Historical lockpicks

[dirtymoney]

I was doing some image searches on google of lockpicks (never know what cool stuff you find by just searching images).... and ran across this...

http://travelphotobase.com/v/USMI/MIGR115.HTM

Thought it was interesting & that you guys might enjoy it.

[dirtymoney]

Just found this one as well...

A set of picks made by "Eddie the Wire"

http://www.flickr.com/photos/matthetube/3203508349/

[raimundo]

the watergate lockpick set, and one by 'eddiethewire'

There is supposedly a set of lockpicks at the minnesota hystorical society that came from a burgler named 'red rudinsky' who was around chicago in the capone era, the guy eventually went straight and worked for 3M on burglar alarms and stuff.

I went there intested in seeing this exhibit that I had heard about from an interview on public radio of one of the curators.
I really wanted to see what picks were in there as there are locks of this era that I am not familiar with the picking of,

generally they are lever padlocks of a certain style that uses a cross T style of key. they are yale swing shackle cast bronze locks.

The people at the front desk at the minn hyst soc claimed that they could not locate the exhibit.

If anyone else searches there eitehr online or at the building in ST Paul, let us know if they are now showing this exhibit.

[dauce]

Just found this one as well...

A set of picks made by "Eddie the Wire"

http://www.flickr.com/photos/matthetube/3203508349/

Both sets are really neat to see. In a way it would be cool if replicas were made for purchase. Maybe that would be too much like supporting villians lol.

[raimundo]

several tension tools, some possibly made of ground thin allen wrenches

the only picks I see are one hook, and one halfdiamond, not easy to see to the right of the broken key extractor.

seems eddie thought like I do, you don't need a lot of tools, just the right ones, and a skill that is developed by practice

[Squelchtone]

I'd like to find out from any lp101 old timer locksmiths how they purchased their picks. Was there a catalog like Foley Belsaw or another mail order place? I know it is common to call one of a handful of places and just buy a set of HPC, Rytan, Brockhage, or Majestic picks but when did they start selling pick sets in the format we are all familiar with. Seems at least 1970's since the watergate guys had a little zip up case, but the case may have been for sunglasses or custom made.

I wonder if there are any patents for basic shapes like the hook or half diamond...

cool thread, thanks for posting
Squelchtone

Update: I just noticed in the HPC catalog that they started distributing things after 1945 and opened up shop as HPC in 1956 being the first company to mass produce picks. All hail HPC! =)

[gibson]

in the 160 years or so that the modern pin-tumbler lock has been around, i guess almost every possible pick shape has been tried, my guess being that the hook is the oldest (a hold-over from the lever lockpick?). the oldest pictures i've seen of picks was in the old so-called oss lockpicking book (locks, picks, clicks). some of them look like falle tools! i don't know when majestic started making picks, but their pickgun has been around since the 30's. some of kenneth melton's books on espionage show HPC picktools as being CIA issue. i would guess that HPC picks have probably been used in more blackbag jobs than all the others combined (considering federal, state, and local authorities). does anyone know what is currently issued in government picksets?

[raimundo]

I doubt they issue some particular set,
likly if the gov trains people they would only be using a hook and halfdiamond.

LEOs who have picks most likely are self supplied with the possibility of reimbursment. and the people who buy them are self selected,

Gov tends to prefer destructive methods, they are into "search and destroy" methods.

[gibson]

yes - remember the 'only you can prevent forests' program?

[raimundo]

To Squelch, you asked where picks were sold in the old days.

usually in a larger city, there is a "locksmith jobber" who is the guy who sells tools and locks to the lock shops. this is the guy who you call when you need something very specific that you don't stock and you need it today. picks to door closers, they have it all.
In minneapolis there is Doyle, and in ST paul its reinhart or some such as that in vadnais heights. you call the one in your city and if they dont have it you call the other one.

When I was a locksmith, in San Francisco in the early 70's I bought a set of picks in a large and very diverse hardware store on mission street.
I was walking by and saw them in the window display, they also sold me the ten power loupe that I used for years to verify good marks when impressioning. and a twelve inch fourth cut rattail file that lasted for three decades.

