Is Raking considered cheating?

[TeamSherman]

Hi guys,

I have a stubborn lock that refuses to open by picking alone of which does tend to open
by finishing it off with a rake.

Is this considered the easy way out or are locksports enthusiasts under the thought that
however you get it open is good enough??

Every other lock I own I can pick no problems and to mix it up I use the rake on occasion too.

So yeah, are we all focused on the end result or more about how we get there?

Cheers,

Alan.

[GWiens2001]

Maybe I am just more pragmatic than some, but I feel that raking is not cheating. My goal is to open the lock (non-destructively).

Gordon

[Ian_425]

I can’t speak for the true pros on this forum, but I can’t say I would consider it cheating, but I also wouldn’t consider it straight picking either. It just depends on what level of proficiency you would to get to in lock picking. Straight picking is all about individual pin manipulation, tension, binding order, etc.

If you want to get better, I would keep practicing on that lock with just picks and no rakes until you can pick it flawlessly every time, then find a more difficult lock and keep practicing.

[TeamSherman]

If you want to get better, I would keep practicing on that lock with just picks and no rakes until you can pick it flawlessly every time, then find a more difficult lock and keep practicing.

I have about 10 padlocks now that I can pick without rakes every time. Anytime I got to discount stores or hardware chains (Bunnings for the aussies here) I buy a $5-10 lock to play with. Most of them I pick under 10 seconds so now I think I’ll have to increase the padlock budget up to $15-20 each time to get some better quality practice in. I can always sell them on Facebook marketplace once I’m done with them.

[Ian_425]

What brands of padlocks are you buying? Some padlocks are expensive but don’t increase the challenge (certain master locks cost a decent chunk of change, but are still master locks). I would also look at buying some deadbolts for doors of different key ways, and maybe learn how to re-key locks so that you can change them and make them more difficult without having to buy a new lock every time.

[Sleutelboertje]

I think raking is also a way to open. So no, not cheating.
But if you want to learn to pick, know and feel what is going on inside, now the sequence, you have to pick each pin. Only raking is nice and opens sometimes a lock but you don’t learn anything.

[Hippo_vibrations]

I wholeheartedly agree with Sleutelboertje;

I think raking is also a way to open. So no, not cheating.
But if you want to learn to pick, know and feel what is going on inside, now the sequence, you have to pick each pin. Only raking is nice and opens sometimes a lock but you don’t learn anything.

In my perspective, raking is not cheating, or at least not any more than all of lock picking is. In my mind the setting of the "game" is that there is a lock, and the goal is to open it without breaking anything. The "rules" state that you should put in a key and turn: if (and only if) you have the right key the lock opens and you win. In this scenario the whole magical and beautiful art of lock picking is to ask how to win if you ignore the rules, i.e. how to cheat. From this perspective saying "raking is cheating, you are supposed to be in total control and feel the state of the lock all the time" is almost like saying "lock picking is cheating, you are supposed to use the key".

On the other hand I also believe that raking is not as educational as picking pin by pin. If I teach someone to only rake locks, they will often be able to open (cheap) locks relatively quickly, but when the lock doesn't open they have probably no idea why and they have to give up. On the other hand if you learn to pick pin by pin even failures will (often) give you some idea what is going on inside the lock and you will have a better chance of figuring out something new to try. (Also, if you know how to pick locks pin by pin you will learn how to rake after someone shows you once.)

Finally, there have been times where I've only been able to rake but not pick a lock open, and even though I did 'win' since the lock opened and I got a lot of praise (I was demonstrating to my dad that his padlock is not safe and raking actually made it even more impressive since it took me less than 5 seconds on the first try to rake while picking took me several attempts over a few days) but I did feel annoyed until I was able to pick it pin by pin. Winning in locks always feels good but for me it feels even better when I feel that there was no lock involved, only skill.

[GWiens2001]

for me it feels even better when I feel that there was no lock involved, only skill.

OK, Hippo. I gotta razz you. Picking is ALWAYS easier when "there was no lock involved, only skill". Sort of like playing air guitar instead of a real guitar.

Certainly more challenging and requires more skill when there is an actual lock involved.

Gordon

[Hippo_vibrations]

for me it feels even better when I feel that there was no lock involved, only skill.

OK, Hippo. I gotta razz you. Picking is ALWAYS easier when "there was no lock involved, only skill". Sort of like playing air guitar instead of a real guitar.

Certainly more challenging and requires more skill when there is an actual lock involved.

Gordon

Haah! I hadn't even realized what I'd wrote

I've seen some air guitar contests, and I wouldn't say no to participating to an "air lock picking" contest in some not too serious of an event

(As a side note, if lock picking ever became a topic in schools, I could imagine the classes at my old high school starting with "Well children, we can't actually afford locks for all of you to practice on, but pick up your picks and try to follow the motions I am doing with the lock here in front...")

[GWiens2001]

for me it feels even better when I feel that there was no lock involved, only skill.

OK, Hippo. I gotta razz you. Picking is ALWAYS easier when "there was no lock involved, only skill". Sort of like playing air guitar instead of a real guitar.

Certainly more challenging and requires more skill when there is an actual lock involved.

Gordon

Haah! I hadn't even realized what I'd wrote

I've seen some air guitar contests, and I wouldn't say no to participating to an "air lock picking" contest in some not too serious of an event

(As a side note, if lock picking ever became a topic in schools, I could imagine the classes at my old high school starting with "Well children, we can't actually afford locks for all of you to practice on, but pick up your picks and try to follow the motions I am doing with the lock here in front...")

Gordon

[stratmando]

"Haah! I hadn't even realized what I'd wrote "


Say, Hippo, You probably wrote Lock, I have to Proof read after Auto correction done thinking it knew what I was saying. Was writing to someone, I kept saying Microfarads, it kept changing to Microamps?

While talking about cheating, I would assume most pickers seeing the actual key is Cheating. I do.