Lock Picking with improvised tools

[AlgisLt]

It would be interesting to know what kind of improvisations you guys have used to open a lock.
To start with i managed to pick a lock with tweezers and a corkscrew. As i can remember it was a cylinder lock.

[Gordon Airporte]

Bananas might be a good choice:
http://www.youtube.com/w/Pick-a-lock-wi ... bOajWDg_Ts

[Safety0ff]

I've used a carton closing staple as a tension wrench before. Find them anywhere large cardboard box's are being disposed of. With a plier and a hammer you can make a tension wrench of of it in seconds. I've opened a brinks shrouded with the first one I made. They're not a flex type tension wrench, but I'm used to that. The width is perfect for top of keyway tension.

[AlgisLt]

The banana pick does look interesting , but hey you wont always have a spare banana and a knife

[serpih]

i have picked this hotel maid's nose with a paper clip at the beginning .


I was so happy, i keep it like a souvenir.

Paper clips are very easy to find, and i have picked some locks like that.

All you need is a paper clip, no file nothing.



freakparade3 edit to remove reference to picking safe

[Archive555]

I agree with the above post, paperclips are easy to find.
I disagree, I do not like using them, because they dont always fit the keyway, and you lose a lot of feedback.

So after all I suppose I'm neutral to the above post.

[StabbyJoe]

I think it was USMC that made a key duplication that worked perfectly (with a tension wrench) out of a cake container lid
Keep that under your mat instead of a spare key... nobody will be able to turn it without a wrench so it's safer, I guess...
Doesn't count so much as picking, though

[Vamprite]

I picked a master pad lock with a small nail and a bent fork

[MacGnG1]

i picked it with my MIND!!! so i beat you all hahahahhahha

[Lucozade]

I'd rather make my own tools, as it's more fun that way for me. I use a bent bobby pin for a pick and a piece off of a uniball pen as a tension wrench, works fine. I just need to get a lot better at picking.

[New-York-Locksmith]

I agree with that - the bobby pin and a uniball pen as a tension wrench are sufficient for picking.

[x8xViperx6x]

I tried using a paper clip but its to flimsy.. although I would have to agree the uni-ball TW did work perty well. I was trying to pick a lock i bought from wal-mart.. How did you guys bend/modify a paper clip, im curious if it can be done a better way.

Heres mine: ( I always (or most of the time) have a leatherman on me, so it was easier to manipulate.)

[kentaroj]

I was watching the Mcgiver episode of Mythbusters the other day and Jamie managed to pick a lock the the filament of a light bulb. I was so impressed with this feat that I hopped on my computer and looked up the basics of picking. I found this long silver pick thingy (crochet hook?) in a sewing basket that I'm using for my pick and the clp from a pent for my tension wrench. They have worked great on all the locks I've found around my house(not ones attacked to doors though).

[monsignormotard]

#1 33mm paperclips from Staples, smooth finish (the non-skid notches catch in the keyway) work fairly well. They definitely have a short lifespan, as they only maintain their torsional stiffness sufficient to counteract the spring tension for a short while. But they are cheap, so not a big deal to have to replace them. Likewise, you don't cry if you break a paperclip.

[Bebster]

I have seen a guy pick a lock with a glass of water. It was absolutely the coolest thing ever! He took a whole lot of bets that he could get into the boss's office using just a glass of water, then he froze it and made a (VERY brittle) tension wrench and a pick out of it and picked the lock. He ended up breaking/melting about 5 tension wrenches before it opened, but it was still a reallllly cool trick.