Raking skill

[LocksmithArmy]

How much skill actually goes into raking...

many people say its just luck... is it

once you learn how to do it u just do it and hope it works

is SPP any better

ive found most of the decent pickers will us a combination of raking and SPP

rake for a sec and c what happenes and the tall which pins have not met the shear line and SPP those

also share your favorite pick to rake with

to date mine is the half diamond... but i have ordered some of raimundos bogotas to c how amazing they are

have fun all

[l0ckp1cker]

Luck would mean that it would sometimes work on a certain lock and other times it doesn't.
That's not true.
So skill, yes, I guess so.
Not all locks can be raked that easily and perhaps you need a little "luck" to try raking a lock with a bitting which would work well with raking.
I raked a ASSA Flexcore cylinder open in 4 seconds and the only reason why it sometimes takes a little longer is because it requires an exact amount of tension on the lock. So you could call it luck to use the right amount of tension, or simply skill.......

[Viggs]

How much skill actually goes into raking...

many people say its just luck... is it

I voted for "both" because there's skill involved in not overlifting pins. But there's luck because you don't totally know what's going on inside the lock. I never rake anything. And I probably should take the time to practice it. But, for me, raking is just a way throwing the "kitchen sink" at a lock when it has me stumped. And it actually pisses me off when it works, because I learn nothing from it.

[hydruh]

I think raking is good for the professionals, but not as much for the hobbyists. If you are in it to learn about the locks, what makes them tick, getting an to intimate level with the pins, etc. then single pin picking is what it is all about. Raking is fast and easy, so if you are getting paid, by the job, then raking would be the only way to go.

I rake a lock to make sure it will open (90% of the locks I own are used). Then I SPP it to start to learn about it. When I sit down to pick, I always rake all of the locks first, sit them down in front of me and think "wow, I am one baaad $#$%^*#$%", then promptly get my a$$ handed to me by trying to SPP them. Gets my ego in check again.

S

[ToolyMcgee]

A good ol' bogota beat down will open a lock, and since you are using a rake it is technically raking, but it is bad technique to rip or jam anything in and out of a lock so fast you can't feel what's going on. When you do that luck is all you got. Without some kind of input to process you can't hone a raking technique. Skilled raking is something that takes practice, but pick ripping and blind jiggling doesn't leave much room for improvement so it is chance. Since all lockpicking has some small element of luck involved I say consistent raking success has to be skill.

-Tooly

[MacGnG1]

i think its both but it does take some skill to do it well.

[Wizer]

I voted both, ´cause many cheap locks can be raked just by sticking something (bananas etc.) in the lock, but i´ve been toying with my latest buy, abus 85/40, for almost two weeks, popped it open by chance once, and got it constant just today. ...not yet picked it, but raked anyway!! so, a week ago it was luck, now its not.

[lock2006]

I will say both but it does take some skill to do it well not all locks will be able to be open by raking
my first Best lock 7 pins ever to open was by raking before i got it open SPP.