Thread: Lock picking

Real men don't waste time picking locks.

Originally Posted by welshwizard

Real men don't waste time picking locks.

XD looks like a very silent and sneaky way to open a door indeed :P How do you open padlocks with one of these btw :P?

Just moved to Bangkok. Where can I buy lock picking tools?

Try JJ market. Apart from a lock Smith that might be your best bet.

Lock picking is fun and can actually help out a lot of people. I never use lock picking unethically.

I live in one of two very small villages connected by 2 miles of dirt/gravel road in Western Alaska on the Kuskokwim River. We are not "connected" to any other communities by normal road. We travel by bush plane, boat or snowmobile. The closest place to get a key duplicated is 90 miles down river.

So, about ten years ago I bought a used Ilco Key Duplicator and some Schlage, Kwickset and Master padlock blanks. I do charge to pay for supplies and the cost of the machine, but it usually is less than the place downriver. It is so appreciated in the community. Then about 5 - 6 years ago, I started practicing how to pick locks. Took 40 hours to open the first, 20 hours for the second. Mainly because I had no one to "teach" me. Now, I can usually get one open in 1-5 minutes. Some, I can't open. But I try. This skill is very appreciated. I must have opened 50- 60 house and padlocks for home owners, the school, the tribal council, and city, the water and sewer people, sometimes saving those people/entities thousands of dollars. Again, I do charge (credit is offered) a nominal fee of $20 only if I am successful. Even at that, I do feel a little guilty, so if there is a key inside, I offer to make a spare key for no extra charge. So it is fun. And in Alaska, it is "possession with "intent" to break the law. I have bought a couple of "kits", made many of my own out of windshield wiper parts, and do have a "pick gun" and an essential tool, a "Plug Spinner" in case I pick the lock the wrong way. (And some lock pick easier one way more than the other.)

Follow the laws in your state and area along with high ethical standards. An example is that I won't duplicate a key for the school, clinic, business, etc without getting consent from a supervisor such as the principal, business owner or manager, or Tribal administrator or city administrator.

I also do work for the churches for free and also any "Elders" older than me, of which there are getting to be less and less. But I enjoy doing it.
I even will stamp identifying letters/numbers on any key free no matter if I cut the key or not. Like I say, it is fun and is a way I can "give back" to the community a little.

My advice for the young man who posted earlier who is still in school, is if he lives anywhere close to a locksmith, ask him/her to help you and volunteer to help him for free, even if is just cleaning up. You may need to have some "references" as to your good character, and also show him your good character by all of your interactions with him and with everyone you come in contact with. Otherwise, you will just have to do it the slow and hard way like I did.

Good Luck

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Actually nowadays they use electric lock picking guns. They are much faster and convenient though they can't be used for all locks.

The old pistol grip vibrating spring pickers did the job back in the day. I always told the folks i worked for that I could pick locks. Got me some brownie points opening doors and file cabinets before a meeting...I rally haven't now for a lot of years.

~Richard

I used to work in a place that had a vault. The called it that but it was just a VERY secure room. 1 day the lady got locked inside because the high tech door handle broke inside. Security worked on it for 2 hours when the lady sent me a text about it. Seems she couldn't wait until the company lock experts got it open. Something about doing the pee pee dance or finding a big enough cup :<0) I walked up to the door with 2 guys hunched over doing all sorts of gymnastics. I asked them if they knew the lady had to get out and they said yes but...... I told them the lock on the other door was the same and if they took it off they could probably figure it out better. When they both turned around to look I took out a small thin crow bar and pried the door away from the jam enough to let her out. The funny part was when she tapped on their shoulders to get by. The look on their faces was priceless. All they could say was "That was fast" . I opened it again for them so they could change out the door handle.

I have a trade certificate as a locksmith. It is a skill learned long ago. In a small area I do it mostly for the community service. It takes a lot of volume to make money at it and it isn't going to happen here.

Agreed. Picking locks is great fun. Candles can be your best friend if you need to 'cheat' and build a key.

If you like lock picking or just think it's interesting, then you probably ought to read of Richard Feynman's exploits in it when he was a physicist working at Los Alamos National Laboratories building 'the device' It's a great example of why Feynman is my personal favorite (and should be yours too)

below is a link to the essay, from within "surely your joking Mr. Feynman"

http://www.cs.virginia.edu/cs588/safecracker.pdf