Gun vs manual picks?

[drivinglock]

So I have a BPG-10 gun and am curious if I should get a set of picks. The gun works wonderfully but it is loud. I guess that doesnt matter but it is annoying plus I think manual picks could be fun but do they take forever? is it a lot faster using the gun? I just started messing with locks around the house so I dont know a whole lot but im willing to learn.

[Solomon]

I think manual picks could be fun but do they take forever?

Hi drivinglock, welcome to the forum! It'll take a while to get good with them, yes... how long it takes to pick a lock manually depends on your skill and experience, and of course the lock itself. Some people pick it up within a couple of weeks, others take a lot longer. It's definately a lot of fun though so stick around, ask questions and most importantly enjoy yourself!

And remember this... a wise man once said, "the more you pick the more you open - and the more you open, the more you pick". Truer words have never been spoken.

[drivinglock]

haha well thank you very much for that advice.

[Raymond]

In comparing "picking" to just opening a lock with a gun I offer the following comparison. Would you take the bus if you could enjoy driving? Would you buy a new car when the old one runs out of gas? Why open the door if you can climb in/out the window? Why stop to smell the flowers if you can just buy a can of floral scented odor?

The real answer depends on your purpose and need. If you need the lock 'turned' so it can be taken apart to rekey, then anything that is time-cost efficient is OK. If 'picking' is your hobby and passion then put away the gun and make some real picks.

[dallalama]

In comparing "picking" to just opening a lock with a gun I offer the following comparison. Would you take the bus if you could enjoy driving? Would you buy a new car when the old one runs out of gas? Why open the door if you can climb in/out the window? Why stop to smell the flowers if you can just buy a can of floral scented odor?

The real answer depends on your purpose and need. If you need the lock 'turned' so it can be taken apart to rekey, then anything that is time-cost efficient is OK. If 'picking' is your hobby and passion then put away the gun and make some real picks.

wise words indeed Raymond ,you have inspired me ,back to the man cave to fire up the dremal, after i have a cup of tea

[globallockytoo]

why is the noise annoying? it is a tool especially designed for use by professionals in the course of their job, so noise is irrelevant.

Why would you need no noise? (my curious suspiscious and sinister mind at work)

[Kellycook]

Well in the manual one's , the sound is said to be annoying

[Solomon]

Well in the manual one's , the sound is said to be annoying

Other way round, genius. And it's only annoying if you're snapping away at locks all day in your house... they're not made for hobbyists.

[motherboardlove]

I don't want to insult anyone, but my personal view is that automatic and/or manual picks are for those that don't have the skill to use manual picks. The exception is, of course, when you don't have enough skill and need to open the lock quickly.

[Solomon]

I don't want to insult anyone, but my personal view is that automatic and/or manual picks are for those that don't have the skill to use manual picks. The exception is, of course, when you don't have enough skill and need to open the lock quickly.

I bought one recently to play with... actually takes some getting used to. Believe it or not there is some skill to it, not nearly as much as SPP obviously but there is a learning curve. I'd say the better you are at picking, the quicker you'd get the hang of it. Handing one to a complete newbie with basic instructions would only get them so far. I've found there are 4 things you need in order to open a lock with one, and if you get just one of them wrong, the lock won't open:

1. The needle has to be parallel to the pins, making light contact but not actually pushing them upwards. You also have to be careful not to insert it too far otherwise you'll be striking the back of the lock - and if my physics is right, then a good deal of the energy which is supposed to be transferred to the pins will be lost. If you just stick it all the way in, you'd need to increase the snap to compensate and I'm certain this would eventually lead to broken needles. Being able to judge how far to insert it is important in my opinion.

2. The needle must be angled correctly to make proper contact with the pins, otherwise you'll just be striking against the warding.

3. You need to use feather light tension on the plug, I'm talking hardly any at all here. If you use too much tension then at least one pin is gonna be binding and it'll take more snaps for those ones to reach the shear line. And the more you snap, the more you risk oversetting something. Especially if you're bouncing the tension like a madman. Basically the less tension you use, the less snaps it takes... assuming you have everything else right anyway. And lemme tell ya, it can be tricky holding such light tension consistently while you're pulling on a springy trigger with your other hand

4. You sometimes have to adjust the snap tension for the lock; if all the other factors are in place but the snap just isn't high enough to overcome the spring bias, you're not gonna get anywhere. It's important to know when, and by how much. Too low and the drivers won't clear the shear line, too high and before long you'll have broken locks and a pick gun shaped coffin.

I'm not saying that sticking the tension up about 1/4 and clicking away while bouncing the tension like a crazy person won't yield results, cos it will... it's just not professional and your success rate will be dramatically lower than if you put some concentration into it.

[meastabrook]

i use a manual pick gun because im a locksmith by trade and its nice to be able to do open ups quickly expecially when its busy, sometimes one doesnt have time to manual pick

[corey2444]

Manual picking is like being a baseball player. You get on a hot streak and then all the sudden you can't seem to pick anything and like a baseball player you tell yourself to "go back to the basics". At least that's how I see it anyway.

In other words, it requires CONSTANT practice.

[lockpickfan]

I think it's a hard question.

I like the manual picks mutch better, cause I'm a hobby lockpicker, and want to picking in my free time, collect the informations from the locks, and I think there is no better way than SPP.

But if someone is a Locksmith, he needs to open a locks and doors fast, and te guns and bump keys are faster methods than SPP ( I have some locks what opened faster with rake ).

BUT you need to learn how to use this tools for the "good work", with the picks and the pick gus too.

Best Regards:
Lockpickfan

ps: ( sorry for my bad english... )

[alfordclinton]

I've been practicing my unlock skills to maintain their recently noted that its scattershot. Sometimes, I can choose a 5-pin tumbler lock in a few seconds, several times in a row, and then one day I can not pick all.In several cases, I had to rake pick the lock, then open the remaining challenges are In way.This to several different 5-pin lock. So I recently picked considering buying a gun, that they are faster and provide more consistent results.

[I've deleted your other spam posts but I'll leave this one here as it's the only one that seems to be remotely on-topic. Please remove your commercial website signature link or risk a ban. --Legion303]

[timy]

professionally the speed of opening a lock and least amount fuss wins, if you get paid $100 bucks to open a door you don't want to be standing around hand picking, you wont eat!! Hand pick in a controlled environment where you have time and no pressure from a customer eagerly waiting saying stuff like, " they do it faster in the movies!"