Your technique

[LP_Sean]

Usually, I only rake a lock to create a false set or if I'm extremely frustrated. Other than that I SPP, but use many different picks to do so such as half-diamond, hook, snake, and my first created pick which is sometimes better than the hook. The tip is a roughly just a 45 degree angle cut.

[Archive555]

I usually use a half diamond, flat tension wrench, and very little tension. I've ran in to some four sided safe locks that I had to rake one side at a time while inserting a second wrench in another side, raking that one and so on. The lock looked like this + as did the key. And all four sides were cut different. Took a couple minutes but I got that sucker. The way I see it, it's a matter of how you learn, and what gives you the best feedback on the lock.

Happy Picking

I just got one of those locks for $2, what a score!
It's a Yale lock, but the bottom bit of the + doesn't have any pins in it.
The other 3 sides have 2 pins. I haven't picked it yet though, so I'm trying every technique I can.

[wolfie]

i never could get the feel for raking, so i usually just SPP my way through the locks O.o;

[jamie79512]

Being relatively new to lockpicking i have only managed to rake a lock. My horribly fashioned picks were not very effective and kinda discouraged me, im just now getting back into picking

[apb]

Normally I will start with this.

Start with top tension (light), clockwise. and rake slowly to see if the lock is susceptible to raking. This also may engage any security pins in the lock. If nothing there, I'll use the short hook, starting from the back of the lock moving to the front trying to set pins. If I get no binding response from the last pin, I'll try the first pin and see if it is binding. If the lock looks like it will turn counterclockwise, I'll start all over from scratch going in the opposite direction. Effective raking can help locate any security pins and let you zero in on them for your SPP technique at which point you will need to know the basic of picking spool or serrated pins.

It seems a lot of people on this thread do not like raking.

le.nutzman has a very good post for raking as a technique for beginners. A lot of people like to rake the pins fast, but in his method he rakes slowy. I have found this technique to be very effective especially if you have a bogota or W-rake.

[jamie79512]

would you happen to have a link for that raking tutorial? I searched and didn't find it

[thunerhair42]

I'm the biggest noob ever, but what is SPP?

[Safety0ff]

I'm the biggest noob ever, but what is SPP?

Single Pin Picking.

[thunerhair42]

Thanks, now a lot more of the posts make sense now.

[tors10]

Since I'm still trying to get a better "visual" of what is going on, I find it pretty useless to rake.

I can often get locks open, and I might (do) try it if I'm really trying to just get the thing open (Defcon points competition). Otherwise, I learn more by using a single pin pick.

Wow, I finally realized what SPP means. I understood the idea, but not the second p.

/facepalm

[apb]

would you happen to have a link for that raking tutorial? I searched and didn't find it

I may have to eat my words on this. I looked for it also and looked through le.nutzman's quotes and couldnt find it. It may be someone completely different but i thought he was the one who wrote about raking as a technique. Maybe I read it on one of those more Jack than Coke evenings. At any rate it was a good post IMHO. I don't rememer it word for word, but it was a fairly lengthy post, and in short, they say to use the rake slowly and deliberately feeling each pins from the back of the lock to the front, as opposed to the quick, fast method where it looks like someone is using the pick like a tooth brush on the pins as you see on countless youtube videos. This can work also, but this slower method has been pretty effective (for me at least). Light tension still stands as the baseline with this method though. To whoever wrote the original post I apologize, but can't find it.

[straightpick]

What do you have against raking? I always run a rake in three or four times first. This will show you the pins that bind easily. You want to pick those pins last. The key to picking is to find the pin that is hardest to bind and pick that pin first. Then you pick the next hardest to bind pin and so on. This way you are taking advantage of the locks tolerances. Each succeeding pin becomes easier to pick. If you have ever had a few pins pickes, and the next one you do causes one or more of the previously picked pins to drop, start over and pick that pin first. Raking is best used to open wafer tumbler locks. Applying a light tension and starting at the back of the lock you lift up and pull the rake out fairly quickly. You don't use it like a saw. This will open most wafer tumbler locks quickly.

[Jaakko]

What do you have against raking?

Because it is not a consistent method of opening locks.

[New-York-Locksmith]

I usually use a short hook or a small rake. I also prefer SSP and light tension. Somtimes i use my half hooks.

[Legion303]

what works best for me most of the time is the light touch, and light tension.

Quoted for emphasis. If you're breaking picks or wrenches, you're doing it wrong.

-steve