raking or 1 at a time?

[Wolfe]

i have i guess a moderate skill level in picking. Personaly i thing they both work great. some locks do need a lil of both but i havnt found to many straight pin tumbler locks with or without security pins that resist raking with the correct snake. As a matter of fact in my experiance spp doesnt work very well on security pins but a rake does 99% of the time. As for where to start -->SPP<--so that you will get the feel for what you are doing and once you have that knowHow move into different areas. As for the binding pin you'll know for sure when you hit it. You will feel the resistance in this pin.As you practice feeling the inside of the lock you will become more sensitive to it. Be patient and take you time you have all the time in the world to pick the lock.
I hope this helps
W.

[JK_the_CJer]

Single-Pin-Picking: This seems to be the method that will help you advance and learn. If you do not practice SPP there is a good chance that you won't get better. At first it can be very frustrating, however. Stick with it; picking a lock feels much different (better imho) than raking one.

Raking: This one is a much less complex technique and also very effective. I had a lot of trouble with raking at first and still am not too comfortable with it. In a speed contest it beats SPP almost anytime, however I find that the probability of raking being a success is heavily depedent on the lock itself. Many locks can be easily raked open, but others are close to impossible.

Combination: This is what I am currently employing. Typically I'll single-pin pick, but ocassionally I'll let up on the tension a bit and give it a light rake. I think that I may have found success with this method because it gives falsely set spool pins an opportunity to fix themselves.

[WDPaladin]

Definitely learn to walk before you try running; learn the basics of picking before you try raking. Just my 2 cents. Yea, I'm cheap.

[dab]

In my opinion raking a lock is an undervalued skill. Take the time to learn how to vary tension while raking is just learning how to feel pick multiple pins at the same time. This is easier to do on wafer locks that have smaller macs than pin tumblers, but as we all know practice make perfect.

[Carrot]

k tyvm and how can i tell which pin is the binding pin?

viewtopic.php?t=10677

Hi... I'm a newcomer to lockpicking too. The above links to digital_blue's lockpicking exercise for beginners, which I'm currently practicing on and feel is a very valuable exercise to learn. Hope you find it useful!

[FFVison]

well, I'm still fairly new to lock picking. I only started a few months ago, but I already have probably about 10 locks that I can open most of. I have the 14 piece southord set and it has served me well so far, which is a nice product, but I find that I use the short hook pretty much all the time. I use it to single pin pick all of my locks. I have tried several of the other picks and tried raking, but I have yet to successfully open a lock with raking. the closest I have ever come is when I opened a 5 pin Ace padlock with spool pins by first raking it and then SPPing it. perhaps I will someday learn to rake more effectively, but for now, I think SPP is serving me well since the only locks I can't pick are 2 6 pin maximum security brinks locks (though there are 2 that I can pick), one with serrated top and bottom pins and the other with I don't know what, but it too has security pins of some kind. I have difficulty with that and the 5 pin ace lock which I mentioned above. I can pick it from time to time, but not consistently. oh, btw, I just remembered, I also raked open my master 140, though I think there's something wrong with it since I stick in a pick and my wrench and barely touch some of the pins and the thing just swings open. I find this odd considering some people on here were saying that it has security pins.

[robert11]

k tyvm and how can i tell which pin is the binding pin?

viewtopic.php?t=10677

Hi... I'm a newcomer to lockpicking too. The above links to digital_blue's lockpicking exercise for beginners, which I'm currently practicing on and feel is a very valuable exercise to learn. Hope you find it useful!

Yes I Agree,
these exercises are very valuable assets for beginners.