How do you hold your pick

[Mapnapkin]

I am constantly switching how I hold my pick.
I start holding the pick like a toothbrush then switch to a pencil type grip.

I would imagine its personal preference.

Maybe its different for how your picking.
Toothbrush grip for raking, pencil grip for single pin.

Anybody have any insight on this, or personal preference.

Also do you hold your lock with pins on the top or bottom.. personal preference also I would imagine.

[Archive555]

I have the back of the pick against my palm, and use my thumb and middle-finger on either side, with my fore-finger on the top, to manipulate the pick.

[hydruh]

I hold it like a pencil too, except a little further away from my hand than I usually would.

I have seen a lot of different styles though. Youtube is good for seeing different technique.

S

[Mapnapkin]

I went to youtube after posting this. I remembered there were a lot of picking videos there. I did see a few different techniques.


.. I also hold the back of the pick against the palm of my hand but after practicing for a while the pick starts to dig into my hand and hurt. That, mixed with unsuccessful picking, makes me switch grips. I'm just curious if that was a bad habit.

I suppose it doesn't matter in the long run. Practicing and learning multiple grips will probably increase the skill range... I don't know

Just curious what everyone else does.

[Gordon Airporte]

If I ever picked mounted locks I would probably use a different grip, but I put the tip of my thumb on the face of the cylinder under the keyway and slide the pick over it, with my index finger on top of the shaft. The pick handle is held with the other three fingers but I use my thumb for all the 'feel' and lifting pins.

[itisjustme1]

Well it all depends on what lock you are picking. I find that I have developed different methods that are I bit awkward to explain simply because the different methods I use I don't even think about them as they just came naturally. You too will develop what works best for you dependent upon what lock you are picking.

[raimundo]

One of the best ideas on holding the pick is the pencil grip with a tip of the forefinger or second finger touching the interface between the plug and the cylinder, this allows a feel that is far superior to other grips, the finger can feel the pins set, because there is a very tiny movement, not one you would see, but you can feell it.

Not that good on padlocks with a cylinder set behind a drill breaker or cap lamination.

works best on mounted deadbolts.

[David_Parker]

Sometimes, I hold my rake, using my index finger on the top of the cylinder as a lever to move it in and out





Or when single pin picking, I will hold them as so



Or




And that pretty much sums up my gripping techniques. Remember though, its whatever you feel comfortable. I'm not sure lockpicking is like shooting a gun, where there are a number of correct techniques in order to control the recoil and pistol. LPing is more along the lines of writing I think, and there are a number of people out there who hold their pencil different from the norm, but have clear ledgible if not pretty lettering. So find what suits you best, and go from there!


-Dave.

[andy77]

I started out holding the pick like a pencil. For padlocks and cylinders in a vise, this worked great.

Now I have switched to having the back of the pick on my palm (toothbrush technique), because I am practicing how I would use it on doors while I am standing. I sometimes put my pointer finger against the face and use this under the pick for leverage. I set the vice on my office desk with some books, so that it is the proper door height and then practice picking while standing.


Andy

[Mapnapkin]

Thanks for the feed back.
I never know if I'm doing things right or not.

[Mapnapkin]

oh ya, thanks for posting photos.
You get a star sticker for effort

[criminalhate]

Thanks for the feed back.
I never know if I'm doing things right or not.

as long as the lock is opening your doing something right =)

[StabbyJoe]

I hold mine with my thumb and forefinger resting half on the neck, half on the handle of the pick with my forefinger on top... or I use my thumb and middle finger and rest my forefinger on the lock... I like being able to feel a little bit of feedback through the hull of the lock, and I like being able to feel where my hand and the handle of the pick are relative to the lock itself.

wonder if left handed people hold picks differently? logic would say no, but lefties seem (in my experience) to hold pencils differently, too.

[BraveHeart.]

dude just cause people do it one way doesnt mean you have to also.

You can do it neway you want, as long as it works


my friend makes fun of me because i hold it "weird" but im better than him