gotta start somewhere

[billehbehrke]

This is my first post and i'd LOVE to get good at lockpicking and such. I'm 16 and in the mean time before i get a good lock pick set is there any good stuff i make on my own with no grinder? i try to use paper clips but i have no idea how to make a good tension wrench. how do you stick a tension wrench in a lock without taking up room in the lock to actually pick it and still having it big enough to turn the lock? I need help...

[nezumi]

1) Might I recommend the search function. These questions are answered quite in depth elsewhere on the site.

2) Why don't you have a lockpicking set? It's $12 and there are no age limits on it. Assumedly you aren't going to be fooling around with a lock actually in a door (this will be very difficult as a first lock using poor tools, plus there's the chance that you will permanently break the lock and therefore require the expensive services of a locksmith to replace said lock). Therefore, you'll probably be putting down another $8 for a new lock anyway. Why no tools?

For home made lockpicks, safety pins or bobby pins apparently work better than paper clips (I've never used any, however, so I can't really say). All of these are far inferior to an actual lockpicking set though.

[hzatorsk]

This is my first post and i'd LOVE to get good at lockpicking and such. I'm 16 and in the mean time before i get a good lock pick set is there any good stuff i make on my own with no grinder? i try to use paper clips but i have no idea how to make a good tension wrench. how do you stick a tension wrench in a lock without taking up room in the lock to actually pick it and still having it big enough to turn the lock? I need help...

Look around for small flat spring steel. Be creative, bobby pins, piano/guitar wire, steel/brass craft stock from hobby store, etc..

The purpose of the tension wrench is to apply turning to the plug. Even a small flatblade screwdriver will do that for you. Most are flat pieces of spring steel various width bent into an "L" shape to give a handle.

Since keyways vary in size, so should your tools. Over time, you'll develop a knack for seeing things suitable to use.

I've even seen locks picked using a hex wrench set as a tension tool. The hex wrench set comes with a variety of sizes and one will almost always fit snugly in the bottom of the keyway.

Sometimes, picking is tight... even with professional tooling. Tension wrenches often get in the way of the pick. You cope with it, cuss at it, and work around it.

PLENTY of threads here about making your own tools.

Welcome aboard...

[hzatorsk]

...piano/guitar wire...

Yeah... yeah... I know it ain't flat, but twist a loop into one end of a 6" length... it'll makes a heck of a good pick/probe. Also... bend a tight loop in the end... it'll serve as a tension wrench in a pinch.

...and your piano will never miss it.

z