Picking vs. Raking

[Gelmar]

I recently got a new set of tools with a variety of raking tools inside. Before I got them all I had was a small snake (which proved mostly ineffective on my locks) and a feeler pick. With all the new raking tools I've discovered that raking will open most locks quicker than picking the pins individually.

With that new experience in mind. I would like to try to keep my lock picking skills balanced. I'm eager to know the advantages of raking or picking and in what case would I pick over rake and vice versa?

[Proctor]

Its easier to rake a lock open than to SPP it ( single pin pick ).

I would usually rake a lock open in front of my friends to show off..But in my own time to learn i usually SPP it..

[FFVison]

Raking is a quick way to open. In general, if you are going to be picking in the field where time is of the essence, you might wish to try this first. I have a KwikSet deadbolt which I can rake twice and it opens up. A lot of times, from what I have read though, people rake to get started and get some pins set properly. After that they go in with a short hook and finish the job.

In general, as a hobbyist, I tend to just stick to Single Pin Picking (SPP) as it allows me to get a better feel of the inside of the lock and I have better success with doing this than with raking alone. Raking is one tool that I would recommend learning if you are going to do this as a profession, but I have found that the SPP method is more rewarding. Not only is it more rewarding, but I think it gives you a better appreciation of what's going on in the lock. I think, especially if you are just starting out, that SPP will help you to feel what's going on in the lock and make you a better picker in general. If you start off by raking, you will get a better touch for what's going on in the lock and you will be better at picking in general.

After getting to know the locks that you have been picking, I would THEN recommend trying to rake them open, keeping in mind the inside feel of the locks. Once you have gotten a really good idea of how locks feel inside, you will find that raking might be effective, but SPP is very definitely a necessary skill when opening a LOT of locks. Practice that, then raking and you will not be disappointed.

If you want another analogy, think of SPP as walking and raking as running. You might be able to run on a very flat track and get there just fine, but you will find in a lot of cases, there are obstacles in the way preventing you from running, and you need to find a way to walk around them. Learn to walk and identify those obstacles, then learn to run, identify those obstacles, walk around them, and if need be, run the rest of the way.

Not sure if that was a rant, but ok, I'm done babbling now. Thanks for bearing with me.

[muskratt]

Raking is a quick way to open. In general, if you are going to be picking in the field where time is of the essence, you might wish to try this first. I have a KwikSet deadbolt which I can rake twice and it opens up. A lot of times, from what I have read though, people rake to get started and get some pins set properly. After that they go in with a short hook and finish the job.

In general, as a hobbyist, I tend to just stick to Single Pin Picking (SPP) as it allows me to get a better feel of the inside of the lock and I have better success with doing this than with raking alone. Raking is one tool that I would recommend learning if you are going to do this as a profession, but I have found that the SPP method is more rewarding. Not only is it more rewarding, but I think it gives you a better appreciation of what's going on in the lock. I think, especially if you are just starting out, that SPP will help you to feel what's going on in the lock and make you a better picker in general. If you start off by raking, you will get a better touch for what's going on in the lock and you will be better at picking in general.

After getting to know the locks that you have been picking, I would THEN recommend trying to rake them open, keeping in mind the inside feel of the locks. Once you have gotten a really good idea of how locks feel inside, you will find that raking might be effective, but SPP is very definitely a necessary skill when opening a LOT of locks. Practice that, then raking and you will not be disappointed.

If you want another analogy, think of SPP as walking and raking as running. You might be able to run on a very flat track and get there just fine, but you will find in a lot of cases, there are obstacles in the way preventing you from running, and you need to find a way to walk around them. Learn to walk and identify those obstacles, then learn to run, identify those obstacles, walk around them, and if need be, run the rest of the way.

Not sure if that was a rant, but ok, I'm done babbling now. Thanks for bearing with me.

well said FFVison, i dont think i could have said it better myself. one thing to add is that raking for security pins is not always effective. it is a good way to get a false set and then spp from there.

[Gelmar]

Thanks alot that helps. Thanks for the advice. I figured out that I need ssp for picking my front door which I think has security pins in it. The plug turns a significant amount when I pick it and pushes backwards when i push certain pins. I've yet to successfully open this one as its in an uncomfortable place to sit at for long periods of time. But I think with more ssp practice I'll be able to get it.

[Pintumbler]

As you begin picking, learn SPP first, it teaches you a lot about how the lock tolerances make picking possible, raking is more for fun, or speed. Raking should be a last resort. Some people like to Rake and then SPP, It's your game.

[Gordon Airporte]

Thanks alot that helps. Thanks for the advice. I figured out that I need ssp for picking my front door

There's a lot of info on the site to look over so it's easy to miss where it's mentioned, but we've found that it's really, really not a good idea to pick locks that are in use - particularly ones that you rely on as much as your front door. There are posts around with horror stories from people who disregarded this advice.

It's a much better idea to buy locks that are only for picking. Not least because you can sit on the nice comfy couch while you work on them .

[thelockpickkid]

With my short experience so far in lockpicking I have found that with certain locks I can always rake or spp, on some others for some reason I just can't get them with spp, and when I rake they open right up, for instance the abus that I had on my earlier post would not spp for nothing, but I can rake it open in less than 5 seconds now, and today, I raked it with a paper clip!! thats how easy it is! I have a master #1 and I can't rake it, but I can spp it in under a minute. Also different locks pick differently with different picks, try some other picks, I try not to get to comfortable with just a couple, I change it up a bit.

[elbarto]

In my experience raking is less effective on locks that have ugly high-low pincombinations, in which case SPP seems to be the obvious answer. I learnt to rake first like im sure alot of people have and I am in the process of picking up SPPing, although some SPP can sometimes be frustrating to someone like myself who is still on a steep learning curve.

[dougfarre]

Its easier to rake a lock open than to SPP it ( single pin pick ).

I would usually rake a lock open in front of my friends to show off..But in my own time to learn i usually SPP it..

I don't even know how to rake. I couldn't rake a lock open if I tried. But I guarantee I could SPP a lock open faster than it takes you to get your picks out of your case.

[Beyond]

I don't even know how to rake. I couldn't rake a lock open if I tried. But I guarantee I could SPP a lock open faster than it takes you to get your picks out of your case.

"Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence" - Carl Sagan

[Gelmar]

I have 3 kwiksets that I can only open by single pin picking them. for some reason they don't respond to raking quite so well. But i've found that almost all of my padlocks just melt open when I rake them. I have a 50mm Bell padlock that has a VERY satisfying clunking sound and jerk when it opens.

[cool-arrow]

I have 3 kwiksets that I can only open by single pin picking them. for some reason they don't respond to raking quite so well. But i've found that almost all of my padlocks just melt open when I rake them. I have a 50mm Bell padlock that has a VERY satisfying clunking sound and jerk when it opens.

Try the long ripple rake, or a rake like Raimundos.

[Gelmar]

Try the long ripple rake, or a rake like Raimundos.

I am unfamiliar with Raimundoss rakes.

[cool-arrow]

Try the long ripple rake, or a rake like Raimundos.

I am unfamiliar with Raimundoss rakes.

Go here
http://www.lockpicktools.com/images/europicks2-300.jpg

and you see that one all the way to the right. That is a copy similar to the original Raimundo Bogota rake. They call it a Euro Wave jiggler.