drworm wrote:I think I understand! Are the wards the little metal ridges? So, the key has to have grooves to fit those wards... but what stops somebody from making a key with only one ridge at the very bottom to open EVERY lock? I still haven't picked it... the coathanger keeps getting stuck between the wards. But I know that lockpicking takes patience and 11:50 at night isn't the best time to be patient. Am I doing anything overly wrong? Or do I just need practice? Thanks a million.
Ah, now there are some good questions. Let's start with the first one. The wards are indeed the metal ridges. If you examine your key, you will see there are two cutouts. These pass the wards so that the key can turn the bolt. You will notice one is deeper than the other.
A skeleton key works by taking off as much metal as possible while still being able to activate the bolt.
The reason why you can't make a key that opens EVERY lock is simply because there are so many different ways to make the wards. Some wards are on the backside of the lock face. That would result in cuts to the rear of the key. Other wards are around the edges inside the lock, and this results in cuts at the bottom of the key. Then you have the type of wards you are looking at now. There are many ways to make these locks. I still make them from time to time if I have no other alternative.
Suffice it to say this. Make your pick into a small z shape. If you place it over your key you will find the final shape to be similar. Be gentle, yet firm in your turning of the pick. You should feel it catch the bolt release and then the lock should pop.
As another observed, if you like picking then standard pin tumblers are the most abundant type of lock around. Although I can't overstate the usefulness of knowing how to pick these types of locks.
Romstar
