Getting stuck when no pins are binding

[girderland]

Hi Lockpicking101 members!
I just joined your community.Great Job on the Beginners Guide! I learned lockpicking with it. After some additional research about "binding pins" and the purchase of a lockpicking set, I already managed to pick a heavy german Abus lock several times! However, I found 5 Abus locks in our garage, they're the same, they all have just one same key. Anyway, I managed to open one in 20, then 30, and finally 2 minutes. But I can only open that one of them. With the other ones, there is the problem that just 3 of 5 pins are binding and can be fixated. I always get stuck with 2 pins, raise the tension, but still no binding. what to do in this case?

I also got in this situation once: the last pin was binding at the same moment as the first. If I lower the pressure I can press down one, but I have to raise the tension to keep it down. However the other one cant be manipulated then. If I lower tension again, I can press the one down, but then the other one jumps up. Is there a trick to avoid this?

[Viggs]

When no pins are binding, it means you've overlifted at least one pin (a botton pin is stuck above the shear line). One of the most important tings to pay attention to is "pin state." It's crucial that you develop the ability to move through each pin-stack in the lock and determine it's state. When you apply pressure to an overlifted pin, it feels "spongey" or "smooshey." That's because you're taking the spring towards its absolute limit (actually straining it).

Sometimes, the indication that a pin-stack has been broken (lifted to shear) is unbelievably subtle. If you continue pushing, you overlift the stack and screw the whole picking attempt. Overlifting is a HUGE problem. And it helps a lot, to have hook-picks of several different heights to avoid overlifting in locks with extremely low key-cuts.

[girderland]

So I just have to be more gentle with the pins until I can feel if they're in the right position.
Thanks!

Is it also possible that a lock is like, broken? The pins are all stuck in one of the locks, there's only one pin jumping back to it's original destination. It can still be opened with a key, but the pins just don't get back to their place. Strange, if there's just one pin working properly shouldnt it be a piece of cake opening it? However, the locks seem to be 20 years old, maybe I should get some new ones...

[FarmerFreak]

If the key still works, then the lock isn't broken. Seeing only one pin drop down all the way doesn't make it easy to pick. The other pins are probably moving down just enough past the shear line to prevent turning.

Usually this problem can be fixed with a lubricant. If you plan on taking it apart and cleaning it I would recomend WD-40, It is very good at getting things to move properly. But usually doesn't make a good long term lube. Other wise I would use something like Lock saver, or possibly graphite. That just depends on which one I have readily available, and which one I think will help that specific lock at that time. (If a lock is completely dry use graphite, if I think the lock has had a wet lube before use Lock Saver/WD-40)