How much force is correct to Single pick

[Raffles101]

The reason i ask this is after watching youtube videos like Bosnian Bill i think sometimes a lot. Many time i see his hands shake in effort to push a pin up. I may be wrong. But sometimes a lot of force is done. This leads me to think buying expensive picks is well expensive if they bend or break in effort applied. I know every lock is different but im trying to discover if some folk can do SPP without force. Or is it the close up video shots making it look as though he's exerting a lot of force. Some people say he breaks a lot of picks. Maybe he applies more tension. Any thoughts on this?

[Raffles101]

Ps. I bought a Peterson hook and it was bent in one hour. Hence the question..

[Silverado]

You shouldn't have to use so much force as to bend a Peterson. As far as the appearance of BBill's hand shaking as he lifts a pin...that'd be a question to ask him.
I'd bet he's not forcing so hard that his hand is shaking, he's probably gently lifting and wiggling his hand to work the driver pin through the shear line.
You don't need to use so much tension that you have to pry the pins through the shear line. A little pressure to get them to start binding, and a little pressure to slide them up until the driver pops up out of your way.

[Raffles101]

Ah so its wiggling. THats not what i thought of. I thought it was just upwards pressure needed. Thanks.

[Ralph_Goodman]

To add to the point on handshaking: Delicate and small movements can lead to shaky hands.

You have to have the hands of a surgeon to complete intricate tasks with fine tools.

So even if you don't want to wiggle the pins, sometimes hands shake.

[Raffles101]

Yes i was wondering if it was that. Sometimes it looks like he is pushing upwards quite hard. Is this normal?

[indigoalpha6]

ime it's about balance. you gotta balance core tension with lifting force. for me I'll go a little heavy on serrated pins just to feel/hear the clicks well enough to get a set. on spools I'll go a little less and go for equilibrium between counter rotation and lift -to the point where you can actually see-saw back and forth if that makes sense.

as far as BB's shaking goes, really couldn't say much other then it could be just plain fatigue. having said that, i've held down tension on a core for 45 minutes solid without too much effort. maybe conditioning or a relaxed technique and comfortable tools makes it easier. some pickers go at it with hands of ham and others are surgeons.

[Ralph_Goodman]

Yes i was wondering if it was that. Sometimes it looks like he is pushing upwards quite hard. Is this normal?

I wouldn't worry about normal right now. Just focus on finding something that works.

In cases where you are pushing pins up slowly (trying to be gentle enough not to over set anything), hands can begin to shake. Slow movement with shaking can look a lot like heavy pressure.

When it comes to Bill, he often talks about how heavy handed he is and how often he breaks picks. This could be due to how often he is picking or how rough he is with the picks in the lock. It does not necessarily have to do with upwards force on SPPing.

It is certainly not required to use a lot of force on every lock. Some people use the finess of a butterfly's wing and can open most locks.

Again, you should be focusing more on the lock. Be conscious of what you are doing so that you can gauge the factors of a successful opening. Try and give each lock what it needs rather than try to make your predetermined style work with every lock.

[Raffles101]

Thanks guys.

Does fatigue set in and this makes your picking worse. Ive noticed i get frustrated very quickly. Say i cant find the pin that is preventing unlock. I start getting firmer.

Over setting is i think my main problem. Its very easy to do. Im thinking im heavy handed but when i loosen up my senses are improved.

How do you stop getting frustrated

[Silverado]

You have to train yourself to keep cool and ignore your frustration. View the entire experience as an adventure instead of simply a means to an end. You're exploring each and every facet of the lock just a hiker explores his trail. Enjoy each moment for what it is, an experience, instead of trying to rush to the end. Once you're at the end, the experience is over and you have to find something new. Learn from every mistake just as you'd learn from every different thing you stop to look at when you're on a leisure walk or hike.

Best way I can explain it, it's kind of philosophical and "deep" but I think it's a logical approach to defeating the frustration you feel when the lock doesn't fall open to your hungry gaze.

[indigoalpha6]

Thanks guys.

Does fatigue set in and this makes your picking worse. Ive noticed i get frustrated very quickly. Say i cant find the pin that is preventing unlock. I start getting firmer.

Over setting is i think my main problem. Its very easy to do. Im thinking im heavy handed but when i loosen up my senses are improved.

How do you stop getting frustrated

re: fatigue, It can at first but over time you will develop both endurance and technique and will be able to move through projects easier.

re: over setting, in the second part of your sentence, you seem to have the answer -less force, more feel. also consider reverse picking. with this technique you can find the "ceiling" of your pins so to speak and also deal with over sets individually as they occur.

re: frustration. a) set a time limit for each session, b) finish each session with an achievement like a false set, one more set pin then last time, etc.. c) prog pin the lock and go back to steps a and b. lock picking is supposed to be fun not a beat down. in a year or sooner you will be ripping through hi-sec locks like tossing back shots with only group 1 safe locks left to conquer!

[Raffles101]

Thanks

What is reverse picking im intrigued?

[jimu57]

Most starting out use too much tension on the tension wrench which can lead to bending and breaking picks.

[Raffles101]

Thanks Jimu. The only reason ive applied more tension is ive read its easier to spot the binding pin. I must learn to ease off after this.Yes. This is probably why. But i think i should have used a cheapie to practice with

[indigoalpha6]

Thanks

What is reverse picking im intrigued?

i'm not the best at explaining stuff but technically it's an overlift attack more centered towards lever locks. basically jam all of the levers up as far as they will go and tension the bolt. remove pick and slowly release tension and in theory and hopefully in practice while "nudging' the bolt, the levers will drop back down to the correct break.

i use the technique a little differently for pin tumblers though. there's two ways to go:
1) if you've overset a pin, take your pick and place it under that pin. slowly relax tension and guide that pin back down to somewhere useful -shear, false set etc...
2) poke your pick all the way to the back of the lock and like a lever, release some tension and catch that pin with the shaft of the pick and lower it down to somewhere useful. also helps blocking "droppers" as well.