Question on lock picking.

by **c.ry.ptic** » 25 Dec 2005 15:53

hey just wonderin i mean instead of buying some set for 20+ dollars or getting all the machinery spending 20+ also isnt there a way to pick locks with two paper clips? it may sound like a stupid question but in my first year of college on my way to try and becoming a locksmith one of my teachers went over to the door locked it then under like 10-30 seconds picked it with 2 paper clips that he assembled? anyone know a trainng manual or like a tutorial that could teach me how to do that with paper clips?

by **illusion** » 25 Dec 2005 16:01

hmmm... well it can be done with a safety pin and I've done it myself so I know it can be done... a 5 pin deadbolt will pick with a tension wrench and a safety pin...

you can pick simple wafer locks with two paperclips, and quite fast, but faced with the effort needed to lift the pins I've found them too weak for pin tumbler locks - if anybody wants to dissagree then fine, but that's my opinion.

I just bought a small set of Southords first and they have done me proud.

you've got me curous now... why don't you want to pick locks with a small set of picks?? - I mean although I'd use a safety pin in an emergency it would drive me crazy doing it often.

by **c.ry.ptic** » 25 Dec 2005 16:44

its the challenge and the fact that it can be done but takes patience and skill. i was just wondering cause i know the paper clips are pretty dman weak and was just thinking is it possible to lift up the pins on tumblers or so on forth or if when you use the force, the paper clips will snap?

by **webidiot2** » 25 Dec 2005 16:46

I dont know about a manual on picking locks with paperclips but here is a link how to make picks yourself here http://lockpicking101.com/viewtopic.php?t=2465

by **illusion** » 25 Dec 2005 16:51

Every paperclip I have tried failed miserably and just bent when I tried to lift the pins.

If you really want to do it this way then get a safety pin... bend the tip to a 50Â° angle so it's a hook pick basicaly... then just use that.

Unfortunately the safety pin will bend after a bit and you'll need to bend it back, but it's okay.

You'll need somethng for a tension wrench as well - that clips on some pens have been said to work, and also bicycle spokes when hammered flat and bent to 90Â° will work.

By all means try paperclips and see if they work for you - I hate them and have found them to be crap, they do however have a good use, and that's for repinning euro-profile cylinder locks lol.

by **illusion** » 25 Dec 2005 17:06

this has nothging really to do with your original question but I'll throw this link in because it's quite funny.

a wafer lock picked with..... a banana!

http://www.locksport.com/LSI_banana_pick.mov

yeah, so might be worth a laugh either way.. and since I'm bored, what-the-heck!

by **c.ry.ptic** » 25 Dec 2005 17:35

cool thx illusion ill tru using some of the pen clips as a tension wrench but most are pretty small lol.

by **c.ry.ptic** » 25 Dec 2005 17:38

sorry for sudden re-post but i couldnt find an edit button, i just wanted to know what other cheap stuff could i use for a tension wrench? and is there specific diagrams to show how to insert the pick + tension wrench in a lock cuz my teachers they usually dont give diagrams they explain and im half way at the back, and its hard to see at points.

by **vector40** » 25 Dec 2005 17:50

You can try ghetto-tempering a paper clip with a lighter, Leatherman or something to hold it, and glass of water, if you're really in that unfortunate of a situation.

by **illusion** » 25 Dec 2005 17:50

hmm... the tension wrench can be inserted either in the gap in front of the pins or at the bottom of the plug.

the pick is simply inserted in and lifts the pins up - simple stuff.

I feel you would find the MIT guide useful mate... it's in the FAQ section of this site and is free so worth your while if you haven't already read it.

There is something fundementily flawed with your story though.. I mean it makes no difference, but a college for locksmiths? - and they had no diagrams? Either way it's not specialy important.

Well this may be of help or may not... I've given you food for thought and it's up to you to make something of this.

by **stlbolt** » 26 Dec 2005 1:20

The reason alot of people fail at picking a lock with a paper clip is because they don't bend it in the right spot, you unwide one part of the paper clip and get some plyers and bend it up right at the end so you have a bent out of shape l so its really close to the end..

I tried to make a example... I had a bit of trouble but eh you get the point

http://geekyhackers.com/paperclip1.wmv

by **digital_blue** » 26 Dec 2005 1:33

If you use a large style paper clip such as stlbolt used in his video, you can actually get ti to work fine, at least for a while. After much use the metal becomes to malleable and will be ineffective.

However....

If you are serious about getting into lockpicking and you wish to really develop the feel and technique, this is a terrible way to go about it. You would be much better served by some real picks.

If, however, you simply wish to be able to pick *some* pin tumbler locks with sometimes dodgy results, then you've found just the right way to go about it with the safety pins.

That's my

Cheers!

db

by **illusion** » 26 Dec 2005 6:11

hmmm... I learnt to use safety pins after using picks so I knew what I was doing - it wasn't much diferent. As I said before it would put me right off picking were I to use it constantly...

however it is a cool thing to learn once you're already good at it - would probably not help at the beginning though, but everybody has diferent ways of learning and maybe doing it "Mcgyther style" would give someone the drive to learn.

if you use a safety pin make sure you file away at the point so it doesn't get stuck between the pins... a few millimetres is fine and sand the end a bit to help it glide under the pins.

I still use a safety pin occasionaly and still get some laughs out of it

by **DrStu** » 26 Dec 2005 7:23

If you want to become a locksmith I would think investing in a set of lockpicks would be obvious. I am not a locksmith myself but, I would think a big part of being one would be the ablity to use various kinds of tools. I agree with Illusion that it is fun to pick a lock with improvised tools but, I would consider it a secondary skill to using the proper tools.

by **Aqua** » 26 Dec 2005 8:35

Well.. my first week of picking, untill i got my dremel, it was only safety pins & paper clips. I was quite surprised by the effects... Single picking took a bit longer, since the pick did bend quite a lot, but as a pick like that takes 3 minutes max to make - it's not a problem to make a new one if the one you had would break, or just be too bendable to use. I even had a few safety-pin rakes - it's quite amazong how sfficient some of those were. Mabey it's just becouse you can make a lot of different rakes in a really short amount of time, and use the ones that work best. The only thing you need to know to succesfully pick a lock with tools like that is 'how the lock actually work'... if you'll know what you have to do, and how to do it - it's just a matter of minutes. The MIT guide is the thing you're looking for. Also have a look at the link in my sig.

P.S. I still prefers the paper plip tension wrenches over the ones i make from hacksaw blades, but I believe, that it's much harder to get a good feel inside the lock with pins made from safety pins. If i were you, i would make/order some real picks just to teach myself the basics, and perhaps then try to get back to paper clips and safety pins, to 'prove my point to that darn proffesor'

Cheers and good luck.

Question on lock picking.

Question on lock picking.

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