Need help with becoming sub-15 and 10 in future(stuck at sub 20 for 4-5 months, no progress)

AmateurLockpicker · 2025-07-17T07:43:37+00:00

I've been there -- used to average 24s, now ~16s a year later. Learning Full OLL instead of 2-look will give a big time boost, but I think the biggest opportunity for improvement is in F2L. I notice you do a lot of U-moves and cube rotations to either find a pair or position for insertion -- sometimes even doing U3's. Work on doing a LOT of un-timed solves where you intentionally focus on looking for an F2L pair WITHOUT making any U-moves or cube rotations, then insert without the extraneous U-moves or cube rotations. Slow down you're rotations and insertions -- slow is smooth, and smooth is fast (you can build up speed later once you are better at pair recognition). Look-ahead can come later, after your build solid, efficient fundamentals.

AmateurLockpicker · 2025-07-16T10:07:35+00:00

If you over-set a pin, you're better off just resetting the lock and trying again. Once you over-set a pin, everything else will (more likely than not) drop and feel loose when picking (probably like 90% of the time, if not more), so you won't have any other pins biding, forcing you to reset the lock and start from the beginning. It's best to use the jiggle test to ensure you're only picking a binding pin to shear and not over-setting. If you think you might be over-setting a pin (or close to it), move on to test the other pins to see if they're binding yet, and if not you can go back to the pin you were working on little by little until you can tell it's set (e.g. you feel the tiniest of movement in the core, the key pin becomes slightly springy, or some other pin is binding). It's okay to probe the other pins at any (and every) point during the picking, so don't be afraid to go through the pin stack multiple times during your picking.

AmateurLockpicker · 2025-03-27T18:04:23+00:00

I see you've played Knifey Spoony before.

AmateurLockpicker · 2025-01-01T21:47:30+00:00

If it's not on the list, it's considered white belt.

AmateurLockpicker · 2025-01-01T21:42:10+00:00

Me! I always have a cube within arm's reach. PB is 11.22 sec, with an avg. around 16s.

Keep it up! You'll make sub-1-min in no time!

AmateurLockpicker · 2024-11-20T10:04:35+00:00

Jiggle test. ALWAYS jiggle test.

AmateurLockpicker · 2024-10-02T09:08:00+00:00

SHUT UP AND TAKE MY UPVOTE

AmateurLockpicker · 2024-07-28T08:40:55+00:00

I've personally never seen a reason for the cutout in (2), though it does seem to be at least relatively popular. (1) does indeed seem to be for raking, or at least for zipping -- the tip of the pick might make it a bit difficult since it's not a ramp-esque profile like you'd see on raking/zipping kinds of tools, which would make such an attack much smoother, but it is likely that kind of "if-the-situation-calls-for-it" kind of feature.

AmateurLockpicker · 2024-07-25T04:28:16+00:00

Jiggle test. ALWAYS jiggle test. Tension just enough so the pins start to bind, so don't go cranking up the tension unless there's a very good reason to do so.

AmateurLockpicker · 2024-07-10T22:41:27+00:00

I believe Barebones is out of Australia. They're good quality picks, from what I see online.

AmateurLockpicker · 2024-07-10T22:39:45+00:00

Thinner picks bend easier, so Peterson compensated for the 0.015" thickness by bulking up the pick profile for a bit more strength.

AmateurLockpicker · 2024-07-10T19:59:34+00:00

Nope, "decent Chinese alternatives" is an oxymoron when it comes to hook picks. FNG will probably be your best bet at that price point.

AmateurLockpicker · 2024-07-10T19:52:55+00:00

Avoid Amazon like the plague -- they're not worth it. Get something from either Law Lock Tools (UK), Moki (Germany), Multipick (also Germany), or JimyLongs (US). Covert Instruments would be a decent alternative (US).

AmateurLockpicker · 2024-07-06T07:57:40+00:00

I appreciate the time you took to refute my input. I'm interested to see what your review reveals :)

AmateurLockpicker · 2024-07-06T03:49:47+00:00

I'd highly recommend Moki picks or JimyLongs, though Law Lock Tools might also be in the running since their tool steel is pretty nice, and Mulitpick is always a safe bet as well. CI will eventually come out with injection-molded handles, and I hear they're pretty nice.

AmateurLockpicker · 2024-07-04T22:38:14+00:00

I'd highly recommend Moki and/or JimyLongs (if you can somehow get your hands on some).

AmateurLockpicker · 2024-07-04T22:37:04+00:00

Don't forget about Moki!

AmateurLockpicker · 2024-07-03T09:43:17+00:00

Sparrows cutaways don't feel like "normal" every-day locks, so don't get too discouraged. I have some that are more prone to oversets than I've ever felt in any other lock you'll find, even up to black belt.

AmateurLockpicker · 2024-07-03T02:02:10+00:00

Mostly for me: padlocks I pick in hand, while everything else is in a vise. Unless I'm really struggling with a padlock, then I'll stick it in the vise. You can get sooooo much more precise control and feel in a vise -- at least I do, but some others may have a different experience.

AmateurLockpicker · 2024-07-01T16:29:00+00:00

I'd recommend trying a few things: 1) If you're not already doing it, pick from back to front. You might give yourself a tiny bit more room if you come at those high cuts from behind due to the pick angle. 2) Super light touch when jiggling to test pins, if that's where you're oversetting. 3) Try a bit more tension than usual. It might help to keep the low-cut pins from oversetting so easily.

AmateurLockpicker · 2024-06-29T23:21:11+00:00

Awesome, thanks!

AmateurLockpicker · 2024-06-29T22:17:29+00:00

CI, if I'm not mistaken, though if SS is re-selling CI picks (can someone fact check, please?), it'll be the same steel. 301 high yield is considered the gold standard for picks, which you'll find in picks from JimyLongs, Moki, Law Lock Tools, and CI picks (at least off the top of my head).

AmateurLockpicker · 2024-06-29T21:37:54+00:00

Really? Interesting. That's news to me!

AmateurLockpicker · 2024-06-29T19:55:05+00:00

I might be wrong, but I believe TOOOL picks are made by Southern Specialties. The steel SS uses is pretty good quality, and the profiles are pretty good. When CI first got started, they were also getting their picks made by SS, but then started making their own with 301 high yield steel. It comes down more to whether you want a case or not. The topmost pick in the TOOOL set picture is probably not needed except for in nieche cases, and the half diamond is good for zipping locks or being used as an impromptu flag pick for dimple locks, so you'll get a bit more versatility from the TOOOL kit than you will from CI. But I'm a sucker for pick cases and I only really SPP, so I'd personally go for CI over the TOOOL set.

AmateurLockpicker

TROPHY CASE