law66: Lock Picking Guide:The contents of these articles are...

Sample Security Pins


Buy and pick as many locks as you can find, keep picking them over and over


Poor tension wrench placement and feel,


Good solid tension wrench setting,


Good tension wrench placement allows plenty of room to work with the pick


Guide for setting pin depth, mark with a sharpie where the last pin is.


Easy to locate depth from marked line on the plug

law66:

Lock Picking Guide:

The contents of these articles are intended to allow you to try the great sport of lock picking with the aim to educate and improve your own security, or to allow access to locks you own only. Do not, for any reason pick locks you do not own or attempt to gain access to premises you do not have express permission to enter.

The Manufacturers View: A Warning!
Any company, who makes a product to protect your home or place of business, wants to sell you the latest and greatest model of lock to do that. Many will combat direct entry by having anti pick pins, anti bump pins, anti drill features and a host of other methods that deter you from trying to pick that lock. Common sense should point out that high security locks are a visual deterrent, they do not prevent the use of a boot to kick open the door, or a rock to break a window. While both of these methods make noise, they can work faster than lock picking. I mention this for a simple reason that to deter people from picking your locks, you don’t remove the risk, you only move the risk to elsewhere on your property. If you are in any doubt as to the security of your premises please consult a professional.

Food For Thought: A dark doorway with no light where picking can take place is likely to be favoured over a well lit doorway with a good quality lock. Further illumination of the rest of your property will force the ‘would be’ attacker/criminal to move to a location further down the street as the target is easier.

Lock Picking:
Get yourself some locks, not the ones on your doors, go to your local hardware store, garage sales or any of the many auction sites and get a bulk deal if you can. (I recently purchased five high security locks from Ebay for 7 bucks!)  It really does not matter if you have keys for the locks or not, as long as you are sure they work that is all you need. If you happen to buy locks with keys in them check they work and throw the keys into a large bag out of the way.

High security locks typically have more pins, typically 6 of them and they are not regular pins. The first image shows some security pins. These are spool pins on the right and an odd one that resembles a piston on the far left. These pins when picked, angle across the sheer line giving a false set. This makes the plug move a little giving you a false impression that the pick of that pin was correct. Its genuinely not. Any further pressure on that pin will turn the plug back the other way further indicating a false set. You need to release tension and start again. A lock with six pins may have two or more of these pins and it may take you time to work out which pins are security pins, you need to note them as you can set the others first and come back to the security pins as they will cause the largest problem. Some pins are stacked 1mm disc’s meaning you have to work out where the sheer line is within the stack and this type of lock will cause grey hair, frustration, sleepless nights and extensive cussing.
Some of the regular low end locks will have a mere 5 pins, but more and more I see security pins added to the mix solely as it increases the effectiveness of the budget brand lock. Never assume that any lock, budget brand or high end will be easy entry, the odd one or two oddities enters the mix and shatters this illusion.

First Strike:
I know this is going to sound odd but if you have a bunch of keys for other locks try them. I’ve got two locks here from different companies and the keys from one opens the other. Locks have a certain ‘style’ of key and sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you don’t, but if you don’t have a time issue then give it a go. This may just save you a lot of effort.

Second Strike:
Raking the lock should be considered the next step. Find a tension wrench that fits into the keyway giving you room to work, but also one that engages the plug effectively. The third image shows a tension wrench that is too small and sits in the wrong part of the keyway, it does sit out of the way, but it won’t give you the feel of the plug. The fourth image shows a better tension wrench allowing greater control of the plug. This will work better and wont bind the plugs rotation such as found on the other one. Slide the rake into the keyway to the back, slightly pull the wrench out until you feel the pins, apply a little pressure to the tension wrench and rake the pins from back to front. If you prefer you can wriggle the rake, it depends on how you prefer this action to get the result you need. (Fifth Image) Now you can see why the importance of good quality lock picks, good placement of the tension wrench are important to make the tools work freely beside each other without binding up or becoming entangled.

Third Strike:
So you have tried the City Rake and the Bogota and no joy. It happens, now you have to work each pin in turn on its own with a regular lock pick. The same method as before can be used. Set the tension wrench, slide the lock pick into the keyway until it touches the back of the lock and withdraw it slightly until you feel the pin. Apply light pressure to the pin and it will ‘click’ when it is set. Move from the rear to the front and do each one in turn.

A tip here that may help you is align your pick up to one of your training locks and mark the depth with a sharpie on five pin locks, and then again on six pin locks. If you are learning the different lock depths this guide will tell you how far in to place the pick. Once the pick is inserted into the keyway and the marked line is on the outside of the plug, you know you are on the pins and that feel is quickly learnt. (Image 6 & 7)

Practice is the only way to get the SPP method of lock picking to work effectively. There is a certain ‘feel’ to locks that has to be learnt. I’ve had some locks open in seconds like padlocks, and other locks that have taken a moment or two and even a lock I simply have yet to pick due to the security levels of the lock itself. It’s a skill, an art that will fall into place the more you try different locks and the more you pick a lock and take it apart to see what is inside of it.

Raking a lock has its benefits but never rely on raking alone, or even bumping locks. There is no better skill set to have than being able to SPP the lock. If all else fails that is your best alternative so practice that when ever, and where ever you can. The smallest kit to carry is that of picking with a rake added on top if required, bumping requires a host of bump keys and a hammer to get the bump.

Talking with your local locksmith and explaining you want to learn to pick locks often will lead to them breaking new ground by lending you locks or offering you locks that were to be thrown away. Be polite, show an interest in what they are offering you and they will help you. Don’t go in dressed in your best Goth gear, dress smartly and impress with your good clothes to make the right impression as they will help you if you don’t have a striped shirt and a bag that says ‘SWAG’ written across it.

Keep practicing, try a lot of different locks from where you live and good luck!

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