Functionality of the bottom sides of rakes

[PherricOxide]

I've taken up constructing my own picks from hacksaw blades, and in the process have started thinking about pick designs more. I've noticed several common rakes (snake, bogota) are shaped on both the top and bottom sides of the pick. Are there any functional reasons for this? Are such rakes actually flipped over and used both directions? Does it have any benefit for moving around the keyway? It seems that the side contacting the pins is really the only part that matters from a functional standpoint, and there's no reason they couldn't be designed like a sawtooth rake with just a flat bottom. The only functional reason I could see for this is picks that are used more like jigglers (the bogota) might have some advantage if the bottom provided a couple of useful fulcrum points for getting the pick at different angles inside the lock while jiggling.

[catsoup]

I sometimes use the batarang or S rakes upside down as a rough hook to set an individual pin when raking when i dont want to switch between picks. for the most part, I neglect the 'top' of the pick. I imagine in some circumstances there is a benefit to having the relatively constant height created by the top profile, around the bends/teeth, so it can maneuver more easily. That said, there are a number of rakes that use a flat top and teeth.

basically I think you've got it right, to some maybe minor extent, it improves the agility of the pick.

[boggif]

I've seen following reasoning for cuts at the bottom: It may make the pick more springly if it has cuts on the bottom. It may remove points that would be affected by forces consentrating on small regions. It may allow the pick to be used upside down. It may affect manouverability sometimes.

On many cases like with a city rake there are no cuts at the bottom. I think sometimes it might just look cool, which might be important for diy picks.

If you're making them yourself, I'd suggest trying it out yourself if you can really see any difference in practise. Please report back here the results if you do such a test.

[Legion303]

Depends on the rake. Bogotas are undercut to prevent weak spots from forming (see Raimundo's tutorial for an explanation), while e.g. king and queen rakes can be used in both orientations.

If you're in a pinch you can use the back of a Bogota to lightly rake wafer locks, but I imagine the handle position would make it awkward.

-steve

[Luissen]

when I first got my Southord px5 set, the snake rake looked so strange I couldn't find a "top"
since it worked in both orientations

[daniel22747]

As far a turning a rake over:

In lockpicking it's whatever works for you. If you find a lock that opens well when you turn the snake rake upside down, then go for it.