(1744) Does Bitting Make a Difference?

Video #1744 is an interesting experiment to answer the question: "Does Bitting Make a Difference?" I think we all suspected the answer to this was yes, but perhaps didn't realize how MUCH a difference it made.

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[Akisame-LuigI-O]

Timer easy lock: 6 seconds
Timer hard lock: 150 seconds
The easy lock was 25 times easier to open

[OLLE]

Bitting makes a difference, that's clear. What I'm curious about is a comparison (same bitting) but with standards and spools(?) in different locations. What I'm after is - should spools be used in high or low cuts? Are they better in low cuts far back or far front, high cuts back/front? And the same for serrated, barrels etc. I've seen quite a few videos where after a gutting and examination I can hear a comment like "this spool never really came into play". This is for pinning your own lock of course. If I have a lock with standard pins and I want to re-pin it with some security pins - where should they go and what type should it be?

[SkyAsh]

Of course you couldn't rake the second lock, you forgot to say the magic words "c'mon baby, rotate" on that lock.

[SesamoPicking]

I’ve been thinking about this for a while, and in my mind I have this list of what makes a lock harder to pick (in order, first item is the one that makes it most difficult in my opinion):
1 Tolerances (mostly because of tension)
2 Key bitting
3 Keyway
4 Secutity pins
5 Springs
What do you think? Would you change the order? or what other aspects of a lock would you add to the list?

[ccadama]

@Bosnisnbill. Thanks Bill for the video. Watching and listening to you work is both educational and entertaining. Love the rake, love your mannerisms.

Hope you and your family stay safe and well.

[MrSanemon]

I would say it kinda boils down to three categories that affect difficulty.

1. Mechanism Access (Can you touch it, do you have to get to it at weird angles.) Paracentric keyways, weird warding like the Bowley lock or internal obstructions (like ball bearings in the core)
2. Mechanism Feel (Can you feel when it's 'right', does it offer feedback, does it falsify feedback or does it tone down feedback?) Varying spring weights, security pins, gritty dirty locks etc.
3. Mechanism Activation (How hard is the pin to push in, does it release easily? Can you rotate the lock, does it false set or counter rotate? Are there extra elements, magnets, sliders or is the core mechanism just more difficult (Disk Detainers)

Bitting always effects #1, but sometimes it might change binding order or feel. Spools effect 2&3 but not 1. When it comes down to it, you can deter pickers by giving them no feedback, no tension or no access. The best locks do all three or even invent new ways to piss you off.

Realistically it doesn't matter if the lock has no feedback if you can't get to the mechanism or tension it, or if the tensioning of it does not give away a binding order. Medecos are not secure because of their keyways, or their bitting, they are as secure as they are because the mechanism itself, an added element.

So realistically, feel is the least important.

So I'd say
1.Mechanism used
2.Keyway
3. Bitting
4. Security Pins and (most) false gates

The number of things that can affect difficulty is really astounding. Someone just handed me a rusty masterlock No.3 and I couldn't rake it open because it's so gummed up it feels like there's chewing gum stuck to the pins. So that's a wrap right, for a truly secure lock, make it as dirty as possible.

[brogren]

You picked that quicker than most kids pick their nose.

[curtcoleman]

I learn something from every video. Sometimes its something subliminal about how you hold or move the picks that sticks in my brain, and it always helps me later on when I am picking. Love this channel. Thanks!

[parapicktog]

Severe bitting is my worst enemy.
I have a hard time reaching high enough to set a short pin in the back when there is a long pin in the middle. With that type of bitting, the order the pins set in makes a huge difference. When the long pin sets first there is less chance of pushing it up too far when working on the shorter pin at the back, but if the long pin sets last then by the time the back pin is set the long pin is already shoved up too far.
This is why I like picksets with a good variety of hooks, so I can find one deep enough for severe bitting, but not so deep I can't work it into the back.

[zwz.zdenek]

Good thing I pick bitting on the locks I purchase to match what is considered "challenging." My father has a cylinder in a garden gate just like your "easy" key and it's so bad it sometimes stays in the "picked" position when you pull out the key!

[bf]

It’s great to see two identical locks up against each other, one with good bitting and the other less than. Results validated by an experienced pin wrangler!

[obijanjebrave]

I am always talking on my channel how bitting is important, and suggest to people to first look at the key (if it's possible), and then to buy the lock.

[bramsoff-grid]

The eurostyle locks are installed the other way around. The round part should be on top. Love to see them picked in the right orientation. Greetings from Belgium.

[lokichoki_]

I worked on a ABUS 65/40 for hours, I saw you rake a false set before SPP and I followed suit and opened it immediately. The second time it just raked open

[KDP_Beaver]

That 3D printed device is fantastic. Top marks to 3Dlocksport(?).

[marcdenning]

If your looking for a collector to give those locks to, give them to the Lock Picking Lawyer.

[Akisame-LuigI-O]

ooh that 3D print looks good. Could we get a source @Bosnianbill? I would love to print that myself

[dormantat]

I always thought it was "bidding".

[aphotic_soul]

C'Mon Baby Rotate is the new Click Outta One

[d-kay]

Feel free to disagree,
but I think Bill should always pick Euro locks the way they are mounted in Europe.
I can't help but feel it's kinda unfair to pick a lock differently than how it would be installed, provided it ofc ain't for mere training.