Problems with the last pin...

[IgnorantSentient]

I'm a semi-newb to lock picking and I just got a new set and have moved from practice with 2 or 3 pins to normal locks. I have tried on my front door which is a standard 5 pin lock and can get most of the pins up, but often get stuck on the last one.

My method: I'll rake the lock and get usually 3 up, give or take one. I'll just pick the last couple, but get stuck on the last one. The reason is that the tension is too great and I have not mastered torque strength or real picking techniques. I was wondering if there are any tricks to getting the last pin.

I've gotten all of them up and successfully picked the lock, though by my own admission, it was by accident.

thanks for all your help!

[Krypos]

I have tried on my front door

ok. thats the first problem you have encountered. you cannot pick your front door lock. sometimes while picking (particularly if you're new) you will do something and it CAN mess up the lock, leaving you stuck either a) inside b) outside or c) with the door stuck open and you have to go get an new lock.

this can happen. i messed up one of my practice locks by not knowing what could* happen and had to manually repin it. (and i had to learn how to repin...the hard way. i didnt mean to have to repin it, so i got a self taught crash course.)

well, teh first thing to do is stop raking. (sounds odd i know) but it will do you loads better to learn how to single pin pick first. this is the basics of picking and so you must learn to crawl before you learn to walk, etc. so learn to single pin pick using DB's beginner exercise. do a search for it if you dont already know what it is.

just follow his exercise and then you will (or shouldnt) have any problems with any back forward or middle pins at all....then you learn to rake better.

[keytonothing00]

I was having the same problem(with a 3 pin though) and the problem turned out to be I was using too much tension. It seemed that for my lock all I needed was about the weight of my fingers on it, more than that was too much.

[pinsetter]

The reason is that the tension is too great and I have not mastered torque strength or real picking techniques. I was wondering if there are any tricks to getting the last pin.

Well, the REAL trick to getting the last pin would be to keep practicing until you do have a good understanding of torque pressure and picking technique. I will not say "mastered" it, because that's gonna take a LONG time.

A couple of other things that could possibly help if you're suffering from Heavy Hand Syndrome:

Use a tension wrench with a flex twist in the handle, or even a feather touch tension wrench. These will both limit the torque transferred to the plug.

Other than that, make an effort to be easy with the pick. Think of the parts you are working with. The pins and springs are TINY. The force required to bind a pin is MINIMAL, as is the force to move it provided it's not hanging on a spool lip or serration. If either of those is the case, then you have to learn how to reverse the plug rotation just enough to squeeze the pin on through. You should NEVER have to apply a lot of force to the pick.

The only other advice I can offer is that sometimes a pin just will not bind if other pins are not correctly set. For instance, pin stack 4 may not bind at all until stacks 1,3,and 5 are set, then 4 will bind, but not until. This hypothetical lock would have a binding order of 1-3-5-4-2. So if you *thought* you had stacks 1,3,& 5 set but you had actually over lifted stack 5, then stack 4 still would not bind. I personally use these non-binding pins as a measure of my progress. I generally know when thay start binding that I've gotten other pins set right, or at least false set.

It all comes from practice and experience though.

[illusion]

Remember that the longer your wrench is, the more turning force is exerted even with the same ammount of effort. If you've ever used a pole to move something, and have used a fulcrum, you'll find it hard to move the object if the pole is short, but making it longer makes it much easier to move.

Make a shorter tension wrench - you won't lose feel and they are handy to just keep around. I have some long wrenches that require little force hanging around for this single purpose.

[DeadlyHunter]

warning -you should not pick your door lock to practice unless you plan on replacing the lock in the very near future

[Kaotik]

As explained by the other members: Do Not pick locks you depend/rely on.

Secondly, try figuring out which pin you have difficulty setting and set that pin first, then work on the others Pin by pin, if that pin is a security pin it will be out of the way and the other pins should set easily.

Hope that helps.