Noob here! I can't rake!

[Errah]

Hey everyone!
I'm a brand new aspiring picker of locks. I received my first set of picks yesterday in the mail. I ordered a very basic 8 pick set for $14.95 from Southern Specialties. I found a Masterlock No3 to start working on. I tried both the lifting and the raking techniques. I've had much success with the lifting technique. After spending about 2 hours experimenting with different picks, I've managed to consistently pick the lock between 30 seconds to 3 minutes with the lifting technique. But I haven't had any success with the raking technique. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. I've also found the raking technique to be annoying because the half diamond pick and the worm-looking pick sometimes gets stuck and I'm afraid I'll snap the picks just yanking and pulling to get it out. Any pointers?

I'm also considering buying Southord's see-thru lock cutaway for practice. http://www.southord.com/Lock-Picking-Tools/Practice-Lock-Cutaway-Visible-Locks-ST-34.html
I know a lot of people discourage using it because you should develop a feel for the lock. Is there anyone who has used it and found it beneficial? Does anyone know if I can take it apart and put in one pin for practice, and then put in 2 pins, then 3, etc? I haven't found any reviews for it on this forum. I'm thinking about buying it and then writing a blurb on whether it helped this noob.

[KPick]

No, but if you're looking for a good practice lock. I would save up a bit more and go with Mr. Wizards practice lock. It's functional, you can try the progressive re-pinning technique on it (like you suggested, and it comes with security pins).

You can also get a cheap lock at Home Depot or if you don't have one where you live, a department store around your area would be good.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Improved-Super- ... 338fa64d1e

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up above is the link to the lock if you're interested, but its just a suggestion I recommend.

[Luissen]

I've been around for a year or two now, and I still can't rake consistently. I just end up raking a few strokes then go straight to SPP. It's only marginally faster than straight SPP but it saves time on locks like the Sargents I own, with no security pins but pretty decent tolerances. Raking a Padlock introduces a bunch of weird factors because the spring on the shackle that most of them have influences the rotation of the plug slightly.

[cuttinedge1]

There should be no problem with the pick breaking if you keep it facing strait unless the lock is very rusty. Don't use an in and out stroke try to make more of a circular motion in the lock with the top of the circle being to pins. Also use very light tension when raking so you don' put as much wear on the picks.

[Errah]

Thanks for the advice everyone.