Best pick

[Tutrigo]

I know there are a lot of different picking and tension tools and you need to use different tools each ocasion etc.
But, I want to start picking, I'm a really newbie in this thing and I don't want to buy a set of tools or something like this.
So I searched in websites and found that the best site for me would be SouthOrd.
I'll buy only two picks + the tension wrench.
One pick, of course, will be the Hook and Double Ended Tension Tool (all of them in Euro style).
The question is: wich other pick should I buy? I want something that I can open most of the locks and padlocks.

And one more question: I'm in doubt about Brazilian locks, their pins are upside down (pins put up in the lock) and because of that I don't know if is there a difference of size too.
So I'm gonna buy all of my picks in Euro style, but if my pick is too small for the lock, will the pick still work?


Thanks.



viewtopic.php?f=8&t=44087

[Riordian]

Exellent question for someone who don't want to spend too much money on start. My answer is: It depends. A hook pick can virtually open all pin tumbler locks. From here you may find out that diferent lengths and different lenght of bends of hook picks exist and each person has his/her own prefference. Appart from that some prefer hook picks with different tips: rounded, flat and diamond (pointed). Basicly If you are only interested in pin tumblers (at least for start) a hook pick and a tension wrench are all you need. As you may already found there are warded locks, waffer, double sided waffer locks and many more. The question is: Are you interested in pin tumpler locks only for start? If yes i suggest a rake pick like a half diamond or snake rake, to find which tenchique suits you better, Pin-by-pin or Raking?

[Engineer]

Riordian is absolutely spot-on!

I personally don't get such good results from raking, but so many people do, that you really must have a rake as a second pick, to find if raking is your most effective method?

We all have a "preferred" method of picking, one that just seems to work for us. I'm a little unusual in that for me, it is SPP (Single Pin Picking). SPP is also one of the best methods for familiarising yourself with each pin in a lock, as you pick each pin seperately. However the rakers will open locks faster than I can... So I tend to rake the simple locks and SPP the more difficult ones, as that is what I have found works best for me - But you can never know what will work best for you, until you try.

Of the rakes, the half-diamond (or diamond as it is often known) is perhaps the most popular, so I guess that is because for most people, it is what works the best for them.

So I personally would recommend a double-ended tesnsion wrench, a hook and a diamond as a basic starter set to see if picking is for you? Good luck!

[Olson Burry]

I agree with the above and will add, the half diamond is not just a rake. It is probably the most universal pick out there. I use it to SPP almost exclusively and use hook picks for practise and when I come across a high/low pin combination that the diamond struggles to reach.

I think you will do well with your choices.

[Tutrigo]

Thanks you guys. ^^
By the way, I always see in pictures people SPPing starting by the last pin...
Does this have exceptions?
It's easier from the first pin -> last pin.

[Engineer]

Absolutely yes!

The reason it is usually easier to start from the back is if you have a short pin you have to lift very high and it is hiding behind a long pin you only have to lift a little, you tend to lift the long pin too high in your attempt to lift the short pin behind it high enough.

So starting at the back is usually easiest and it is the way I notmally tackle a lock - However there is a thing called "binding order" which you can search for on the group as it's been covered many times. What this says is that when they make a lock, they try to drill all the holes for the pins in perfectly straight and vertical lines, but machines cannot be absolutely perfect and so they mis-align the hole by absolutely minute amounts, but that is just enough for us to be able to pick them.

Now it is actually that sequence of holes that determines how you pick a lock, it the pin at the front binds first, then you have to pick that front pin, no-matter how much you might want to pick the back pin. Only where two pins are binding at almost the same time, do you have much coice in which pin to pick first!

So generally it is best to pick from the back, but don't worry as many times the imperfections in the lock that make up the binding order, will force you to pick in a different order.

I personally usually start at the back and work towards the fron, going backwards and forwards like that, until I have them all and the lock opens.

[Olson Burry]

With a hook it could be said it is easier to start at the back (last pin) and move it towards the front to test the pins and find the binding order. With a half diamond, you can push it forwards under the pins easier because of the sloped front.

After you find the binding pin and pick it you can repeat the process. There is no set order for picking a lock, although once the picking order is found for particular lock, under normal circumstances it will stay that way. Reversing the tension usually reverses the picking/binding order.

Hope that helps.

[freakparade3]

This is one of those questions like "What is your favorite star?". Everyone has their own opinions and what works best for them. Personally, a set of Bogota's is all I need for most locks. When I go on a lockout knowing it's a basic house lock they are the only ones I take.