antaean3000 wrote:Forcing it is good if you needed to get it open fast because you lost your key.
If it locked myself out of the house i would rather force it then sit there and freeze.
Or if your car gets clamped you could pick that.
Being forceful and rough with the picks doesn't get anything done faster. It actually slows you down because you overset pins easily that way and have no control over what you're doing. You can also unset properly set pins, and damage them aswell. In an actual lockout situation you really should aim to be as gentle as possible because you will only make matters worse if you mess up your lock. Light raking is MUCH better... trust the people who have more experience.

And if your car gets clamped and your car mysteriously disappears leaving the clamp behind, they have your registration and will find you. HUGE fines... but I assume you were joking about that anyway.
antaean3000 wrote:I dont mean force upon the tenstion wrench i just mean putting the rake in and out in and out.
I can rake the lock i can use the diamon tool to rake the lock and i have also picked it by pushing each pin in to place. Iv mastere the master lock with the above methods.
I find it works better if you put a few drops of oil in the lock otherwise sometimes it can be a bit.
Iv opened it so many times that the key would no longer open it so then i had to oil it and everything worked just fine even the key and the picks.
Iv ordered a jack knife and also some warded picks too.
Doesn't matter if you're light with the tension or not, going heavy with the pick is just as bad. Even speed raking is gentle and somewhat controlled. Lubrication can help sometimes but if the lock hasn't been outdoors for years there is rarely any need for it. What kind of oil are you using?
And if your key stopped working because of picking that's a clear sign that you're doing something wrong. Not sure how oil fixed it, but in future you may not be so lucky! Go easy with those picks mate, it doesn't get the job done any faster and this isn't about speed anyway, it's about understanding what you're doing. Speed comes with practice.
The jackknife is a cool little tool, but most will tell you that they're not the best for beginners. I'd agree with this in part, since the jackknife was the first pick set I ordered and I had no luck with it... but if you hold it the right way you'll get just as much feedback as you would with a standard pick. If you keep one of your fingers on the blade of the pick it helps a lot. Again, it's all to do with practice.
