Best Pick for Kwikset Smartlocks

[name-TBA]

One of my biggest hangups on not offering any locksmith serviced is I can't pick a smartkey.

I have no doubt I can break one, absolutely no doubt, and I know many of you just say drill, but I'm planning on including a 10 free minute picking period for doing this, and don't want to he of the attitude that all I gotta do is drill a Kevo they paid a absurd amount of money for, and slap a $12 lock on in it's place. No doubt a lot of that will be happening soon, but if I'm going to be pucking the lock, I don't want to pretend pick it, I want to have a decently good chance of getting in, if it is still otherwise functional.

What pick do you use? I saw a video a while back (old phone, no link) of some guy in Illinois or Indiana who figured out if he could stick a flag on a needle inside, he could count the levels to the side, but I've had no luck doing this with any pick so far, and Bosnian Bill's video did not replicate for me at all.

I've rekeyed it a few times. Even keyed it to my pick once just to see what it would look like to open it. Didn't really make me feel good.

At this point, I have ameth, Phone and a borelight too big to fit. I'm thinking of taking a Lishi and trimming all the top off a KW1 key, attaching that borelight to the end, and sticking it in. I was thinking put a small sliver of a dental mirror at the end at a 45° angle pointing right so I can see what I'm picking. But if I do that, can't really pick it, with it in.

Is there a good picking method for these kinds of lock? A favorite kind of pick? What are you actually doing to open them?

Can key impressioning work? I am still still working on that skillset, but haven't tried it mainly cause I know the lock works so differently from a pin lock, and don't care to break the ones I have yet.

I'm desperate to figure this out, to do it non-destructive.

[billdeserthills]

Please let me know when you figure it out

[Shackle Jackal]

I have yet to pick open the smartkey, but I picked one up yesterday and have got it open twice using pin-tumbler jigglers, very light tension and a bit of a wiggle instead of the more traditional in and out method seems to work well. I also could not replicate Bosnia Bills technique , has any one else had success with raking the smart key ?

[Jacob Morgan]

If I were a locksmith, my inclination would be to destructively open them for the customer--after all, are they not supposed to be pick proof? Then see if the customer would not be interested in a replacement that would not have the same destructive entry vulnerabilities.

There is a tool out there to help open them non-destructively (not to pick, but to decode). Runs around $300. MBA (and I would suppose LockMasters) sells them to legit locksmiths.

[Shackle Jackal]

If I were a locksmith, my inclination would be to destructively open them for the customer--after all, are they not supposed to be pick proof? Then see if the customer would not be interested in a replacement that would not have the same destructive entry vulnerabilities.

There is a tool out there to help open them non-destructively (not to pick, but to decode). Runs around $300. MBA (and I would suppose LockMasters) sells them to legit locksmiths.

check out the lock Lab, Bill has a vid where he rakes one open in about ten seconds. I am not a locksmith and am just curios about how easy/hard they are to pick. I am aware of the destructive opening techniques, but that does not interest me. The price went down from 20 $ to 12 $ at my local hardware store so I thought i would give it a try. I have heard of a couple other people picking the smart key, even using the reset hole as a point to tension.

[jimu57]

I think the Lock picking lawyer has spp'd one.

[jimu57]

Use the dumb key tool to force open a Smartkey lock anf the replace it with something that is decent.

Jim

[GWiens2001]

Have picked a couple of them. Not very easy for me to do, but do-able. I had to keep tension light, and try to estimate how far the wafer carrier (looks like a pin) travels. The false gates are smaller than the true gates.

Gordon

[Gantry]

Here's a video of the "Lock Picking Lawyer" SPP a Kwikset Smartkey lock.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0q0hNHZYsg

[Robotnik]

Some SPP relatively easily (takes me 5-10 min if it does work). Simpler bittings fall open for me using a city rake like a rocker pick. Some never yield. There's a wide variety. Light, bounced tension works well with these, as GWiens mentions.

[indigoalpha6]

i've spp'd a gen 1 using a bobbed wiper in tok, and a southord short hook in .025

[billdeserthills]

If I were a locksmith, my inclination would be to destructively open them for the customer--after all, are they not supposed to be pick proof? Then see if the customer would not be interested in a replacement that would not have the same destructive entry vulnerabilities.

There is a tool out there to help open them non-destructively (not to pick, but to decode). Runs around $300. MBA (and I would suppose LockMasters) sells them to legit locksmiths.

Actually I used to just take whichever flat blade screwdriver I had most recently bought from Kiwanis,
and destroy the Smartykey lock (& right in front of the customer but I have never managed to make the sale of
an upgrade), however the latest generation has come with an interesting new change
Now if you try to force the cylinder, the 'face' of the cylinder (maybe 3/8" thick) cracks off and becomes free-
spinning, whick actually hinders the turning of the cylinder, once I give up& get the drill. From now on I'm gonna
hafta get into these newly revised smartkey in a different way


The force tool quit working, about Gen 2, I believe. I have seen a tool for sale by someone on U-Tube from Canada
You are correct about the $300 wafer reader tool, but I just can't fork that much over to open this lock, not while
I still have my drill

[GWiens2001]

If I were a locksmith, my inclination would be to destructively open them for the customer--after all, are they not supposed to be pick proof? Then see if the customer would not be interested in a replacement that would not have the same destructive entry vulnerabilities.

There is a tool out there to help open them non-destructively (not to pick, but to decode). Runs around $300. MBA (and I would suppose LockMasters) sells them to legit locksmiths.

Actually I used to just take whichever flat blade screwdriver I had most recently bought from Kiwanis,
and destroy the Smartykey lock (& right in front of the customer but I have never managed to make the sale of
an upgrade), however the latest generation has come with an interesting new change
Now if you try to force the cylinder, the 'face' of the cylinder (maybe 3/8" thick) cracks off and becomes free-
spinning, whick actually hinders the turning of the cylinder, once I give up& get the drill. From now on I'm gonna
hafta get into these newly revised smartkey in a different way


The force tool quit working, about Gen 2, I believe. I have seen a tool for sale by someone on U-Tube from Canada
You are correct about the $300 wafer reader tool, but I just can't fork that much over to open this lock, not while
I still have my drill

It was a member of this site who came up with that wafer reader tool.

Gordon

[Raffles101]

Correct me if im wrong folks. But look at this.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Inspection-A ... 203P9YG4C1

There are loads on the market. Illuminated endoscope cameras for 10 bucks. Now just glue a metal strip for lifting to it and voila! 10 bucks for a wafer reader tool.

I may be wrong though.

[Silverado]

Correct me if im wrong folks. But look at this. https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Inspection-A ... 203P9YG4C1 There are loads on the market. Illuminated endoscope cameras for 10 bucks. Now just glue a metal strip for lifting to it and voila! 10 bucks for a wafer reader tool. I may be wrong though.

(For Squelchtone; I went through and deleted the &8BR HTML crap that pops into my quotes. Don't get excited, it's not fixed yet lol)

Looking at the pictures I see this comes with different "ends" for the scope as well. One with a hook, spring, and the third which I could only guess is a periscope. And I quote from the item description:
"Wide Applications: Ideal for motor vehicle, sewer pipeline, plumbing works, HVAC inspection, vent pipe, machine equipment, engine, criminal, automotive, boat, home care, constructions inspection and so on"

It's nice that they include that one of the applications of this tool is "criminal"

But I'd guess you could take something sturdier and work it into one of the endcaps and have yourself the thing you're looking for. It's obviously not the Frankenstein key with attached mirror, but it might help.