#LearnLockpickingWithAlice lesson 7: Raking, rocking, and zipping.
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#LearnLockpickingWithAlice lesson 7: Raking, rocking, and zipping.
Sometimes you just need a quick open...and that's when rapid entry techniques come in.
Sure, you *could* single-pin pick it, or you could shove something in the keyway like you're a randy college kid and just wiggle it around until something happens.
Okay, I'm being a little flippant. Raking techniques *do* actually require skill, and I think that's where some folx get stuck. So let's talk about keys and why raking works.
- Every pin-tumbler lock has a number of pins (typically 4-6).
- Each key pin comes in a set number of lengths (typically 7±2).
- The key bitting is just the height of the shear line, minus the length of the key pin.So think of a key as a (semi)secret code. You punch it into the lock, and if it's the right code, it opens.
That's a lot of potential combinations, but there's a few things that work in our favor:
- MACS (max adjacent cut specification) — no two adjacent key cuts can differ by more than a few numbers, so no 09090 keys, but 69696 is valid.
- A set pin will tend to remain set.
- A binding pin will tend towards a set state.
- An overset pin will fall when tension is released.
- A nonbinding pin will return to its default state.To "guess" the right combination with our rake, we need to generate some numbers, and we need to do it quickly.
The skill of raking is in quickly moving the tool in one of a few patterns, while varying tension on the core.
Here are some key codes that demonstrate the patterns of the bitting: 33333 (flat), 12345 (rising), 54321 (falling), 12321 (hump), 32123 (valley), 13131 (sawtooth).
Were going to focus on the valley, because it gets us closest to five of the six patterns in one basic movement—rocking.
See the attached video for an example. The rake (I prefer a triple-peak w-shaped rake for this technique for a few reasons) is placed towards the middle pin and rocked using the middle finger as a pivot. This tends to lift the front and back pins into that valley shape. Tilt your rake up or down as you rock it to make it more like the rising or falling slope. Scrub slightly and rock less to simulate the flat and sawtooth patterns.
While rocking the rake, if everything seems mushy, you've probably overset stuff, back off the tension slightly. If everything seems springy, apply more tension until you feel a pin resisting movement a bit. If the pins all seem bound up and frozen, back off the tension until you get movement again.
Raking is a fast attack. If it doesn't open by the count of three, change your pattern.
If you go through the patterns a few times and it doesn't open, then it might be a hump-bitting, or it might just be rake-resistant. *But* if you get it opened even once by raking, then you know it's repeatable with that specific rake and lock.
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#LearnLockpickingWithAlice lesson 7: Raking, rocking, and zipping.
Sometimes you just need a quick open...and that's when rapid entry techniques come in.
Sure, you *could* single-pin pick it, or you could shove something in the keyway like you're a randy college kid and just wiggle it around until something happens.
Okay, I'm being a little flippant. Raking techniques *do* actually require skill, and I think that's where some folx get stuck. So let's talk about keys and why raking works.
- Every pin-tumbler lock has a number of pins (typically 4-6).
- Each key pin comes in a set number of lengths (typically 7±2).
- The key bitting is just the height of the shear line, minus the length of the key pin.So think of a key as a (semi)secret code. You punch it into the lock, and if it's the right code, it opens.
That's a lot of potential combinations, but there's a few things that work in our favor:
- MACS (max adjacent cut specification) — no two adjacent key cuts can differ by more than a few numbers, so no 09090 keys, but 69696 is valid.
- A set pin will tend to remain set.
- A binding pin will tend towards a set state.
- An overset pin will fall when tension is released.
- A nonbinding pin will return to its default state.To "guess" the right combination with our rake, we need to generate some numbers, and we need to do it quickly.
The skill of raking is in quickly moving the tool in one of a few patterns, while varying tension on the core.
Here are some key codes that demonstrate the patterns of the bitting: 33333 (flat), 12345 (rising), 54321 (falling), 12321 (hump), 32123 (valley), 13131 (sawtooth).
Were going to focus on the valley, because it gets us closest to five of the six patterns in one basic movement—rocking.
See the attached video for an example. The rake (I prefer a triple-peak w-shaped rake for this technique for a few reasons) is placed towards the middle pin and rocked using the middle finger as a pivot. This tends to lift the front and back pins into that valley shape. Tilt your rake up or down as you rock it to make it more like the rising or falling slope. Scrub slightly and rock less to simulate the flat and sawtooth patterns.
While rocking the rake, if everything seems mushy, you've probably overset stuff, back off the tension slightly. If everything seems springy, apply more tension until you feel a pin resisting movement a bit. If the pins all seem bound up and frozen, back off the tension until you get movement again.
Raking is a fast attack. If it doesn't open by the count of three, change your pattern.
If you go through the patterns a few times and it doesn't open, then it might be a hump-bitting, or it might just be rake-resistant. *But* if you get it opened even once by raking, then you know it's repeatable with that specific rake and lock.
Exhibit 5: more raking than rocking (the key for this lock is *long*).
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J jwcph@helvede.net shared this topic
