Picking locks without your tools

[DR LO]

How many of you could honestly say you could pick a lock with out your tools, making your tools out of just things lying around? How would you go about it, what items would you use to make your new tools from. Lets say you have a lock in your house, just a regular old paddle lock. You have 5 minutes to gather your items, make your tools and open the lock. What would your plan of attack be?

--DR LO

[Romstar]

Paper clips, safety pins, common sewing needles, bobby pins, a pair of pliers and a common cigarette lighter.

That should just about suffice.

If I can find an x-acto knife, so much the better. Bobby pins are becoming less common these days, so a broken hair barrett would be a good place as well.

The pocket clip from several different types of pens makes a decent tension wrench as well.

Lets see how we do with that.
Romstar

[DR LO]

What are the pliers and the cigarette lighter for? I'm guessing you'd use the bobbys pins as a tension wrench and the sewing needle to move the pins?

--DR LO

[Chucklz]

THe cigarette lighter is of course so that Rom could have a bit of a smoke while he worked. No actually, it can be useful for bending/tempering metals.

I carry around in my wallet, a small piece of UNBENT wiper blade. Instant tension tool when you need it. Insert into keyway, bend carefully, and voila there you are. Improvising a pick is usually very easy. Paperclip, dissecting needle (Impovising in biology lab), a bit of bobby pin, or stiff wire if need be (Id make a rake out of wire before a hook).

Can I pick with improvised picks... you bet. Would I want to do it full time... no way.

For a regular old padlock, with only 5 minutes, I may also attempt a rapping technique using ... oh say any small object. Or if the lock is of poor construction shimming with a bit of a soda/beer can.

If the lock is one that has a very easy bypass (there are many) I would almost definately go that route, just as long as I could improvise something reasonable to attempt the technique with.

[Romstar]

Chucklz hit the nail on the head in both cases.

The lighter is for bending metal which is pre tempered such as the needles or safety pins.

Bobby pins can be used both as tension tools, and as rakes. A little encouragement from the pliers, and you get hooks from the needles, or rakes from the bobby pins.

Paper clips are funny things, you can actually get a temporary hardening out of those when they are heated. They succumb to metal fatique quickly though, and the hardening doesn't last.

Since it's an emergency tool though, it doesn't have to last.

Romstar

[DR LO]

Problem #2: You lock your keys in your car keys along with your house keys in your house. You have to be at a very important meeting, and you only allowed yourself 5 minutes of leway to get there. Using hand made, temporary tools, can you get yourself in and out of your house and to your meeting on time?

--DR LO

[CaptHook]

Dr lo, what with all the "could ya?" questions?
Chuck

[Romstar]

Problem #2: You lock your keys in your car keys along with your house keys in your house. You have to be at a very important meeting, and you only allowed yourself 5 minutes of leway to get there. Using hand made, temporary tools, can you get yourself in and out of your house and to your meeting on time?

--DR LO

If I can't get into the car, and I can't get into the house, the answer is no.

Unless you know some way of making lock picks with tall grass.

If on the other hand I have access to something useful, maybe from a neighbor, I could get in, but the overall elaspsed time surpasses the 5 minute window.

Unless I use a foot pick.
Romstar

[Allmytimerblongtothis]

what kind of locks do "paddle" locks have again?

[Chucklz]

My house? Picking, Nope. All the locks take me about 4 minutes each with good tools, and without time pressure. In an emergency, I could carefully apply some pressure to a certain part of a certain piece of hardware on a certain door, then apply a ball point pen in a certain way and stuff the tailpiece on the particular lock, and get in to my house.

[thertel]

Most definently...No picking needed, it all depends on how important said meeting is. If it were a get fired if I'm late I'd be there on time. I'd break on of the windows on my back door reach in and unlock the deadbolt and handle lock. Then I'd go to the kitchen where my spare keys are grab them lock the door and open the car and be at work....Then fix the window when I got home. Other option would be to exploit the terrible design of my patio door and get in after a few minutes. The real question is that if this meeting is so important why only give yourself 5 minutes. In my family and in ROTC I learned that on time is late...Its better to be 20 minutes early than 1 second late.

Thomas

[Buggs41]

I agree with Thertel on being on time. ( US Navy-Six years )

The better question in this thread is, Who is Dr LO? And why so many questions? I think he has not searched for the MIT guide yet!

[thertel]

Its a anagram of LOrD

[TOWCH]

One of the very few times I left home without my wallet a few days ago me and a friend ended up getting locked out of her place. My picks being in my wallet I was completely unprepared for it. Anyway I listed off the things I could possibly make picks out of. Paperclips, Pens, Hairpins, and nobody had anything(lighters we had but without something else it wouldn't have been alot of use). It was a fairly nice night so we just sat in back and talked for 2 or 3 hours until our ride showed up. Anyway lesson learned, never leave home without my wallet.

[Romstar]

A girl without a bobby pin.

In the 21st century, why doesn't that surprise me?

Seriously though, never leave home without your wallet.

If you carry picks, be sure you have a good reason for having them in case you do find yourself in that unfortunate position of having to explain them.

Romstar