Anyone into lockpicking?

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Paleocon's picture
Location: Cabin John, MD

Not that I need another hobby, but I've always been fascinated by this skill. Anyone ever done lockpicking?

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Desram's picture
Location: Saskatoon, SK

I tried it for a bit years and years ago, but didn't have a decent pick or torque wrench (and didn't know what I could use). I ended up spending my spare time grinding the back of of a small knife, but got bored before I finished.

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Chiggie Von Richthofen's picture

I taught myself enough to break into filing cabinets and desks, some basic doors. Once you learn and realize it's so easy, you start to lose a lot of confidence in most standard locks.

I used to use a bent paper clip and a pen.

You can buy kits from the internet.

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boogle's picture
Location: Norman, OK

I've got some good tools jury rigged so I can bump the dorm room doors but thats all I need.
Wikipedia has a good how to in the wikibooks section.

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I attended Defcon this year in Las Vegas. If you want more information about lockpicking they have alot of really neat sessions and demonstrations about technique and specific lock styles.

There is also a lockpicking competition during that week with some neat prizes.

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Vega's picture
Location: In a mad, mad world

Being in IT I've kind of picked up a bit on how to do it because people are constantly losing their desk/filing cabinet keys. Much like Chiggie mentioned above, I know enough to break into your standard desk/filing cabinet locks. I typically just use 2 paper clips, both with a couple inches unfolded, one left straight (to press the pins up) and one with a small L bent in the tip to turn the lock. Just get them both inserted into the lock, use the straight one to press the pins up and the other to turn. Usually takes some fiddling and just the right timing but if you get all the pins pressed up at the same time and give it a turn, it usually trips the lock.

But never done anything serious, though I've always thought it would be interesting to buy one of the real lockpicking kits off the net, just for the fun of it. Never know when a skill like that may come in handy.

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Quintin_Stone's picture
Location: Cary, NC

Yes, back when I worked at Ace Hardware and I made the key area my domain. I fashioned some crude lockpicks from bicycle spokes and a torque wrench from a bent, ground nail. I practiced on some loose door locks we had lying around. I was never all that great and I haven't tried in years.

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Dexterously unclipping a bra doesnt count right?

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Quote:
Dexterously unclipping a bra doesnt count right?

Irongut just had to bring his crossdressing fetish up!

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Elliottx's picture
Location: Vancouver, WA, USA, Earth, Milky Way, Universe B

For my 15th birthday my dad bought me a lockpicking set. I didn't have the patience at that age to properly do it. But I still remember how to pick a lock. Unfortunately I lost the lockpicking set. It was just a bunch of flimsy metal pieces anyway. Pretty easy to recreate.

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Devmani's picture
Location: Austin TX

Ya know the nail file on a finger/toe nail clipper makes a wondrous lock pick for simple door locks.

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PurEvil's picture
Location: Columbia, MD

Paleocon wrote:
Not that I need another hobby, but I've always been fascinated by this skill. Anyone ever done lockpicking?

Same here. I taught myself from internet guides and such. I can pick some locks (like the club on my car, or my filing cabinet), but I'm pretty much still an beginner. So far I've had the best success using two T-pins from my cubicle wall.

There's just something so satisfying about opening up a lock. It's the same thrill at the end of a complex puzzle.

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Gorilla.800.lbs wrote:
Quote:
Dexterously unclipping a bra doesnt count right?

Irongut just had to bring his crossdressing fetish up!

You must've misheard me. I said I'm a Level 8008 multi-classed forum thread assassin/deathknight, not a cross-dressing gamer.

Ok, ok, so I have a female blood elf in WoW. Doesn't everybody? .. and besides she dances like Britney.

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Irongut wrote:
.. and besides she dances like Britney.

/facepalm

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Paleocon's picture
Location: Cabin John, MD

Here is a site I found for lockpicks. Just wondering how much difference there is between a basic set and the "works".

