UPSB v3

Manipulative Arts / Lock Picking

its fully legal

  1. iNoob
    Date: Fri, Nov 23 2007 06:51:35

    Hello guys,

    i'm gonna start on lockpicking as a hobby and just wondering if any1 else here does it too. waiting to save up for a vice, hacksaw blades and files. don't worry its fully legal as long as you only pick your own locks. and its also quite a useful skill

  2. K4S
    Date: Fri, Nov 23 2007 06:57:30

    I just bought a kit instead of trying to make one. Lock picks aren't legal everywhere though...i think. I thought i read something about not being able to own lock picks in alberta.

  3. Rorix
    Date: Fri, Nov 23 2007 07:24:22

    I've only read about it, seemed interesting but I couldn't be bothered finding and buying any tools.

  4. iNoob
    Date: Fri, Nov 23 2007 07:53:16

    so, K4S issit it fun, have u had any luck? and i'm in singapore so there's like only 1 local seller of these kinda of stuff and i'm waiting for him to tell me what's the price

  5. DaThroat
    Date: Fri, Nov 23 2007 07:56:11

    i once saw some show where there was this guy who really kicked ass at lock-picking.


    all he needed was a hammer. he hits the lock at a certain angle, and the door opens, without spoiling the look or anything.

    he used some other method to pick car locks, but i forgot what it was. wink.gif

  6. K4S
    Date: Fri, Nov 23 2007 08:01:30

    The first day i got my picks i went hardcore and practiced all day and learned how to single pick and rake a 5-pin lock (no security pins). However, when i tried to move onto harder locks with security pins i had a lot of trouble, i fluked a couple picks but other than that i could not really pick them. School got pretty busy later on so i havent really put much practice into it since but its is very fun.

    When you're starting out definitely try to find a lock that doesn't have security pins (spool, mushroom pins etc) and learn how to single pick or rake that first. Raking is kind of a spammy technique though so you will need to learn how to single pick eventually.

    And proper tension is very very very important...something i still need to work on in order to beat those damn security pins dry.gif

    edit: Using a hammer/tomahawk is referred to as "lock bumping". I dont really know much about picking car locks but im pretty sure you use a tension wrench and double sided jiggler keys....there are probably multiple ways to pick a car lock though tongue.gif

  7. iNoob
    Date: Fri, Nov 23 2007 09:32:35

    yea bump keys are like filed down key blanks and they work just like a wire snapper. screw the security pins if i can't help it i'll just have to learn it the hard way =x.

  8. UEDan
    Date: Fri, Nov 23 2007 16:26:04

    Fuck yeah! picking is fun, but here its so esoteric everyone things I'm some kind of bugler.

    Picking is alright, the first day is a pain in the ass, I'll admit that. Like K4S said, tension is the key to picking a lock. And you get your self esteem up, practice with padlocks.

    K4s, Raking=spamming?! Nah, sometimes its best to rake, like with pad locks.

    BTW, bumping will cause more damage on a lock in the long run, my door knob that I practiced bumping on has a huge dent on the plug.

    Bump keying: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-hA2L8wchc

  9. nolan
    Date: Fri, Nov 23 2007 20:00:46

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RoE_xu4PeQ...feature=related


    shows how to make the tools

  10. iNoob
    Date: Sat, Nov 24 2007 02:19:53

    awww but i don't have a grinder =x

  11. Eruo
    Date: Sat, Nov 24 2007 05:05:53

    Some places it's illegal to own lock picks, even if they're made by yourself.

  12. Tim
    Date: Sat, Nov 24 2007 13:33:35

    It's illegal to kill people in some places, people still do it though.

  13. RippDrive
    Date: Sat, Nov 24 2007 16:33:08

    Lock picks are legal in Canada if not used for or intended to be used for illegal activity. It's a bit of a sketchy area.

    Normally the law works in the way that you are innocent until proven guilty. However in some cases such a lock picks you are guilty until you can prove you are innocent. If you want to look up more search for reverse onus.

    So basically if you have lock picks don't keep them in a gym bag with your duct tape, crow bar and nylon rope. If you can reasonably convince someone they are just for recreation it's legal to have them.

  14. UEDan
    Date: Sat, Nov 24 2007 20:57:11

    QUOTE (RippDrive @ Nov 24 2007, 08:33 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
    Lock picks are legal in Canada if not used for or intended to be used for illegal activity. It's a bit of a sketchy area.

    Normally the law works in the way that you are innocent until proven guilty. However in some cases such a lock picks you are guilty until you can prove you are innocent. If you want to look up more search for reverse onus.

    So basically if you have lock picks don't keep them in a gym bag with your duct tape, crow bar and nylon rope. If you can reasonably convince someone they are just for recreation it's legal to have them.


