All About Lock Picking

Lock picking is the art of opening a lock by using a number of different tools. Different types of locks exist and they each require different ways to be opened.

To open a lock, you need three things: knowledge about the particular type of lock that you are trying to open, the right tools for opening it, and luck. Understanding how locks work will give you an edge in picking them; having access to the proper tool for turning their mechanism will help with opening them; if lucky enough... you can open them without using a lock pick device.

Click on "Continue reading" for an article about picking locks. There is an image of the basic tools in the article and then links to other articles with pictures of the tools in use.

Picking locks is fun, but there are some things that you need to be careful of, especially if you decide to become a professional picker. The most common problem that a beginner will face is not having any knowledge of how lock picking works, or learning quickly enough, so it's important that you learn these skills first by reading this article series and using it as a guide to what you need to do.

Knowledge vs Experience

There are a lot of lock pickers out there who claim to be experts. You might be wondering how they do it if they've never picked a single lock before. Well, the answer is that all of those lock pickers probably have much more experience than you do (unless you're one of the lucky few who live in cities like New York and Chicago which have always had countless pickers go through amazing changes with many new lock picking developments). Some of them even have experience in prison, which is a very good way to learn from experience.

Picking locks is not always easy, especially if you want to become an experienced picker and learn as much as possible. However, you have to start somewhere and you will gain experience through the process of opening locks.

The first thing that you need to do is gain information about the locks that you are trying to open. The more information that you have before your attempt, the better off that you will be. You will learn a lot more by reading an article like this one than by simply going out and just trying to pick locks. The most important thing is having a keen eye for details. Make sure that you know how the locks work and what the right tools are for opening them before you just pick them.

Tools for Lock Picking

Tool One: Pencil Lock Picks

Pencil lock picks are one of the most common tools that you will find on the market. They are used by beginners as well as professionals, and can be purchased from almost every hardware store in the world. Pens also have a very small profile, meaning that they are easier to conceal from others. However, because of their small size it is not recommended to use pencil lock picks on modern digital locks. Instead, you should go with more secure options like the standard skeleton key (which is also commonly known as a paperclip lock pick).

Tool Two: Slotted Key Tool

The slotted key tool is very small and is used to open a lock by sliding the key in between the two rows of pins. The tool that you buy should have four slots, each of which can be spaced differently so that you can get around all of the pins. You can use this to move around all of the pins on a lock in one try. The main disadvantage to this is that it does not work as well on pin tumbler locks.

Tool Three: Pointed Tweezers

The pointed tweezers are also called hook pick, hook lock pick and most commonly, hook tools. This can be used to open a lock by finding the right places on the pin where you need to put pressure. The advantage of this is that it is easy to pick and very light, which means that you can carry it around with you anywhere.

Tool Four: Watch Tool

The watch tool is also commonly known as a warden rake, and looks like a flat head watch. It is used in the same way as the hook pick, by putting pressure on certain locations of pins that are arranged in line or have no space between them. You can find these at every hardware store so they are one of the most common tools that you will ever come across.

Tool Five: Short Hook Tool

The short hook tool is also commonly known as a snake rake. It looks like a small pipe wrench which has four or five different blades inside it on various angles so that you can get around pins that stick out and will not allow you to slide the pick in. This can be used for opening up pin and wafer tumbler locks, as well as for turning wafers in locks. If you plan on using this, make sure that you clean it thoroughly after each use because the blades are very easy to get infected if they are not cleaned properly.

Tool Six: Torx Key Tools

These are commonly known as hex keys and come in sizes such as T20, T25, T30, T40 and T45. The most common size that you will find is the T30 which looks like a pair of screwdrivers. These are very handy tools because they are cheaper than most other types of lock picking tools. They can be used to open any type of lock and have a small profile so they can easily be concealed without looking suspicious if used correctly.

Tool Seven: Long Hook Tool

The long hook tool is also commonly known as a M4. It looks like a short handled wrench with a screwdriver head on one end and four hooks on the other end. The hooks can be used for opening pin and wafer tumbler locks, but are not very good for turning the tumblers with this tool. The main advantage that you will find with this is that it is very sturdy, so you will be able to hold it easily without having to worry about dropping or damaging it. The biggest downside to this tool is that it is a lot heavier than other tools because of how many different parts are inside of it.

Conclusion

The good news is that you do not have to be as experienced as all of these professionals before you start, which means that you can learn what they did while still new to the game. The more lock picking experience that you have, the better off that you will be, but the less time it will take for the right tools to become apparent. Just make sure that you like a particular lock pick style before picking one of these locks, because if they are in dry condition they may not work so well.

By reading this article series, and practicing how to manipulate the pins on a particular type of lock over and over again, you should be able to open most combination padlocks with very little problem.