Rake pick

A rake pick, “rastrillo” in Spanish, is a type of lock pick whose tip has several teeth or a wavy shape, designed to move several pins at once instead of working them one by one. Using it is called raking.

It is effective mainly against simple cylinders with standard pins. Against security cylinders it is far less effective: the special pins catch in false positions and the narrow key profile leaves little room for the tool.

If you suspect your lock has been tampered with, because the key goes in or turns oddly for no reason, have the cylinder checked. Tampering of this kind can leave fine scratches at the mouth of the keyway, visible in good light.

The defence is the usual one: a quality cylinder, properly fitted. We explain the options under security cylinders.