Taking Abandoned Locks

[LTblueknight]

Hello everyone,

I am new to lockpicking, and so far I am having a lot of fun with it, but am noticing that there are very few locks in my home that I don't mind damaging with my sloppy techniques. The front door is too hard to pick, and I read that I shouldn't pick a lock that I use anyways. I went to the hardware store today to buy some locks to practice on, but there's no way I'm paying 10 dollars for a single padlock... and larger sets of 4 or so padlocks are always keyed alike, which is no good for practice, right?

So here's the question... Every now and then you see a long abandoned lock on a bike rack, or a fence, or some other silly place. What do you think about picking them to add to your collection of locks? Obviously it would be a hard situation to talk yourself out of it you were caught, so I'm not so sure if it's a good idea. What are your thoughts? Maybe I should just try some pawn shops or other used goods places.

And no, I wouldn't think about stealing a lock which is in use.

Thanks for the info!

[unlisted]

Stealing/Theft is NEVER a good idea. Regardless of the reason.

Even more so with this hobby.. Imagine if you are caught... What will the police suspect you of?

[Jaakko]

The lock you think is abandoned might be in use actually. For example in our apartment building people tend to leave the lock and th chain in the bike rack when they go biking.

The bottom line is: The lock is not yours and you don't have a permission to pick/have it, so it is a theft.

[LTblueknight]

Alright, I thought it might be a bad idea. Thanks for the quick response!

Tomorrow morning I'll hit up some pawn shops and garage sales and see what I can find.

[mattman]

Tomorrow morning I'll hit up some pawn shops and garage sales and see what I can find.

My wife is a flea market fanatic, and she would many times find locks for me for just a few bucks. Once she found an old Yale wafer padlock for only 50 cents. It didn't have a key, but in this hobby you don't need a key. I just applied some graphite to loosen up the lock, and picked away. So if you don't mind getting used locks, there's many places out there where you can find them.

-Matt

[LTblueknight]

Okay, so I bought 5 different master padlocks to practice on from the hardware store.

Now to work on my skills...

[unlisted]

Check for restores in your area. They are all over the US, and also in Ontario, I would imagine you have some out that way...

[LTblueknight]

Oh yea, I had never heard of the Habitat for Humanity.. but now that I look it up, I can see there are a few in my area. I'll check that out next time I'm in town.

[ToolyMcgee]

Legalities aside, picking a padlock from an old tree could be the same thing as stealing coins from a wishing well or flowers from a grave. It's possible the person who locked it there wanted it to stay there forever. It's possible it was left behind by a person who survived the owner, just as if they had never died. So in that instance, what person has the right to give you permission to remove it? That may sound overly dramatic, but it is probable that it could have an intangible value to someone. To ask a person if you can have an old lock on their property, much less pick it off is very suspicious to most people unless the timing is just right. If you happen along when it's about to be cut, the tree it's locked to is being cut down, the rack it's on is being scrapped, or whatever, this is the time to rescue it from a trash pile. Look at it like keeping an endangered species in captivity. Unless some other circumstance intervenes to make it's removal necessary to it's survival, then just let it be. Besides, old street locks filled with grit aren't ideal for picking anyway. Most often they are difficult for the wrong reasons. Dirt, malfunction, disintegration.

Just to offer up a different possible perspective. Good luck with your new locks.

-Tooly

[beeler]

i was wondering about this a week or two ago and decited to leave them

[femurat]

Hey Tooly,
you impressed me with your perspective! Very nice point of view.

Cheers

[KenW]

If you know any real estate agents who show a lot of bank/hud foreclosures, ask them if they can pick up any stray lock sets they find for you.

When the banks take possession of a house, they either padlock it or change the door locks to secure it. Either way they take off the doorknob and frequently leave the old knob on the floor next to the door, or on the porch, in the bushes, or in the garbage.

The funny part is that when someone buys the house, they usually change out the locks again and throw out the brand new one that the bank installed. It's a shame to waste all those locks!


*Keys not included.

[beeler]

thanks for the tips guys!!!!

[bumber]

does anyone remember that old post with the wall of locks in thiland or newyork or something where all the lovers came and put a lock on to display their love...basicly

there was like 1000's of locks and who looks at pawn shops for locks

[l0ckp1cker]

does anyone remember that old post with the wall of locks in thiland or newyork or something where all the lovers came and put a lock on to display their love...basicly

there was like 1000's of locks and who looks at pawn shops for locks

This one you mean?

http://vashtijoseph.files.wordpress.com ... t-wall.jpg

That looks really cool!!!