#1 WORST habit of the newbie picker

[Emrys]

What do you guys think? I vote overtension, hands down.

[Solomon]

Everything you listed there is pretty much a result of lack of research. Because lack of research leads to improper understanding, and that's where all the problems stem from. So yeah, not a difficult vote for me.

Too much tension is a common problem, sure... but that itself is due to a lack of understanding. If you know that too much can make binding pins harder to set, and overset others, then you'll try your best not to do it. Because you can't force pins to do something they don't wanna do. You have to listen to them. Woo sah. People who understand the mechanism and what they're supposed to be doing properly, as opposed to "applying tension and setting pins", learn fairly quickly to adjust their tension and they begin to make some kind of sense out of what they're feeling. So I can't say tension itself is the issue. Nobody tells anyone to pile on the tension and mash the pins, after all.

Even following the most basic instructions, people are always told not to exert too much pressure on the plug. Overtension is therefore a result of blatant disregard for simple instructions, and/or a lack of understanding. There's actually such a thing as not enough tension but that's a whole other thing. Proper research and the right kind of practice will fix the tension issue along with pretty much everything else, but people just wanna open locks. Specifically their exact lock. Step by step. And they want specific techniques without having to really think about what's going on inside the lock. They also tend to fixate on negligible factors like the shape of the keyway. It just doesn't work like that if you actually wanna get good at it.

Taking keyways as an example actually, cos I can relate to this... back when I was starting out I thought "that keyway is really hard, how am I supposed to get around that?" and it was just a standard yale profile. Instead of focusing on what I was feeling and trying to make sense of the feedback (or in some instances, why I wasn't getting any), I was trying to figure out how to get around the keyway... it's really not good to put secondary factors on a pedestal like that. Focus on the real stuff first and worry about the little things later. Navigating your way around the wards will come naturally providing you have a good understanding of what you're trying to achieve. If you realise that you don't actually have to snake your way through the keyway and that you probably won't have to push any of the pins as deep as they'll go, you won't even think about it. Your fingers develop muscle memory over time, you can't think your way around a keyway - at least not when you don't know what you're supposed to be doing with the pins in the first place.

Anyway, getting a bit off track here. Sleep deprived and my fingers are desperately trying to keep up with all the stuff whizzing around in my brain.

So... ditto for oversetting. This is actually caused by too much tension, along with careless and rough pick movement. Again, it's mostly down to understanding... you're moving tiny pins by tiny amounts, not choking it into submission. Although with that said, sometimes it's unavoidable even for the best pickers. Cos locks are like that. So it's important to know when a pin is overset and to be able to figure out a way around the problem. You won't figure this out unless you have a thorough understanding of pin states and how binding order can affect things. Some people figure this out naturally, some don't. Oversetting wouldn't be an issue if people stopped to think for a second, "hold on something doesn't feel right... maybe I've overset something and need to dropa pin or 2 instead of continuing to poke and prod and trying to force things because that's not how picking works."

So yeah.

The reason I sucked when I first started wasn't because I was using too much tension, or because I was oversetting pins (even though I probably was) - it was because I didn't understand the mechanism properly or what exactly I was supposed to be doing. And I wasn't being analytical enough. Newbies, for the most part, don't pay attention to what they're feeling. And they don't think enough. I was like that, and I'm pretty sure most people are like that at the beginning. I just wanted to open the lock and I knew I had to apply light tension and feel for the pins. I didn't have any deeper understanding than that and I wasn't interested. I just wanted to open locks, c'mon! So I applied super light tension, I moved the pick around, sometimes I'd feel a bit of give, and after a while fumbling around the lock would open. I was happy enough with that for a while but I couldn't do it repeatedly... sometimes a lock would fall open in seconds, sometimes I'd be at it for half an hour or even more. That really sucked.

Now, looking back, if I'd actually taken the time to really digest the stuff I was reading and tried to figure out what I was doing properly, instead of looking for specific "techniques", I would've developed much faster and without nearly as much frustration. It's actually not that hard to figure stuff out and build a bit of a mental picture in your head of what's happening inside a lock and why everything behaves the way it does. I have no idea why I was so ignorant at first. Probably just didn't take it seriously. I was pretty young, come to think of it.

