Binding order of pins

[pickmonger]

Do different Lockpickers, trying the same lock get a different order of binding.?

Can any of the skills developed picking a cutaway lock be transfered to picking non cutaway locks.
Maybe correct tension or moving a pick around in a lock.

[deolslyfox]

Its not so much the binding order that changes but the picker's ability to find the binding pin.

That comes with practice and experience. The actual binding order is a function of lock tolerances and to a degree pin type and tension.

The biggest mistake most folks just starting out make is TOO MUCH tension.

Using a cut-away lock can give you a visual aid to see what is happening but you can get that from a video IMHO. It is the skills of touch and sound that you have to develop to pick a lock.

Practice is the key. Good luck!!

[nickmannnxx]

Something helpful that you may not know... Changing the directiom that you apply tension to the lock will change the binding order. This can make things much easier if the binding order is causing problems. For instance pin 1 binds first and is a very deep cut. When you try to set the next pin, pin 1 gets overset. If you were to reverse the direction of tension from lets say clockwise to counter clockwise, then pin 1 wont bind first.

I started with a southord acrylic see through lock. Basicly the same thing as a cutaway for visual purposes. I found that starting with that lock hurt me in the long run. I learned how to pick it, but I was picking by what I saw vs what I felt through the pick and tensioner. See through and cutaway locks are great for learning how a lock operates, but can hinder the development of picking skill (atleast for me).

[nick08037]

Hello pickmonger,

My experience has been that cutaway locks do not necessary tension/bind to a truly realistic feel, especially in the cutaway direction. They have been helpful for me to learn to gauge pick depth and learn to sweep the full length of the plug for all pins successfully.

Cutaway practice locks that have screw-outs for changing the cylinder pins are good to let you learn tension for binding pins with less pins at first which will be easier. Then once you progress to the full pin load you can then change out the pins to set up various and more challenging pin combinations to develop your skill further.

Keep working at it, with patience and practice you will see results,
Good Luck
-Nick