What are electric pick's limitations?

[Phantom1016]

First off, I love spp, and have a huge respect for it. But I'm a firefighter, and we're often called to open a wide variety of doors that are locked. We stock lockpicking tools on our trucks such as 20lbs sledge hammers, halligan bars, and various internal combustion saws, but right now I'm working on the US Embassy in Baghdad, and they usually don't want their doors "picked" in our fashion.

SO, I'm wanting to get into lock picking as a hobby, but also as a tool for my job. I've ordered a lot of basic tools and practicing aids, but I don't assume that I'll be picking spool pins consistently any day now. I was thinking about investing in an electric pick gun, but I wanted to see what LP101 thought about it for my application. That is, we open everything from pad locks, basic cylinder locks, car doors, and advanced cipher locks. Besides user incompetence, what limitations do they have?

I hope I've painted a decent picture of the situation I'm in. As advanced locksmiths and hobbyists, what would you suggest I do?

[LockJuggler]

Hey, Phantom...electric pick guns, from MY experience, CAN be as variable as manual pick guns/bumping/raking, and anything else I can't think of off the top of my head...

It kinda depends on the quality of the locks you're dealing with (their age, frequency of use [are the plug cylinders & pins worn], their location [inside locks vs. exterior locks], their brand & keyway [standard or narrow], etc.), as well as their level of security--since you work in a HIGHLY classified area, I would expect that the locks in the embassy would be of the highest caliber (do they use American-manufactured locks over there?)...

That being said, and since all locks have their own personality (and even the cheapo lock brands can ruin your day, picking-wise, just as the high-security/pick-resistant ones can!), even percussive-picking (read: electric/manual pick guns, bumping, etc.) can be tricky. Throw in the factor of the proper tension for each individual/peculiar lock, and you can have quite the challenge on your hands.......mebbe it's better to attempt to persuade the powers that be that in an emergency, the "sledge hammer picking strategy" is for the best...and lock replacement is better in the long run.......just my 2 bit's worth...

[MBI]

Bulky compared to regular picks.
Noisy.
Eats puppies.

Ok, maybe not that last one.

[Phantom1016]

Thanks guys. Trust me, we won't hesitate to knock down a door in an emergency, but a LOT of what we respond to is false alarms, and we don't have authorization to break anything unless there's confirmed smoke or fire. As far as American vs foreign locks, it's about half and half. Most of the lock outside the actual embassy grounds are local, cheap locks, on local, cheap construction, the locks on the embassy are higher quality American stuff, and the locks on the super secure stuff is something that I don't THINK an electric pick could work on. I would assume those locks are built with security as a top priority.

[Evan]

Thanks guys. Trust me, we won't hesitate to knock down a door in an emergency, but a LOT of what we respond to is false alarms, and we don't have authorization to break anything unless there's confirmed smoke or fire. As far as American vs foreign locks, it's about half and half. Most of the lock outside the actual embassy grounds are local, cheap locks, on local, cheap construction, the locks on the embassy are higher quality American stuff, and the locks on the super secure stuff is something that I don't THINK an electric pick could work on. I would assume those locks are built with security as a top priority.

I am thinking that a Knox or EAS key vault or assigned "duty ring" of keys would be a better option than possessing and using lock picks in Diplomatic facilities where there are all sorts of Comp Sec and Top Secret information present...

~~ Evan

[Legion303]

Limitations? Bulky and heavy, no feedback, can be extremely damaging to locks (IOW, kick the door in, because the tenants probably aren't going to be able to use the lock much more anyway if you use an electric pick).

-steve

[Anavaree]

Legion,
I have used my E500 on a lot of my practice locks and they all still work normally, why do you believe that once you use an electric pick that you cant use the lock anymore?
I know there is a chance to damage the lock with any for of opening that isnt using the intended key, but, I have not seen the pick gun causing this problem...
Jesse

[Legion303]

That's why I said "chance" :)

Any sharp blow (which electric picks deliver over and over) is going to stress springs up to and over their design tolerance, depending on their age and of course lock quality.

-steve

[Phantom1016]

I know electric picks aren't a miracle cure, but the best case scenario would be if we could consistently get past a few locks that they use out here repeatedly. It's going to take me awhile until I even know if that's possible, but it would make our lives much, much easier. Some of these doors are metal and we've taken up to 5 minutes to gain entry before, and thats way too long.

Thank you all very much for your help. I've ordered a bunch of tools and training aids from LockPickShop and the ever gracious Anavaree, so once I get some picking time in, I'll report back.

[Anavaree]

Steve, didn't see the chance to break comment, I was posting from my phone. And I do agree about the impact tools causing unnecessary wear on parts, so fair enough. Although I said I haven't killed a lock with one there is still a reason I don't use electric pick guns on locks I rely on right...

[eodjeff]

Phantom
I just ordered one and will be trying them on the same locks you will encounter at BAF. I will pm you on how well they work. What has worked for me and what has not. Also when I can I will take down the locks and see what pin situation they have. I am the billieting manager and seeing as the answer to lost keys or lost spares is to change the lock (as they do not copy keys here) I will most likely get a change to use it more than I would like and keep locks they replace. Many people seem to always lock their keys in their rooms. Some of our locks are the dimpled keyed locks that use the telespocic pins so I may get a pickset forthose. Jesse is selling a snap gun but 105. is too much for me right now as I have a baby on the way and bought my money limit on tools.