And speaking of frustration. actually... I don't see how this can be classed as a newbie mistake per se, think about it. Where does the frustration come from? Not knowing what's going on, not knowing how you did it (if you managed to), then resorting to brute force and ignorance. Research is the key. And practice. If you know what you're doing, what you're feeling, and most importantly why, then everything will just sort of fall into place.

OK, End of rant. I hate you a little bit for making me type all this but hopefully it'll ring true with some people and maybe even help a few people out. Motivation and stuff. Yeah.

[MBI]

Oversetting. Thus the bent picks.

[raimundo]

you made me read your long screed

[catsoup]

Solomon seems to have covered most of it haha.

One related thing, that isn't exactly a mistake that people do on day one, but is a mistake that makes it difficult to advance efficiently, is simply paying attention.

Like solomon said about doing your research - your research doesnt end the first time you try to practically apply your skills. The thing that slowed me down was not paying attention to the lock; how many pins certain locks had, and how a certain lock felt, the similarities. I assumed that all locks were completely different. When really building a mental database of known locks is one of the most important tools you can keep with you. If you know something about the inside of a lock by looking at the outside, you are a step ahead when you go to open it.

[Emrys]

+1 on that ^^^

A good example i can think of is simply which way to rotate the cylinder. You're standing in completely different water if youre trying to figure which way to turn a BEST padlock vice some master #3.

Actually taught/showed someone most Master locks can be turned both ways. His suprise was amusing to me. Lol

[catsoup]

Rotation direction! yes. I think I don't think I thought about this at all in the first few months of picking, it was just try one way, if it doesnt work, try the other. Even just paying attention to doors in general helps here - learning that most turn in away from the frame toward the center of the door. Huge help to keep track of this.

[Solomon]

Rim cylinders generally turn in either direction, and as for cylinders that don't, it's pretty much common sense if you think about the bolt for 2 seconds. You can't always pick it in the direction you want to anyway, obviously you'll wanna try for the proper direction first but I wouldn't focus too much on having to rotate the way it's supposed to. Plug spinners exist for a reason.

[Emrys]

Plug spinners are AWESOME.

[raimundo]

I made the one with the mousetrap spring, but only used it once to test it. I guess I don't spinner much

[Solomon]

Plug spinners are AWESOME.

This.

I made the one with the mousetrap spring, but only used it once to test it. I guess I don't spinner much

I made one out of wiper insert and a rubber band to keep in my homebrew kit. Super ghetto, but it's surpisingly effective... after some playing around I actually went and made one to keep in every other pick set I have lol. Don't even know why I even bought the ICL one to be honest... looks more professional I guess

[Thursday]

I'll go with "frustration", though I would call it "patience" instead. It gets harder with a customer sitting and watching, of course; but even so when you've sold yourself as the expert, most people don't realize how much that ramps the pressure up! When you've looked through the theory, practiced it at home, and finally get to your first or second job and it's just...not...WORKING!! Frustration can get to you quick.

[Altashot]

All of the above really...Too much/not enough tension, over setting, misunderstanding how it works. Lack of research...Frustration, we all fall for that, other thing like: not enough sleep, hungover, feeling sick, a headache...It all affects our performance.

I often tell newbies: "Be gentle, not rough."
"Make love to it, don't fu*k it."
"Be successful, not lucky."
"Visualize, put yourself inside, YOU are the key."

When I'm facing a tough lock and getting frustrated, I sometimes stop, go outside for a smoke, walk around a little, collect and calm myself and start fresh again...Then, it opens...
It's a mental thing too.

[raimundo]

I sometimes tell people to watch their favorite tv program while,without concentration on it, they take a pick and just explore the lock lifting pin after pin and tensioning lightly
frustration is mental watching tv and just fiddling with the lock could be the key to opening it, and for newbies, don't start with some american padlock with the small keyway and the various trick pins.
the tv will get your mind off the lock. while your fingers learn to do their thing.

[GWiens2001]

Raimundo is right about distracting your focus. Also, by spending time each day picking while doing something else, your fingers also get used to automatically finding the depth the pick needs to be at for each pin stack.