Why can I only pick padlocks?

[joestay]

I am having trouble picking an American Lock padlock.

[rerun]

@Solomon- Your advice has been of great help and I want to thank you again. Thank you. Since I read Schlage locks can be slightly more difficult to pick, I went out and bought a Brinks high security deadbolt. Taking most of your advice into consideration I have been able to pick this lock a dozen times, using the very slightest of tension to set each pin one at a time. After having built some confidence with the Brinks lock I moved onto my Schlage and was able to open it 3 times. I have to admit though, one of those times I believe was pure luck.

As far as my picking style goes(the lever-like motion) I have in fact broken a rake this way, so I make sure to be extra gentle while employing this method. I'd like to hear more feedback from others on how they SPP and if the lever style is just a bad idea all around, seeing as how I have made great strides using this approach. Thank you again for this great community and all the great responses.

[ww85]

I am having trouble picking an American Lock padlock.

American locks are pretty difficult to pick. They tend to have security pins for all of the pins, top and bottom. This makes picking them very difficult. You will get false sets if you aren't careful and using very little tension.

Don't feel bad, I also learned this the hard way.

Try a different lock, and come back to the American once you've gotten the hang of single pin picking locks without security pins and then locks with only one or two security pins.