Excuse me but what are they doing?

[ldnlksmth]

I carry tools in the trunk of my car (I'm on call most of the time, and hate to have to drive half way across the city to get my truck if I'm nearby and it's a simple opening), and whenever I'm bored, usually waiting for my wife somewhere, I pop open my kit and start picking... I find it a great way to keep in practice, since I don't pick open locks every day othewise. I 'challenge' myself with things like Sargent cylinders pinned to the edge of MACS, uber-spooled cyls etc etc, the more you know...

[Circus_Ninja]

Camelot! Camelot! camelot! It's only a model....

I pick in class, when the certain teachers ramble on teaching us stuff that isnt actually true (My "life orientation" teracher said that BeiJing WASNT the capital of China!?!?!?) i sit back, hold a lock between my knees and i pick it.then it pops open,i close it and pick again etc...

i've gotten into trouble before though. someone broke into a (locked) class and of course all the fingers get pointed to me
Anyway, they caught the criminal, he didnt use the door. he climbed through the classroom window

My King already has onE! [holy grail]

[cL4y]

my brother keeps accusing me of becoming a cat burglar when im older

[JLennox]

But is there a way to explain this to people.

I've been trying to find one for years.

When ever I see members of my extended family, they always try to jump to lowest common denominator conversations. "See the sox game last night?"

Sorry, missed it. And every single other one.

My hobbies include mostly reverse engineering (some thing I'd classify lock picking under). The amount of questions I'd need to go through would just be endless and fruitless.

It some times feels hard to socialize with random people when your hobbies extend past television and that weeks weather. Because I normally avoid their shoe horned conversations, I can only assume most of them think I'm a jerk, or anti-social, though it's rather to the contrary.

[Schuyler]

My friends, upon finding out my hobby, have been known to say "Well, can't have you anywhere near the house anymore, eh?" only half-jokingly. To which I reply "Well, yeah, you know, unless you're locked out." which often gets a "OOOOHHHHHHHHH!" out of them.

Unfortunately, some never make the half hearted joke at all, don't give me the chance to talk to them about it and just act differently around me from there on out.

[Bud Wiser]

It's amazing the reaction lock picking gets. Add the word locksmith and every one breaths a sigh of relief and says oooh. Mess with them and say, just kidding really a thief, and they gasp for air. Some times it's fun to play with peoples heads

[ldnlksmth]

when I bought my house, my neighbour asked what I did for a living. I told him I was locksmith. he went through a few ranges... first was "cool, it's good to know someone I can call when I get locked out of my car/house/toolbox", the second, far more serious one was 'what can I do to keep people out of my house that know how to pick locks".

Since I'm in the business, I can sell him stuff that's less popular to pick (I put ABLOY locks on his doors), and set him up with an alarm system that had all kinds of bells and whistles, which he enjoys and I continue to benefit from. I always carry a supply of business cards with me, just in case (for potential customers, as well as those wondering why I'm carrying tools such as lock picks)

[dosman]

So far most of my family has responded well once I bring out the locks and picks. I've always have a new hobby or technical adventure so they have long expected the strange and unusual from me. I've found that most women respond well and are eager to learn, probably about 75% of all guys are either interested and the rest ignore me after they learn what it is I'm doing. I was especially happy to see my mother to open a couple locks.

I usually try to not take picks out in public on a regular basis, although I will on occaison. I just don't want to make it a habbit and then end up in an awkward situation and have to explain to authorities why I have my picks. Whenever I do have them I always have my bag of locks too. Besides the fact that I'm only picking my own hardware, it's additional evidence that I'm not a criminal and legitimately a locksport hobbiest.

[Bud Wiser]

...
Since I'm in the business, I can sell him stuff that's less popular to pick (I put ABLOY locks on his doors), and set him up with an alarm system that had all kinds of bells and whistles, which he enjoys and I continue to benefit from...

You sold your neighbor abloy locks and a security system with bells and whistles? Wonder if his paranoia occurred before or after you moved in

[ldnlksmth]

the way he put it is "I've been meaning to get an alarm system for a while, so I might as well have someone I know put it in"

as for the locks, when I explained how many ways there are to bypass them (picking, drilling, bumping, etc etc) he was right on board with higher security. I don't think I CAUSED the paranoia, as much as I brought it to the surface and justified it for him. We're good friends now, so I don't think there are any real resentment issues there.

[novicelockpicker]

seems like theres a lot of younger members like me in this forum!

well ever since i've gotten into lockpicking i've seen more jaw drops than ever in my whole life. and yes i do carry around a lock to pick when im bored....as for reactions i've seen so many different ones- wow (when i cracked a dudley in 20 sec. infront of my friends before school), nerd..and could you open my locker for me...try picking this kids locker (a big no no i explain0 lp101) etc.etc....and i showed my parents all sorts of things ...bumping..picking...and just when they thought i couldnt get any more ridiculous- i bought a Sargent & Greenleaf 831B ...ya its been wonderful getting sucked into the world of lockpicking

[Marco]

i've gotten into trouble before though. someone broke into a (locked) class and of course all the fingers get pointed to me

This is the reason number 1 that I never pick locks at school anymore. Although i never came across this situation, i started thinking of the possibility and promptly stopped. Reason number 2 why i don't pick locks at school is that people are going to start asking questions. Every kid is going to want to know how to get into locks, and when everybody knows...well nobody's belongings will really be safe at my school anymore.

I will never pick locks around people my age (15). But in public, on a bus maybe, I always do it. If somebody older sees what I'm doing, even if they question me and I explain to them, they will most likely be too busy to start trying. Pretty much the way i look at it is; The fewer people who no how to get into locks, the better.

[raimundo]

its been decades since I pickedlocks in public just to see what the reaction was, the usual reaction in those days was oblivion, no one noticed. You can be in a mickyD's, (i don't eat that anymore) and no one will even give it a second look, though perhaps they are timid and intimidated by the thought.

About thieves and people who know you pick locks acuseing you of something, (I have been accused of taking a wallet once and it was found in the couch of that room a year later, no picking would have been necessary if anyone did take it, the room was normaly open)(that was many years ago) The person to suspect of actually doing the theft is usually the loudest and most insistant of the accusers. the one whos only evidence is knowing that you pick and using that to cover for his crimes.

[Tygart]

Cool old thread..

I haven’t had the chance to pick locks in public. But I was at a yard sale a couple of weeks ago, and my dad found 4 pad locks. They lady was going to throw them out since they did not have a key, but her husband said no some one will buy them. When buying them she smiled and asked if I picked locks. I did not get a chance to show her since I was headed to the store.

She seamed fine with it. and I havn't had anyone I have told think bad about it.

[Mutzy]

The closest I get to lock picking in public is taking a satchel of locks and my pickset to camps that I go to. (These are usually Church family or similar camps)
I've found that my biggest break-through picking happened on a camp, which was an ABUS granite padlock with tight keyway and mushroom pins. I was quite happy.