is essentially a random process but is there a proper technique to jiggle with the L-Rake? All help much appreciated

[Buggs41]

I've never heard of an "L" rake. Are you sure that you aren't using the tension wrench?

What ever tool works for you is the proper tool. For SPP, my favorite is a hook. Some people prefer a half diamond instead of a hook. On occasion, I need to run a snake on the pins, and then attack the one pin that just did not set correctly.

Keep at it. It does take time to learn what the pins are telling you via feedback through the pick.

[valeguy]

I'm not sure if it has another name, its listed as an L-Rake on lockpickshop (http://www.lockpickshop.com/SP-12.html)? So far I've managed to open a few of my locks by raking and then picking the remainders individually,
I gotta say this is by far the most challenging hobby I've taken up in a while, but loving it none the less

[Buggs41]

Ahh. Now I see what you are talking about. Honestly, I can't see the point of carrying one of those in my set. However, if it works for you and your style, Keep using it.

Remember, we are trying to make the lock think that we have the correct key. Nothing more, nothing less.

[clearmoon247]

The best advice i can give you is to set the rakes and snakes aside for the time being and get out the hooks and half diamonds. To truly understand locks and improve technique, it's best to learn single pin picking. Rakes and lifters can only get you so far. Once you get to the more advanced locks, your time and effort will pay off. After practice, you will get to a point where the pick becomes an extension of you and you'll be able to know what pins are setting and SPP faster than someone else could rake.

[Legion303]

AKA "pick of doom." The L rake is somewhat unique in that you can jiggle it like a bogota or scrub it like an S rake. Like all rakes it depends more on randomness than precision.

-steve

[valeguy]

I'm going to buy a re-pinnable lock soon so that I can work on my SPP gradually, Thanks for the advice:)

[atticRR]

valeguy,
I also just recently started picking and at first i had the same experiance as you- i could open my locks but the time it took was all over the place and i was primarily using rakes. Now i have training schedule and its helped so much. In the morning and at night I go through my locks at least once with a few different picks. I'll go through all of them with my j hook, then my half diamond then i'll try a random tool from my set then ill use my rakes, including an awesome bogata i made (thank you raimundo). After doing this for a couple days I have become so much more proficient. The j hook is my favorite and i finally understand whats going on in the lock. Theres so many subtle sounds and feelings happening that it takes a while to know whats what. Focus on how the pins feel set and unset, the rattle of the keypin when its set or the feel of the spring pushing down when its not set. Its such a satisfying feeling when a pin sets and the cylinder rotates a fraction, and tenfold the feeling when you set the last one, the lock opens and you have done it one at a time. I definately see this as being SUCH an important base for my personal future in picking.

Dont get me wrong, its awesome, the speed you can open a lock with a rake, but for me at this point i feel I learn something each time im successful with a SPP. Also I made a butt ugly cutaway and that helped as well at first. maybe ill post a pick because it is such a monstrosity!

[valeguy]

Thanks for the advice I've advanced quite a bit in my SPP since I posted this thread, and I pretty much only use the L rake as an aide now if I'm having difficulties. I actuall saw a great video the other day of how effective the L-rake can be if used properly, its definitely worth a look: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBK6ZikxRzM and also check out the rest of his videos(Schuyler Towne) I learned tons from his videos, especially his presentation at Defcon 19 (that's also on youtube somewhere).

[raimundo]

I think this is the rake that has a narrow thin spot between the pickshaft and the pick tip and the pick tip gets thicker toward the end.

If I owned one of these and was forced to use it, the first thing I would do is grind off that thickness from the bottom side before that thing gets permanently stuck in some lock and breaks off at the point where the stress is designed to built between the pick shaft and the picktip.

[valeguy]

I'm not quite sure what pick that is, or are we talking about the same thing and I'm just confused?
The L Rake is this one(and I have no idea why they called it that, seeing as it looks nothing like a L):

[cyrano138]

The L Rake is this one(and I have no idea why they called it that, seeing as it looks nothing like a L):

Nonsense. You can clearly see the "L". Here:

[valeguy]

Ooh now I see it, how could I ever have missed that.. I always thought it was more like concurrent mustaches on a pick handle, but I suppose that's open to interpretation


Please excuse my Paint skills.

[Solomon]

When using any rake, the key is to use the lightest tension possible and scrub over the pins with very gentle pressure. I had the same experience as you when I was starting out, the first lock I ever tried would rake open in seconds out of the blue, then I'd spend the next half hour trying to repeat it and getting nowhere. It was very frustrating lol. It all comes down to your overall feel for the lock and your understanding of the mechanism, if you have a good feel for the pins and know exactly what you're doing when single pin picking, then a raking tecnhique will come naturally to you and make more sense. The reason I had your problem was because I didn't understand the picking process or the mechanism properly, I just fumbled around in the lock without really paying attention and switched to the next pick once I got frustrated. If you're not 100% on the mechanism and how the binding defect works, I strongly sugest boning up. I know I wish I did

Anyway, my raking technique is to move in and out while see-sawing, and I always hold one finger against the face of the lock to keep the pick stable. Think about the very tip of the pick doing a small circular motion and the back of it doing the same, but bigger. If that doesn't seem to work then the pins could be deeper setting, so you could try pushing the pins as deep as they'll go and gently wiggling the pick with the same kind of motion. All depends on the bitting at the end of the day, if it's nice and even then it should rake open fairly easily although not always. I have a couple of locks with very straightforward bittings and they won't rake open nomatter what.

I wrote up a much more detailed explanation of raking in my ebook so you could check that out if you want. I'll need to dig the link out though. In the meantime, here's some inspiration in the form of a video... it's basically the same as the rake you're using, just homemade and a little more badass

[Bob Jim Bob]

For some reason that pick works well for me when I have to pick the deepest pins. I use it like a half diamond for spp.