How to single pin pick a basic pin tumbler lock

[FarmerFreak]

Let's start with tension.

How much tension is the right amount of tension? That depends...
How much tension can your tension wrench give without bending out of shape?
Once you have found a binding pin, can you lift the pin up WITHOUT bending the pick out of shape?
It is possible to use really heavy tension to find the binding pin and then lighten the tension to move the pin.

Tension is a balancing act, too much and your tools break. Too little and it becomes harder to find the binding pin. The correct amount of tension varies from lock to lock and from tool to tool. Like most things, this takes practice and experience.



How to know if a pin is binding, not binding, or set correctly?

This is single pin picking, we only want to make contact with one pin at a time.
When we make contact with a pin we want to try to move it about 5-10 thousands of an inch or less, and then try to answer some questions.

Did the pin feel springy in that short amount of distance?
If YES, it isn't binding, leave it alone and move on to the next pin.
If NO
Did the pin feel solid and wouldn't move at all?
If YES, that pin is a binding pin, gently push it up until it clicks. If it is already all the way up, it is overset and needs to come back down. ..But the pin shouldn't be overset if we only moved it 5-10 thousands of an inch from it's resting position..
if NO
It wasn't springy and it wasn't binding. The key pin is free floating below the driver pin. Gently push the pin up until it makes contact with the driver pin. Now push it against the driver pin 5-10 thousands of an inch.
Did the pin feel springy in that short amount of distance?
If YES, it isn't binding, leave it alone and move on to the next pin.
If NO, that pin is a binding pin, gently push it up until it clicks.

Rinse and repeat until the lock opens.

Notice that I didn't say if a pin was set correctly. That's because,we don't care. When all the pins are set correctly the cylinder turns. We only need to find the binding pin(s) that are preventing the cylinder from turning and move them until they are not binding.

[davesnothere11]

Nice explanation, thanks.

The proper tension is what I struggle with the most. I find my self having to really force the pins with the pick or have a hard time finding the binding pin when I don't have enough tension. Then sometimes everything just clicks.

I'm practicing daily, several times a day in short sessions to avoid getting frustrated. I can do a cheap sloppy deadbolt or padlock no problem but as soon as I work on a better made lock I often struggle with finding the proper tension.

[Daedalus Erebus]

What stops a key pin from "free floating" beneath the driver pin when it is properly set?

For many locks, when I have them picked in the open position, the key pins don't free float. They're almost always locked in the "up" position, as if they're bound up. But how can they be bound up if the lock still opens?

[FarmerFreak]

What stops a key pin from "free floating" beneath the driver pin when it is properly set?

Gravity, dirt, grease, oil, a burr on the pin or the cylinder chamber. But normally, nothing.

For many locks, when I have them picked in the open position, the key pins don't free float. They're almost always locked in the "up" position, as if they're bound up. But how can they be bound up if the lock still opens?

None of the questions in this guide apply once the lock has been picked. If the goal is to get the lock to the picked position, why check the pins after it is picked?

[knowspicker537]

Re. m00se

When I was first starting out I Saw a very useful video
The guy had a tension wrench with a quarter taped to it
And used that to pick a deadbolt with spool pins
U never need much tension one The lock but I find when I'm
Tired I tend to put more tension. Than needed thus disrupting my
Normal process

[Daedalus Erebus]

If the goal is to get the lock to the picked position, why check the pins after it is picked?

To learn what a set pin feels like?

Do individual pins behave differently when other pins are set, or when they are all set?

[FarmerFreak]

If the goal is to get the lock to the picked position, why check the pins after it is picked?

To learn what a set pin feels like?

When checking pins, we are trying to check if they are springy or not. The springiness comes from the spring. Where are the springs located? If the cylinder is rotated, is there going to be any springiness in any of the key pins?

Do individual pins behave differently when other pins are set, or when they are all set?

Depends. How far has the cylinder been rotated once they have all been set?

[arielschoenberg]

Thats a great explanation on how to pick a lock pin by pin with tumbler locks.

[Daedalus Erebus]

When checking pins, we are trying to check if they are springy or not. The springiness comes from the spring. Where are the springs located? If the cylinder is rotated, is there going to be any springiness in any of the key pins?

No, there will be no springiness.

But in my experience, more often than not, the key pins remain locked at the shear line where there doesn't seem to be any reason for them to be. They should free-float, as you described in your OP, yet that usually isn't the case. My goal is to learn why this may be, to further my understanding of what's happening to the pins when I am single pin picking pin tumblers. Yes, many things could cause the key pin to remained locked at the shear line (like those you have mentioned: dirt, burs, gravity, etc.), but this doesn't explain why it's happening all the time.

Take a #1 Masterlock padlock. I have several of these, and they all behave the same way. When you pick the lock open, none of the pins ever free float or drop back "down." Why?

[femurat]

Thanks to FarmerFreak for the great explanation. I think it will be useful for beginners.

Daedalus Erebus, do not concentrate on a thing that seems an exception to the rule. Either you don't fully understand what happens into the locks or you're explaining it in a strange way and we don't understand it. Are you able to SPP pick those locks? It's all good then. Continue to SPP and in case of doubt follow FarmerFreak schema.

Cheers

[Daedalus Erebus]

Here is what I think is happening:



The four circles show where I think the binding is occurring which prevents a key pin from free floating in a basic pin tumbler. The downward pressure from the driver pin puts just enough pressure on the top of the key pin, while at an angle, to cause binding against both the hull and the plug, which prevents the key pin from falling back into its "down" position.

This is just what I believe is happening, as I cannot actually see what's going on. Is this even a possibility?

[FarmerFreak]

That is an accurate picture. None of those contact points would prevent the key pin from falling down. To the contrary, the contact point with the driver pin would push the key pin down until the driver pin is resting on the cylinder. At that point gravity would take over, and the only things holding the key pin up at that point would be dirt, grease, oil, a burr in the lock etc..

[xSxAintNobody]

Wow this was really helpful stuff