Picking a Lock in a 19th Century Jail Cell

[writer4]

Hi, I'm a writer and am trying to figure out how someone could pick the lock of a circa 1870's jail cell in a small western town (which I'm assuming would generally be more rudimentary than the lock in a jail cell in a large urban area) from the inside of the cell. The front of the cell would be all bars, so the person would be able to acess the lock, but wouldn't be able to see it. Also, you can assume the person inside the cell would have access to the right pick. I'm interested in knowing if picks existed at the time which a knowledgeable lock picker could have used or if there was some other way to unlock the cell.

Any help from the experts would be most appreciated!

[MBI]

The first thing you need is a bone. Preferably one with a little meat left on the end. You use that to lure the dog (which is holding the ring of jailer's keys in his mouth) close enough to the jail cell that you can reach through the bars, grab the dog and get the keys from him.

If that fails, you wait for a ghost pirate ship to attack the port where you're being jailed, and have a cannonball blow out the side wall of the jail cell.

That's what I'd do anyways.

[Wizer]

Back in the 1870 they must have used lever locks or even a warded lock.
So first your hero / heroine needs to find suitable metal wire. Maybe a nail or even , as MBI succested, a bone could be used.

[beancurd]

I'm thinking a hat pin, corsetry wiring (although they mainly used whale boning) would make a good pick. Unfortunately those were only worn by women. Piano wire...don't know where he would get that from.
How about he kisses a woman through the bars, nicks her hat pin, conceals it, then picks the lock?
Distracts the local blind piano tuner, then lifts the old piano wire from his bag, bends it to shape and picks the lock?

Mattress needle. Again. Not sure why they would have this laying around a jail cell, but it's wire and fairly strong.

Or a robot from the future.....

[GWiens2001]

Wire fences. Barbed wire was just starting to make an appearance, but smooth wire was around. Maybe he had woven a little into a bracelet or into his belt. Straightens the wire, bends it into an L shape using the lock keyway itself, then grinds it thin enough using the blocks of the wall or floor.

Gordon

[Dogrocket]

How about the prong from a belt buckle, or one of the metal buckles from a pair of suspenders?

Suspender buckles/parts appear to be a likely candidate with a few bends based on some Google image searches (Many already have L shaped bends).

[smokingman]

You have to be in cahoots with the piano player at the town saloon,
get him to trim some wire from the one destroyed in the last brawl there,
probably yesterday , which is why yer in jail now.
Get miss Kitty to smuggle it into the jail to you in an apple pie and there you go.
Sweet freedom !

[writer4]

Thanks for the very helpful (and funny) responses. The common denominator seems to be getting a wire, bending it into an L shape and grinding it down to make it thinner. Assuming I've got that right, could you educate me as to how that would actually work to unlock the cell door (it seems to easy, but what do I know) and if one would simply jiggle the wire around or is some specific type of movement required?

By the way, in my research, I've read that some jailed criminals back then escaped by placing a piece of paper between the two parts of the lock mechanism (sorry, don't know the right lingo). Is that also a possibility and, if so, how would I describe that?

Really appreciate the help!

[GWiens2001]

The paper or tape trick would not work with a deadlocking bolt such as those jail cells would use.

How the wires are used (you need at least two), use the search button above and look for picking lever locks. It would be faster than us typing a response.

Gordon

[MacGyver101]

The common denominator seems to be getting a wire, bending it into an L shape and grinding it down to make it thinner. Assuming I've got that right, could you educate me as to how that would actually work to unlock the cell door (it seems to easy, but what do I know) and if one would simply jiggle the wire around or is some specific type of movement required?

If it was a fairly basic lock (a "warded lock" that would use what most people think of as a "skeleton key"), then your fictional prisoner could perhaps take a stiff wire, and start by making a small bend in it so that it was in the shape of an "L". The bottom of the "L" would be fairly short (roughly the same size as the key hole in the jail cell door). You'd then need to make a "handle" at the other end, so that you could turn your "key": you could make another bend at the other end of the wire, or make a small loop where the head of the key would normally be. In a very simple lock, the wire could then be inserted into the lock and twisted, just like a key: if it were the right size, stiffness and distance into the lock, then it could pass between the obstructions inside the lock (called "wards") and pull back the bolt (just as the real key would do).

