What percentage of padlocks can be shimmed?

[cnidocyte]

Shimability seems like a very easy vulnerability to patch up so its a mystery to me why any padlock manufacturers sell padlocks that can be shimmed but they obviously do. What percentage of padlocks these days can be shimmed though? Is it the minority? Is it generally the cheaper padlocks that have no shimming countermeasures? I often forget my keys when I go into college and that leaves me really some days cuz I can't get into my locker to get my lab coat and glasses. It would be pretty cool if I could just make a shim out of an empty can and get in. The university provides the locks for the students so they have to buy thousands of them so they're not gonna be buying top of the line, hi-tech padlocks. If they're shimmable, that'd be a pretty cool trick to have up my sleeve for days when I'm locked out.

[weilawei]

Sorry, we can't help you with this. Don't pick/bypass locks in use. Also, it's probably illegal as the padlocks are owned by the university, not you.

[illusion]

Often only the cheap rubbish ones that can be easily picked or raked open anyway.

Any locks you couldn't pick easily tend to have ball bearing locking mechanisms which shimming won't work on.

I was in a similar situation before and I disassembled the lock, leaving out all of the pins except the first one and reassembled - by inserting anything into the keyway you could apply tension to the plug and wiggle the only pin a little bit and the lock would open. Of course I bought a cheap similar looking lock to do this, for obvious reasons.

Keep a copy of the key somewhere you can easily find it at the college would be my suggestion, or alternatively don't leave the key behind in the first place...?

[cnidocyte]

We buy the padlocks off the university so I don't think shimming them would be illegal. Last time I was locked out I went to the security office and asked for a hammer so I could pry the lock off and they didn't have a problem with that they just told me to wait until the bolt cutters were available. A little bit of research revealed that the locks provided by my university can be shimmed in seconds. I didn't really think this through though, if I don't have enough time to wait for the security personnel to come and break the lock for me, theres no way I'd have enough time to make a shim out of a can so stashing a spare key somewhere in the college is probably a better approach.

[cnidocyte]

Although I'm not gonna use this knowledge, I get some serious satisfaction out of knowing I can get by a padlock if needs be . Now I remember why I was so interested in all this a few years ago. Before I got into a chemistry course, I was planning on becoming a locksmith cuz I love all this stuff. I'm good with my hands and have a talent for improvising things but like home locksmithing, home chemistry isn't considered a legitimate hobby in the eyes of society these days so I'm forced to have my fun in a clandestine manner.

[illusion]

Yeah, have a friend who was equally forgetful and stashed a spare key in the reservoirs for one of the sollege toilets, tucked out of sight - The keys were brass and being constantly submerged did them no harm. Worked well enough for him and during the three years he stayed at college they were never discovered or removed.

Get a pickset tbh - They're relatively cheap and any padlocks that can be shimmed, often can be easily picked - Plus you can use them on locks other than padlocks, also can be quite fun as a distraction during essay writing I find.