Breaking Picks.. How often? How to avoid?

[krazy]

Hey all,
Im a newbie in lockpicking but Im just wondering...

How often do lock picks break in the lock?

How can you avoid breaking your pick in the lock?

How can you fix it if your pick breaks in the lock?


I am morbidly afraid that I will break a lock. Is this common? How often do attempted picks break locks? What do I do if a pick breaks in a lock (other than enter the fetal position and cry)?

Thanks

[stick]

Lock picks will last as long as you're interested in lock picking, as long as you don't use too much force. You may run into weathered, rusty locks sometimes, which may require some force, and thinner picks, such as Rytan minis, Southord slimlines, etc. may break. If the pick breaks, it doesn't necessarily mean the lock is broken, just get a key extractor and fish it out.

Breaking locks themselves is pretty hard to do. Some locks will mess up if you pick them without taking the proper precautions. I can't think of the name, but there's a dimple lock (I think) where all the pins will fall out if something isn't inserted when the plug is turned. There's another thread going on right now where something that appears to be a masterpin has jammed the plug too.

[kodierer]

if you use a rake like a pick you might do you pick in before its time, so don't do this very often

[digital_blue]

I've never broken a pick. I've put a mit of a bend into a couple here and there, but never actually broken one.

db

[vector40]

I, uh.

I bent an SO standard diamond by stabbing it into my table, enfuriated after a key pin leapt out of place again (I was using the pick to push it into place).

:/ It bent back okay, though.

[digital_blue]

krazy: Just a question for you: Have you broken a pick, or are you just afraid of doing it? If you have, are you using homemade picks? It occured to me that if you are making your own picks and not quenching them as you grind, you could be makng them super brittle. That would certainly cause you to break picks.

Also, if you are morbidly afraid of breaking a lock while you pick, that tells me something important. You are picking locks that you shouldn't be. I'm not implying that you are picking locks you don't own necessarily, though that might be the case. If you are picking locks you don't own, don't. At best, it's wrong. At worst, it's highly illegal. However, assuming you own all the locks you are picking, my guess is if you're that afraid of breaking the lock, it's because you are picking a lock that you rely on. Stop that! Pick locks you don't need. Simple as that. If I was picking my front door lock, and I didn't know what I was doing, I'd be afraid too. When I'm picking one of my practice locks while sitting in front of my TV, what do I have to be afraid of if I break the lock?

db

[omelet]

I blame it on SouthOrd, they make the end so pointy its just too tempting to stab it into anything that's handy

[Quin]

lol