Bump key caught in lock

[haroldsmoketoomuch]

Being very much a beginner, I made a bump key from a tutorial I found on the net. Luckily it didnt fit the front door, so I was practicing on a cheapish brass padlock. Got it to work several dozen times, but now the key is stuck in the lock. It has a little bit of play, but is certainly not going anywhere. Any clues as to how I can get it out, and then stop it happening again?

[Timtam]

It happened to me; the shoulder of the key makes an indent on the face of the lock, which makes it bulge into the keyway, making it stop going in, or coming out.

Eg.


See the dimple caused by the shoulder of the key?

[begin_picker]

ummm! that hasn't got anything to do with lockpicking you just signed up for just that question lmao go away!.

[fuzz]

What countries are you from?

I think you might have followed a US tutorial, and their locks are slightly bigger, so that might be the cause. . .

[Afisch]

Begin_picker, comments like that really arn't usefull, especialy when the question was asked and answered three years ago (other thread). Please try to be more helpful.

[linty]

try pushing inwards on the plug with your finger while you pull out the key.

If that works you've probably kind of screwed up your padlock, but at least it's not your front door.

[Eyes_Only]

When this happens to me I usually grip the bow of the key with a vise grip and yank the key out of the lock.

And also if you cut the peaks and ramps way too steep like how many people new to bumping tends to do when hand filing keys, the key might have got stuck cos the pins can't slide up the ramps properly when pulling out the key and basically trapping it.

[haroldsmoketoomuch]

Thanks for the comments guys. In the end I went for the 'grab it with a pair of pliers and yank' method. That was my first thought, but at the time it seemed to lack subtlety. I dont think the ramps are too steep. I checked them against a bunch of other keys to try and avoid that, but thanks for the tip. And lastly, yes both the face of the lock, and the shoulder of the key are showing some pretty hefty signs of wear.