picking

[sharky1382]

I have started lock picking and im sorta getting the hang of it but i have a question. I read all these things saying start at the back. I have been starting at the front and working towards the back of the lock is this wrong does it really matter where you start as long as the goal is done and the lock opened?

[MrScruff]

If you got the lock open in a way you're satisfied with then it was the correct way.

[dls]

I always rake from the back to the front three times with very light tension and then single pin pick the remaining binding pins with varying tension from the front back, if that fails i reset then rake again and spp from the back usually the lower grade locks fall on the second or third rake before spp .

[sharky1382]

Thank you all for taking the time to read my post.

[FarmerFreak]

Anybody that says to pick a lock from back to front or front to back hasn't picked very many locks.

Wherever you want to start is fine, front/back, it doesn't really matter. The binding order is all that matters and it is completely random from lock to lock. So for example lets take a five pin lock. Let's say that picking it clockwise the 3rd pin binds first, then 2nd, 5th, 1st and then 4rth last. It doesn't matter if you start from the front or the back, because the 3rd pin will always have to be the very first pin set. After the 3rd pin is set the next pin that has to be set is the 2nd pin, etc...

So, in short. Find the binding pin, set it, and then find the next binding pin...

[hurley_000]

The whole front to back or back to front thing to mean just means working systematically to determine the binding order.
If you just randomly poke and prod at the pins it will make it harder to visualize whats going on inside the lock. Some times it can be tricky to determine the TRUE binding order if your working with any security pins.

Here's a link to a guide by Solomon.
If you have already read the other basic guides out there (MIT, Locksport Primer) This one should help you understand some stuff in a bit more detail.