[MortimerDuke]

When I was a locksmith, in San Francisco in the early 70's I bought a set of picks in a large and very diverse hardware store on mission street.

From what I understand, San Fran was a wild and wooly place in the early 70's. I know it's off-topic, but you must have some good stories from that time.

[raimundo]

It was memorable, we had big customers like Safeway Bechtel, Coldwell banker, United Airlines,
the shop had 9 journeymen and apprentices, (I was apprentice then) some jobs like hanging herculite doors required several workers,
The american presidents line of passenger ship service in the pacific was still operating so at one time a call I was on was on one of these ships which used bronze lever locks, ships probably still do, due to the salty air and the corrosion.
the shop had 14 foot ceilings which were common before air conditioning, the building was probably built just after the 1906 earthquake.
Mondays and Tuesdays were spent repairing weekends burglaries. One large downtown building had a steel door that was attacked with damage but without getting in and then it was attacked again the next week, same result and finally it was broken into the third weekend.
I never would have seen the inside of the Zen center except for a locksmith call, they had beautiful things and used good locks,
we installed abloy cabinet locks on all the desks at the SF Chronicle, and one time we went to the Rolling Stone magazine offices which were in sanfrancisco at that time, they later went to newyork or somewhere but then they were on the third or fourth floor of 625 Third ST.
Once removed all the tumblers on a vault door and replaced them with smaller fender washers so that Sidney Poitier could pretend to open it in a movie they were shooting, one or the sequels to "in the heat of the night" I think Then we got called back to make the vault secure again.
yeah, it was an interesting time back then, I was first in sanfrancisco in 1967 when I was stationed at the presidio army base while training at letterman army general hospital that was the famous so called 'summer of love' once saw janis joplin on haight street she was in a crowd of people around her. I was back in the crowd. Sausalito was very interesting in those days when the houseboats were at the docks, all that has disappeared now that the town is full of millionaires. So it was a good time to be young there.

[Capt_Tom]

I have worked for government agencies, and as a LEO, and in the safe/lock business. I have seen many variations of opening tools. Some were "louder" than others. All did the job.

My picks were purchased in 1972, when I worked for the Mosler Safe Company. The set and case look like the Watergate set..... BUT I have an alibi!

[ice_man]

It was memorable, we had big customers like Safeway Bechtel, Coldwell banker, United Airlines,
the shop had 9 journeymen and apprentices, (I was apprentice then) some jobs like hanging herculite doors required several workers,
The american presidents line of passenger ship service in the pacific was still operating so at one time a call I was on was on one of these ships which used bronze lever locks, ships probably still do, due to the salty air and the corrosion.
the shop had 14 foot ceilings which were common before air conditioning, the building was probably built just after the 1906 earthquake.
Mondays and Tuesdays were spent repairing weekends burglaries. One large downtown building had a steel door that was attacked with damage but without getting in and then it was attacked again the next week, same result and finally it was broken into the third weekend.
I never would have seen the inside of the Zen center except for a locksmith call, they had beautiful things and used good locks,
we installed abloy cabinet locks on all the desks at the SF Chronicle, and one time we went to the Rolling Stone magazine offices which were in sanfrancisco at that time, they later went to newyork or somewhere but then they were on the third or fourth floor of 625 Third ST.
Once removed all the tumblers on a vault door and replaced them with smaller fender washers so that Sidney Poitier could pretend to open it in a movie they were shooting, one or the sequels to "in the heat of the night" I think Then we got called back to make the vault secure again.
yeah, it was an interesting time back then, I was first in sanfrancisco in 1967 when I was stationed at the presidio army base while training at letterman army general hospital that was the famous so called 'summer of love' once saw janis joplin on haight street she was in a crowd of people around her. I was back in the crowd. Sausalito was very interesting in those days when the houseboats were at the docks, all that has disappeared now that the town is full of millionaires. So it was a good time to be young there.

wow sound like a really good time to be alive

[Teddy Picker]

Just found this one as well...

A set of picks made by "Eddie the Wire"

http://www.flickr.com/photos/matthetube/3203508349/

One of those picks looks like the "broken key extractor" picks that are sold with some commercial sets. Has anyone ever found a use for these? If they're included in eddiethewire's set he must have thought they were useful.