    Yeah.... I better stop stealing padlocks from school.

  15. iNoob
    Date: Sat, Nov 24 2007 23:19:57

    LOL haha btw is UED a female? wtf so evil de.

  16. Eruo
    Date: Sun, Nov 25 2007 03:36:02

    QUOTE (Tim @ Nov 24 2007, 05:33 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
    It's illegal to kill people in some places, people still do it though.


    and some of those people go to jail for life.

  17. nateiskewl
    Date: Sun, Nov 25 2007 03:38:00

    I know how to pick locks with paperclips, but I'm no pro. I don't have a kit or bump keys or anything like that. Not too interesting to me. dry.gif

    WTF: I said toothpicks instead of paperclipzzz. Fix't.

  18. UEDan
    Date: Sun, Nov 25 2007 04:13:12

    QUOTE (iNoob @ Nov 24 2007, 03:19 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
    LOL haha btw is UED a female? wtf so evil de.


    ssst.gif

  19. Tim
    Date: Mon, Nov 26 2007 07:45:19

    Wouldn't it get kinda boring picking your own locks after a while though? Unless you lost a key or something, but still.

  20. iNoob
    Date: Mon, Nov 26 2007 07:48:40

    well u can always buy new locks

  21. UEDan
    Date: Mon, Nov 26 2007 08:04:51

    QUOTE (Tim @ Nov 25 2007, 11:45 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
    Wouldn't it get kinda boring picking your own locks after a while though? Unless you lost a key or something, but still.


    Its sorta like solving the rubik's cube. Doesn't it get boring solving the same cube after a while?

    Yeah it does. Like iNoob said, buy/steal new locks.

  22. Tim
    Date: Tue, Nov 27 2007 08:26:44

    I guess your right about the rubik's cube, how long does it take to pick a lock? (just curious)

  23. UEDan
    Date: Tue, Nov 27 2007 08:40:35

    Depends on the lock, a simple 5 pin door lock with no security pin(s)... 20 secs max. In the US that is.

    EDIT: Stupid Num lock wasnt on.

  24. blugyblug
    Date: Thu, Nov 29 2007 06:10:03

    QUOTE (Eruo @ Nov 25 2007, 02:36 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
    and some of those people go to jail for life.



    QUOTE (nateiskewl @ Nov 25 2007, 02:38 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
    I know how to pick locks with paperclips, but I'm no pro. I don't have a kit or bump keys or anything like that. Not too interesting to me. dry.gif

    WTF: I said toothpicks instead of paperclipzzz. Fix't.


    Its possible with paper clips actually, you need more than 1 of them (Depending on how complex the lock is) and u gotta bend them the right way. My friend picked a padlock doing that method in like a few seconds..

  25. NoRice4U
    Date: Thu, Nov 29 2007 07:19:22

    i can pick all the locks at my school with a paperclip..laugh.gif

  26. Tim
    Date: Fri, Nov 30 2007 09:08:40

    QUOTE (NoRice4U @ Nov 29 2007, 03:19 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
    i can pick all the locks at my school with a paperclip..laugh.gif


    How? Tell me how?

    Seriously i wanna know.

  27. l33tspinner
    Date: Wed, Dec 5 2007 03:31:44

    i pick locks, but only when i bored and i dont have any pens to mod lol.

  28. NoRice4U
    Date: Wed, Dec 5 2007 06:29:02

    @Tim, idk how i do it..i just kinda stick a paperclip in and wiggle it till it opens..it might just be because my school has INSANELY CHEAP locks ohmy.gif

  29. minimazza
    Date: Fri, Dec 7 2007 19:24:12

    Hey guys,

    I personally think the filing cabinet type locks (The ones that are the same as the small safes you can buy) are the easiest to pick.
    The pins are block shaped instead of thin, and this makes it easier to push them down.

    I find it easy to pick locks using a paperclip and a screwdriver, whereas lockpick guns and hammers seem to take away the true nature of lock picking. Cheating tongue.gif

    You can average a time of seven seconds on any lock once you know how, I reckon.

  30. UEDan
    Date: Sat, Dec 8 2007 02:15:31

    QUOTE (minimazza @ Dec 7 2007, 11:24 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
    I personally think the filing cabinet type locks (The ones that are the same as the small safes you can buy) are the easiest to pick.
    The pins are block shaped instead of thin, and this makes it easier to push them down.


    Yep, wafer locks. Totally agree. Plus they usually dont have any more than 4 pins.

  31. blugyblug
    Date: Sat, Dec 8 2007 09:27:22

    What do you think is the best lockpicking tool?

