I could be wrong, but I feel that appraising locks really just gives a better chance to determine it's difficulty, so I don't see so much the issue with this suggestion.
For example, it currently reads as such:
But it would be nice if it could read as such:You determine this to be a tumbler lock
Locksmithing as is, is already an RT-intensive task, so having to measure for each and every box that you do is cumbersome and this would help the skilled smith to better do his job by switching to a pick that would be more acceptable for the task at hand.You determine this to be a 8-tumbler lock