Finally did my first

[ForFun]

Up until this morning I had been practicing with a lock held in my hand and the end of the tension tool against my palm
I decided to try my backdoor deadbolt. Took about 5 minutes with a hook pick. Nothing could be more encourageing.
Finding the pin that is draging is still difficult for me and half the time I don't know what pin I'm on.
I thought of putting scribe marks on the side of a pick so I could tell what pin I'm on but I'm not sure it really matters. What seems most important to me right now is to get the feel for the binding pin.
How addicting is lockpicking????? Can you get hooked after one pick fix???
I'm starting to get a collection of locks.
ForFun Dennis

[Eyes_Only]

Congrats for making the move up to more difficult locks. But most people here will tell you not to pick locks you rely on because there is a possibility of screwing it up after you've picked it numerous times. Get yourself that collection of practice locks soon so you won't be tempted to pick locks you use. I've made that mistake before and I'm sure many of us have in the beginning.

Putting marks on your pick to mark the position of the pin stack is an exercise in futility in my opinion because the spacing on most locks are different so just cos it works on a kwikset lock doesn't mean it'll work a yale all the time. Besides it's much better to be able to learn how to feel for individual pins anyways.

And yeah, lockpicking is extremely addicting. For many of us that all we thing about day in and day out.

[freakparade3]

Follow the exercise on this link. It will help you get the feel fir what pin is binding.

viewtopic.php?t=10677http://www.lockpicking101.com/viewtopic.php?t=10677

[raimundo]

dont scratch the pick, this will create a flaw that will concentrate force on this weak area, just put the pick alongside a typical key and put some of your girlfriends nail polish on the part of the shaft that is closer to the handle than a five pin key blade. this will help you to keep from going too deep. the polish will wear off eventually, and it will wear off the functional end if you put it there, so put it on the unused part of the shaft.

About using your palm for the tension, I think you should explore some different holding schemes, I hold a lock in my left hand between my thumb and three lesser fingers, and use the forefinger for the tension. this is a more sensitive feel than you are getting from your palm,
remember, the tensor is the more sensitive tool in picking.

[JackNco]

congratulations on the first one. and hes its VERY addictive. picks shoudl come with a warning.

"Picking locks causes RSI and Carcup tunnel syndrome"