    ...not including those crazy pro things, but tools that u can make from household items

  32. iNoob
    Date: Sat, Dec 8 2007 11:29:56

    take a paperclip, straighten like 2 joints then make a small hook at the end, then get a fork and leave only 1 prong for your tension wrench, and bend the prong so that its like 90 degrees from the handle

  33. minimazza
    Date: Sat, Dec 8 2007 11:32:41

    Hey UEDan and blugyblug,

    I think that paperclips are the best, mainly because you can buy lots for a cheap price and they're the closest to actual locks. You can bend them to make a snake rake or something like that tongue.gif

    If you have a lot of spare time, you can file down a metal rod and bend it slightly. Never tried it though.

    I'll post a video on lock picking if I have the time, but be warned: I have a Northern Ireland accent biggrin.gif

  34. ultimatsz
    Date: Sat, Dec 15 2007 07:03:08

    well...kryptonite locks can be opened with a bic pen ! lol

  35. UEDan
    Date: Sat, Dec 15 2007 08:13:24

    QUOTE (ultimatsz @ Dec 14 2007, 11:03 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
    well...kryptonite locks can be opened with a bic pen ! lol


    yeah this goes for most tubular locks, as long as you can get it to fit.

    Oh did you hear about Axa bike locks that can be opened with a blank axa key?

  36. goodie_279
    Date: Fri, Mar 28 2008 09:27:53

    i can do the simple tumbler lock pretty well now,
    but it takes alot of patience.
    the easiest way i think is using the two paper clips and holing the keys to the right while clicking one at a time into its slot.
    still i dont know of many other ways.
    still u can open a locked door with a hard kick just below the lock
    might be more useful in some situations

  37. Teatime
    Date: Fri, Mar 28 2008 14:43:43

    wtf ohmy.gif so many of you know how to pick locks? I thought it was really hard/not possible these days/illegal or something...

    I'm dying to know, can someone give me tips on how to start?

  38. minimazza
    Date: Fri, Mar 28 2008 17:30:05

    QUOTE (Teatime @ Mar 28 2008, 02:43 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
    wtf ohmy.gif so many of you know how to pick locks? I thought it was really hard/not possible these days/illegal or something...

    I'm dying to know, can someone give me tips on how to start?


    Sure thing dude, you want to start off with simple locks for example a wafer lock.

    This lock has block-shaped pins instead of the usual "thin" ones you see in padlocks, bike locks etc.

    You only need two things for lock picking: something to push pins up/down, and a torsion wrench. Though it may sound like you need special rescources, you can make do with a paperclip and a flat screwdriver.

    Shine a light down the lock, making sure you can see the pins. Put the screwdriver in and turn in the same direction as you would turn the key, then lift/push down the first pin. This is to ensure that the pins line up with the sheer edge and makes them stay pushed down. The lifting up/pushing down depends on the direction of the lock.

    What I find the easiest is to know what the key looks like first (you can see what pins have to be pushed down first, etc), then you pick the lock.

    You can probably get it in the first five goes, but make sure you don't push the screwdriver too hard or you might damage the lock. If you think you've done it wrong, always "reset" the lock (Pushing the screwdriver in the other direction to make all the pins fall back down).

    If you can't get it, try a different lock or change the method. There's the basic lifting/pushing down pins, raking, and others. If you're using those small hand-held safes, try turning it around so you're lifting up the pins instead of pushing down and vice versa. You can also disassemble locks to see how they work.

    When you get good at it you can average a time of 7 or so seconds. Hope that helps! cool.gif

  39. Invincibleman
    Date: Fri, Mar 28 2008 23:42:24

    Lock picking is another one of my hobbies. I annoy my dad cause I make my own kits with hacksaw blades.

  40. jabss
    Date: Sat, Mar 29 2008 00:43:11

    id love to start learning lock picking but i dont know where to start, and i dont have much time at the moment

  41. Timo
    Date: Sun, May 4 2008 15:06:20

    QUOTE (iNoob @ Nov 23 2007, 03:53 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
    so, K4S issit it fun, have u had any luck? and i'm in singapore so there's like only 1 local seller of these kinda of stuff and i'm waiting for him to tell me what's the price


    Im from Singapore too! You can buy the picks from the local seller?

  42. Syrn
    Date: Tue, May 20 2008 04:37:59

    I made a tension wrench out of a street cleaning bristle, and a pick out of a paperclip. The tension wrench i made probably over a year ago, and i could pick one lock in my house that was doable.

    I recently came back to the hobby, which i was never that great at, when i was miserably failing at picking my teacher's desk lock at school. now, you might think what I was doing was mischievous, but i assure it wasn't, the teacher's desk was already open, i was just trying to pick the lock to lock it, but i wasn't planning on locking it shut, i was just going to turn the bolt while the desk was still open. Well in school i was using a bad paper clip and a pair of scissors, so i ended failing after a long while. Mind you it was the end of school and i was waiting to go somewhere else later so i had some time to kill.