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merzy's picture

I got a "Visible Lock" and a basic (5 or 10 picks) set of lockpicks when I was interested in this a while ago and it got me to the "can pick simple stuff" stage.

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Yellowcorn's picture
Location: Kanata, Ontario

Paleocon wrote:
Here is a site I found for lockpicks. Just wondering how much difference there is between a basic set and the "works".

The deluxe sets don't come with much else that's very useful. I have a deluxe set, and I like it because it enables me to leave a pick and wrench at multiple locations. Otherwise, it's useless. You're going to use 1 or 2 picks, and 1 wrench 99% of the time, anyway. The brass handle is kind of nice, however...

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Paleocon's picture
Location: Cabin John, MD

Yellowcorn wrote:
Paleocon wrote:
Here is a site I found for lockpicks. Just wondering how much difference there is between a basic set and the "works".

The deluxe sets don't come with much else that's very useful. I have a deluxe set, and I like it because it enables me to leave a pick and wrench at multiple locations. Otherwise, it's useless. You're going to use 1 or 2 picks, and 1 wrench 99% of the time, anyway. The brass handle is kind of nice, however...

Thanks for the tips. I figure, the $25 set is probably plenty. As for brass handles, I've seen folks wrap grippy tape on their picks and figure that might do the trick too.

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Parallax Abstraction's picture
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

I always found this kind of an interesting hobby and one I might want to take a shot at. It seems like there's quite a bit of resources out there for this. Is it the kind of thing you really just need to try out or are there books or other things to start with?

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It's not nearly so romantic as actual lockpicking, but a more utilitarian approach is bump keying.

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SeriesParallel's picture
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Yon Rabbit wrote:
It's not nearly so romantic as actual lockpicking, but a more utilitarian approach is bump keying.

Works like a charm, though make sure to add a rubber stopper to the shoulder of your key and file about half a millimeter from the tip or it'll damage the lock.

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ranalin's picture
Location: Knoxville, TN

Stryker wrote:
I attended Defcon this year in Las Vegas. If you want more information about lockpicking they have alot of really neat sessions and demonstrations about technique and specific lock styles.

There is also a lockpicking competition during that week with some neat prizes.

hehe Defcon is THE place to go to find out more about lickpicking. I've yet been able to make it there, but their schedules always make me giggle like a little school girl.

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Chumpy_McChump's picture
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SeriesParallel wrote:
Yon Rabbit wrote:
It's not nearly so romantic as actual lockpicking, but a more utilitarian approach is bump keying.

Works like a charm, though make sure to add a rubber stopper to the shoulder of your key and file about half a millimeter from the tip or it'll damage the lock.


Wow. Is that ever disturbing. I think this falls into the category of "Things I won't tell my wife about". *shudder*

Makes me glad I have an alarm system.

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Vega's picture
Location: In a mad, mad world

The YouTube link in that engadget story is dead, but I found another one showing it. Scary indeed.

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For those of you, like me, who don't know how a lock works or why this would do what it does http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQDR-DBQRfI&NR=1

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Dr_Awkward's picture
Location: Pangea

How Stuff Works has an informative entry for the layman.

All this science I don't understand. It's just my job five days a week.

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Paleocon's picture
Location: Cabin John, MD

Wow. I need to make Schlage and Axxess+ bump keys now.

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Nosferatu's picture

OK just a word of warning, in some places it is outright illegal to own lockpicking tools unless you have a reason to need them (although the lists of people that might need them are fairly large, they often include: mechanics, locksmiths, tow company employees, security personel...)
just an FYI.

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Rainsmercy's picture
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When I used to work at Lowe's part time, I was usually the person sent people to when they wanted the knobs and deadbolts rekeyed to match their current house key or wanted them all to match.

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Eezy_Bordone's picture
Location: Western Washington

There was a string of robberies happening around here from key bumping. People would wake up to a *ping* sound, not hear anything else and go back to sleep. They'd wake up in the morning and their stuff was gone.

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