Hello all, Can someone tell me why someday I can pick up my wee collection of padlocks and single pick them and then someday nothing. Also have the same problem when trying to pick my yales locks even raking does not always work
I think there is also an element of 'luck'. This luck factor becomes less the better you get. But somedays everything goes your way at any skill level.
Some times it is just matter of really focusing on what you are doing .. The feel of the pins, sounds.. When you are picking and first learning been very slow and focus not only what you are doing but also what is happening ..
Slow and deliberate at first ..
When I finally leave this world.. Will someone please tell my wife what I have REALLY spent on locks ...
I dont know what type of locks your using but what really helped me was using a cut away. I admit it does take almost all of the satisfaction out of picking a lock but, when i first started i read & read & then read some more. The one thing EVERYONE talked about was feedback from the lock, & how getting better feedback opens locks. But being new i had no idea what feedback even felt like. Being fairly mechanically inclined i knew that every different type of security pin would give different feedback but i never realized how much practice it would take to put the tip of my pick exactly where i wanted it. By practicing with a cutaway it helped me greatly! Not just to get the feel what different security pins feel like & how to defeat them but also with the placement of my pick & what a set pin feels like so i dont over set them. Lock picking is a little like handwriting though, everyone has a style that is a little different from eachother & what works for me may not be good for you.
I've found that on days like this, I have had either crappy or pleasantly exhilarating experience. Point being, like anything that takes your un undivided attention, remove distraction from the equation & start over. Now that you can focus on the lock, the feeling of the pin's action is easier to manipulate.
Dropping the tension wrench, is the subconscious screaming open before you can.
Patience and persistence seem to be the biggest requirements for lock picking, I have similar issues and find when I'm having a bad day I'm better of giving the picking a break and coming back to it later. Confidence in your own ability may help but if the fingers aren't working properly you just get frustrated.
I've noticed the same thing. Some days I can pick every lock I have and some days I just can't. I've also noticed that if I do a lot of picking in the same day the skill will eventually start diminishing, I guess from fatigue. For me, sitting in a quiet dark room helps me do better on the days I'm not picking well.
