Benefits of disassembling and re pinning a lock?

[s0u1h4ck3r]

Is this something I should invest time into learning?
Wil it benefit my picking skill in any way?
I do understand that from a economic perspective it would save me money because I can just make myself a "new" lock whenever I want. But other than that I can't see how it can improve my picking skills.
Knowing exactly what and where every pin is should make the lock easier to pick and will not help me in a competition situation for example.
Wil it not be better to learn how to develop a feel for what is going on inside the locks?
Am I missing something here?

[Silverado]

I feel like taking them apart and reassembling them helps with developing an understanding of how the locks work. Sometimes it's more tangible when you are staring right at it. Also, you get to see things that you obviously felt while picking it...is it old and worn out, or were the chambers counter-milled or threaded... Can't see those things unless you disassemble. Same with security pins, you can't always be certain those tough pins were a specific type unless you get a good look at it.

[MiPo]

I always find it interesting and valuable to verify my feeling when picking with the actual content in the lock. It helps me to get a better understanding of how pins / chambers work and behave. Also you can do progressive pinning (having more and more chambers populated) when learning a specific lock. Also sometimes when I have trouble with a lock I disassemble it and stick the pick in the plug with the key pins still in it and see if I overset pins or how the pick accesses the back pins. It's just an additional learning aid.
Also it makes fun and sometimes I'm surprised what they put in commercial locks.

[tpark]

After opening a lock, it is worthwhile seeing what's inside to understand how the pinning/behavior of the lock is related to its configuration. Creating custom pinnings allows you to practice on extreme low-high combinations, and test various picks against that combination. There are other benefits as you can make keys, clean the lock and replace parts as needed.

[s0u1h4ck3r]

Thanks for the helpful answers
I was really missing something:P The reasons you gave for learning to re-pin a lock really makes sense to me now.

[Temple]

It's also good, if you can, to take the lock apart before you pick it. After you have picked it a few times take it apart and look at it again. Look for any damage or wear your picking technique may be causing.

I didn't see it mentioned in previous responses but while it's apart it's also a good time to clean and lube the internals.

[OrMeanGene]

Just another idea on improving skills repinning. If you're repinning it random to practice, just have a friend or significant other throw the pins in for you. Then you dont know where anything is. Another option is finding a local meetup or buddy who is into picking to make challenge locks to trade back and forth. Get competitive and it will push you to be creative and learn new things.

Plus like others mentioned you see the inner workings. The more you know, GI Joe.

[RedE]

If you know someone with the appropriate tools, one way you can really improve the picking difficulty of the lock is to rekey it to a high-low bitting as tpark said. In the photo below is an example of how I took an LSDA Sargent cylinder and rekeyed it to not so picking-friendly combination. It definitely requires a large hook to reach those shallow cuts in between the deeper ones!