brand new to SPP: lever or hold up in the air?

[gino]

So, I've done enough raking and rocking to get a good idea of how to hold everything. Using either method I can open a masterlock #3 within a minute. Now I guess I'm ready to try SPP.

Should i hold the pick up in the air, or should I let it sit on the warding and lever the pins up? This is using a regular hook.

I've tried both and I'm just not sure what to do. After a couple of hours, I haven't had any success either way.

I guess I'm hoping that there is something little that I'm doing wrong?

[Jacob Morgan]

Usually I try to lever off the wardings. When I SPP I use less tension then when raking, and I prefer a rigid wrench. One also needs to develop feel so they know which pin they are touching. But I think that picking is like other things where what works for one might not work for another. To learn what works for you it might be easiest to get a cylinder that you can take apart and only load one chamber, then two, then three, etc.

[PipeSmoker]

Usually I try to lever off the wardings. When I SPP I use less tension then when raking, and I prefer a rigid wrench. One also needs to develop feel so they know which pin they are touching. But I think that picking is like other things where what works for one might not work for another. To learn what works for you it might be easiest to get a cylinder that you can take apart and only load one chamber, then two, then three, etc.

I do more or less the same thing. And I can attest that taking a cylinder apart, seeing how it works and starting with 1 or 2 pins really helped me.

[Fredo the Crow]

Levering is more stable (you can lock movement on the X axis and concentrate on the Y and Z ones) but it tends to put a lot of strain on the picks and you can eventually bend them. It will become more apparent once you start attacking spool pins and also with old dirty locks that could use some good lubrication (the worst being old locks with deep spools)

Over time with experience you'll find that you can use the side of your middle finger to lever off instead of the warding. That same finger tip laying flat on the lock body/stator, this way you get the stabilization effect plus no risk of bending anything.

[smokingman]

Levering off the wards can also wear them down,after repeated picking.
I have seen cheap locks vomit the entire pin stack and spring
into the keyway,turning the lock into a paperweight.
The top ward held the stack in place, and when gone, allowed it to fall..

[Mighty]

I use top of the keyway tension when possible, and use my index finger to add that tension. That leaves my thumb on my tension wrench hand to act as the force for my levering, and my pick holding hand is more the fulcrum. Its tough on the thumb after a few hours, because I 'm usually pushing on a thinner part of the pick, but I find I get good feedback by adding the force so near the pins, and I like pushing in the direction the pins will be moving. My pick holding hand is mostly used for moving the pick in and out of the lock, and stabilizing the pick.

[Ian_425]

I pick both with the lock level and at different angles to practice different picking styles. If you have to pick a padlock that you lost the key to or something, chances are that padlock will not be level and in a vice.