    Yeah, so i revisited my old doable lock, and since it was already open i was able to lock and then unlock it. The lock that i can do is a kwikset lock, where the lock is part of the doorhandle. This one is weird, its a round doorknob, but you'd expect it to have one of those twisty parts(often seen in household bathrooms) on the outside like many of the kwikset locks do, this one just has a keyhole side, and on the other side it just has a small hole in the center of the knob.

    Anyway, while i was doing the lock, i noticed something peculiar about the way it worked, idk why but for some reason even after i got all the pins down it wouldn't turn until i let one of the pins in the front pop back up a little bit. It was the same for both unlocking and locking it. is this some kind of safety measure, or is this the same with all locks?

    yeah just wanted to share my little story, not too impressive, but possibly interesting if you like that sorta thing. I hadn't done it a long while, so i wasn't sure how to bend the paper clip, but i found this short little instructional video that helped. http://www.leechvideo.com/video/view1394892.html

  43. Awesome
    Date: Tue, May 20 2008 21:02:12

    I never really got into lock picking, I've done a few locks and stopped, My tension wrench is an allen key ground so the top part is flat, it works pretty good, my picks are grond hacksaw blades (bench grinders are useful wink.gif ). I tried the other week and by some miracle I got the lock on my back door in a minute, of course I spent a 1/2 hour trying to do it again. I should buy a lock solely for practising, so I can remove pins but I never get sround to it so I suck at lock picking sad.gif .

    Syrn were they over set? when the bottom pin (not sire if that's a tumbler) is above the sheer line, that's the only reason I can think of, if not then I never heard of that.

  44. StIcKyTaK
    Date: Tue, May 20 2008 23:16:07

    rofl... i used to steal locks at my school... some gay kids told on me then i got like a detention... it wuz worth it though.... lasted for like 1month....

  45. UEDan
    Date: Wed, May 21 2008 04:40:30

    QUOTE (StIcKyTaK @ May 20 2008, 03:16 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
    rofl... i used to steal locks at my school... some gay kids told on me then i got like a detention... it wuz worth it though.... lasted for like 1month....


    Hahahah! I do that too! and I stil do!

  46. UEDan
    Date: Thu, Oct 29 2009 05:26:02

    Ehh I'm bored, I'm bumping this. Anyone still/getting into this?

  47. ION
    Date: Thu, Oct 29 2009 07:16:19

    I ordered a set of picks but it turns out they were all feeler picks =/... i wanna get into this but dont really know what to do.

  48. UEDan
    Date: Thu, Oct 29 2009 07:22:24

    You got a tension tool right? Best to learn single pin picking before anything else anyways

  49. spinneraddiction
    Date: Sun, Nov 1 2009 23:53:48

    when i was younger i use to pick my bedroom lock for fun with a screw driver and then i stopped after getting mad at my door and i kicked it and kocked a whole in it ssst.gif

  50. Prince
    Date: Fri, Nov 13 2009 20:17:28

    Im interested in starting, does anyone know links to what I should buy? And what I should learn first maybe?


    ty

  51. FangKing
    Date: Fri, Nov 13 2009 22:19:55

    lmao i lock pick too. it's quite easy once u get the hang of it
    LOL my friend does too btw and i found out that it could b handy sometimes from him. cuz like he forgot his keys one day. so he jsut picklocked his way back home LOL

  52. Taksui
    Date: Mon, Apr 26 2010 21:51:38

    Bump!
    Anyone have a set they dont use and maybe want to trade. Im stuck using paper clips and such.
    Anyone know how to detect security pins

  53. UEDan
    Date: Tue, Apr 27 2010 10:01:41

    Ehhh I not going to trade my picks..
    Security pins will cause the plug to slightly turn and the pin will be a lot stiffer. And if you push on the pin it will push the plug the other direction a little.

  54. Taksui
    Date: Wed, Apr 28 2010 03:23:08

    i figured you wouldn't someone might and do most Schlage have security pins

  55. FChzy101220
    Date: Thu, Apr 29 2010 20:38:41

    I no the schlage i have has security pins and i think most of them do

  56. Taksui
    Date: Fri, Apr 30 2010 01:24:54

    Ok guess Ill have to play with security picks for a while,
    but seriously does ANYONE have some picks
    just a few that they are willing to trade or even sell
    I really want to get into this but paperclips and bobby aren't working help.gif

  57. Taksui
    Date: Fri, Apr 30 2010 20:36:46

    I have only been doing it for at least a few weeks but personally all the locks i picked aren't that hard