Thin "springy" wire picks?

[boxtool5]

Over the holidays I had a failed attempt at making a pick out of .030" SS 316L mig wire. It wasn't really a fail (I did learn a few things), I was just sitting on the couch with some pliers, scrap wire from my toolbox and I did a crappy job with 2 minutes and little effort. Then, I didn't feel like going to the garage for more wire to try and make a better one.

After, I did have about 3 inches of wire left and I bent a lopsided "M" in it at one end and a loop (for holding) at the other end and tried to pick a lock with it.....It failed too, the wire is very flexible/springy and couldn't counter the force of the springs in my cheap no name "WR5" practice lock. Then, I remembered my see through practice locks and their weak springs. This thing worked like a charm, 3 or 4 fast back & forth rakes (with very light wrench tension) & the locks practically fell open. I could insert the wire horizontally bend it nearly 90 degrees to increase the force on the pins and, zip, zip, open. Almost every time, rarely takes more than 5-10 seconds, sometimes 2 or 3 seconds.

Perhaps this won’t help my SPP picking skills, but I do think it improved my understanding of lighter (& differing/varying) wrench tension. Maybe most of all, I really felt the incremental rotation, as pins were set. I could also tell when I needed to relax the tension when 1 or 2 remaining pins needed less friction to move.

I’m not sure if others have seen or tried “non rigid picks”, I realize it may seem like a “less skill required” method. I am choosing to see it as a learning experience and another tool for the toolbox. Maybe it'll end up being the right tool for certain circumstances.

I’ll still practice and try to “master SPP”, but I am intrigued by this accidental discovery and want to explore “picks with some flexibility and give”. I am thinking I could zero in on a set of picks with just enough strength to lift/set the pins and just weak enough to limit over setting….

Next I might experiment with some thicker music wire, maybe .045” & 0.60” diameter(or .040 & 0.050?) and go from there. I can either sand/grind the sides thinner or try cold forming (hammering) them flat? Maybe heat treatment to alter the properties too?

I am interested to hear people's thoughts and anxious to move onto the next wacky idea/discovery.

[GWiens2001]

It really is not a “less skill required” technique. Raking, done correctly, can be scary fast. But it does take practice to get it right.

Tension is one of the hardest things to get right when picking. Getting to that fine line of very light tension can help a lot with many locks. It is harder with spring tension plugs like many padlocks as you must apply enough tension to counter the plug/locking dog spring and still be light enough for picking. Sidebar locks are also tricky to tension if you are trying for ultra light tension on the pins.

Gordon

[boxtool5]

So I have continued to work on this. Learning a bit more I discovered what I had made was a "two peak" finger rake. Though I am not sure how "springy" those are and they appear to be for smaller type locks.
I have made a sturdier double wire version with sliding stabilizer/tension adjuster and it works. I have made a few and they work (not all for all locks).
Still in the ugly 1/4 dowel handle prototype stage, but I am surprised how well and how fast they work.
I will post pictures at some point and maybe consider a video....