I've simplified the process a tiny bit, but hopefully that gives you a reasonable idea.

By the way, in my research, I've read that some jailed criminals back then escaped by placing a piece of paper between the two parts of the lock mechanism (sorry, don't know the right lingo). Is that also a possibility and, if so, how would I describe that?

Hrm. Sounds like that might be describing a different type of door latch. If you picture something like a bathroom doorknob, the latch is spring loaded: this lets you close your bathroom door without having to turn the knob. If you put a piece of tape over the strike plate in the doorframe (or, in the 1870's, covered or filled the hole in the door frame with stiff paper), it would prevent the door from latching: you could just push it open. Perhaps your Western jail had a lock like that on an outside door? That's different, though, than how most jail cell locks of that era would have worked. They were typically "dead-latching" (like the deadbolt on your front door); they don't lock automatically... you need to turn a key to lock them, and a piece of paper in the way would stop you from turning the key. Once that type of lock is locked, you can't open it by wiggling a piece of paper in to push the bolt back out of the way ("shimming").

In contrast to the simple locks you're thinking of, the first couple of locks you can see here would have been in service a few years later (circa 1900-1920) in high-security jails in the US and Canada, and would have required a lot more sophistication to open (and more than just a single wire).

Hope that helps!

[keysman]

I'm interested in knowing if picks existed at the time which a knowledgeable lock picker could have used or if there was some other way to unlock the cell.

In contrast to the simple locks you're thinking of, the first couple of locks you can see .... would have been in service a few years later (circa 1900-1920) in high-security jails in the US and Canada, and would have required a lot more sophistication to open (and more than just a single wire).

It might be possible to fabricate a key from a piece of metal, from a tobacco tin, a nail ,eating utensil or possibly from bed springs or other parts . Shoe leather or wood might also be fashioned into some useful tools.

Here is a link to give you some ideas to start with:
http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/ne ... es?image=0

[writer4]

You guys are awesome! Thanks for all the great input!

[Truth_seeker]

How to use the tools has already been described & I don't know my history as well as some but I know presently many prison inmates make lots of handy tools from the metal used for their bed frames. maybe spring from the matters or bed spring could work, or the thin metal handle from his toilet pale, I'm sure at the time lots of metal objects were made of iron or tin, tin is very easy to manipulate (though a thin piece of tin may need to b doubled up in order to make it ridged enough) & iron if thin enough is easy to manipulate as well, plus iron is prone to rusting & could have thin jagged pieces judding out or separated from the main body of the object that could be easily cracked off & filed & manipulated to make whatever tools nessecary...a toothbrush could even be used (if the prisoner was afforded that luxury) then ground into the desired shape, the ear piece from a pair of eye glasses might work.. I'm by no means an expert on locks & most of my suggestions would work best on latch lock, though some of them could possibly be used on warded locks as well. there were allot of good suggestions posted, I just thought id add a creative touch, now that you know how the locks work after having more educated men than myself explain it, I might suggest that u look into how modern day prisoners operate & how creative they can be with their tools & weapons & the materials they use to make them, I think you will be quite impressed & that it would give you a great deal of insight concerning what could be used as a lock pick now that u know how the lock works & what items your character has at his access to do so...good luck...watch lots of prison movies & episodes of "locked up" if your american...if you want to portray a criminal try & think like one...

[YouLuckyFox]

30 Years a Detective by Allan Pinkerton will be a great resource for anyone writing a book that takes place in the 1800s. It is viewable on archive.org and is an invaluable resource. Hope that helps.

[Jimmie]

not in the 19th century ... a true story ... how these guys were clever !! it will give you an idea how prisoners can make lockpicks with wood and wire !!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WyeAaYjlxE