Paper clip stuck in lock. What to use to get it out?

[Pauljones102]

OK so here's the situation. I've been locked out of a room in my house for a few weeks now. The lock is a brinks deadbolt lock that I got from Wal Mart for about $20. I tried to pick it with a paper clip and a tension wrench and unfortunately part of the paper clip broke off and is stuck in the middle of the key hole. So now to my question, could someone provide me a link to a product that could help me free the stuck paper clip? I know the thing I need is a broken key extractor but I need the one that would work best in this particular situation. I saw one they looked like a pair of tweezers but it's for an automotive lock. Any advice is appreciated. And if you need pics I can provide them.

[RumballSolutions]

So......do you own this lock and why are you trying to pick it?

This is part of the reason that you aren't supposed to play with locks that are in use.

Two suggestions:

1. Learn from your mistake
2. Call a locksmith for an extraction. It won't cost that much, you will have to prove its yours though.

Alternatively, if it's only a $20 brinks and it is indeed yours to mess with, you could enter destructively (drill) and replace. While you're at Wamart, grab another lock to practice with.

Plenty of videos on YouTube that demonstrate key extraction and give links to the gear used.

[Pauljones102]

Yes I own this lock as it is in my house. I have considered drilling too but I'd prefer to extract it as I don't want to mess up and damage the door. So you're saying that any standard key extractor can remove the paper clip?

[Squelchtone]

You have a deadbolt on an interior door of your house? fancy..

Show us a photo so we can see how badly you jammed it up with the paperclip.. also, paperclips bend and break easily and only work in the movies. an extractor is meant to get keys out by hooking onto them, it wasnt invented to get out bits of metal that are jammed into a lock, so it may or may not work. upload a photo to imgur.com and post the link here so we can see how bad it is.

Squelchtone

[somenewguy]

Saw blade type extractors are designed to hook onto the key but a spiral type might be able to pull out other 'foreign materials'

[Pauljones102]

Here are pictures of the lock. The first is the close-up of the lock with the broken part in the middle of the key hole. The second is showing that the door is inside my house. I'm not trying to open a lock I don't own. The material stuck inside the lock is magnetic. Would that help in removing it?

http://www.anony.ws/image/JdRR
http://www.anony.ws/image/JdRh

[Squelchtone]

ahh, I see. I had a feeling it was gonna be this. That's not a deadbolt, thats a knob set.

When's the last time you had that door open, and how did you misplace both of the keys that came with that lock?

If something is jammed in there, it won't help a heck of a lot if is magnetic. Are you saying the paperclip is magnetic or is there something else in the lock as well?

I'm gonna be blunt because something doesn't feel right, is this your house or your parent's house and why do you have a keyed lock inside your house, most folks don't unless it's something like an apartment where several room mates live and their bedrooms are lockable.

Have you considered just calling a locksmith if you need to get into that room so bad? And it's not my business, but I'm the curious type and I just have to ask, but what is the locked room, what are you trying to get to? If we seem suspicious, it's nothing against you, but we just don't know you and dont want to help someone break in somewhere by accident because we tried to be helpful to a stranger on the internet, so we have to be cautious and ask some questions as well. Some visitors get all offended and some understand where we are coming from.

My pro tip is if you were crafty enough to think of sticking a paper clip into a lock, then you can be crafty once more and find something around the house that can go in and remove the broken bits of whatever. Use a hobby scroll saw blade from home depot, or a safety pin that is opened and use some pliers to put a little bend on the sharp pointy tip in order to make a hook.

Good luck
Squelchtone

[RumballSolutions]

From the looks of that door edge and jamb, this is not the first time this door has been violated. I see entry marks all over those pics.

Keyway looks a little curious too.

What makes me even more curious is why you felt the need to take both of those pictures in the dark when there's a light switch right there. The exif data tells me a lot about the lighting.

Perhaps I'm just too cynical......

[Pauljones102]

Ok I'm going to be perfectly honest. I know absolutely nothing about locks or picking locks, and this is the first lock (and hopefully the last lock) I ever have to pick in my life. I live in a rented house with my roommate and she installed the lock which I bought from Wal-Mart for about $12. She had both the keys on the chain and I put them in my pants pockets but I lost them somewhere. I just need to unlock this room so that when we move out in about a month, we can get at least some of our security deposit back, though with her attempting to open the door by hammering the frame (As you noticed in the pictures) has probably already made this impossible. If I have to call a locksmith to open this door, then fine, so be it I will. I just prefer to try and save some money if I can. If you're saying this isn't a deadbolt lock, (Once again I know absolutely nothing about locks) then couldn't I just use the old credit card trick to open the door? Although honestly I'm about at the point of just giving up and calling a lock smith. I'm going to search far and wide once more for those keys so that perhaps the lock smith can just extract the paper clip and I won't have to pay more for having him unlock the door. I'd drill the lock myself but I'm worried about messing up the door and having to pay around $300 to put on a new one. Like I said, I'm trying to save as much money as possible here.

Edit: That light switch does not turn on the lights to that part of the hallway. In fact I don't believe there are any lights in that part of the hallway exactly.

[Squelchtone]

Thank you for explaining things and helping us understand the situation better, I'm a big fan of honesty and full disclosure. Life happens, keys get lost, I understand your predicament. You mentioned the credit card trick, and yes, that lock can be done that way, I'll let you watch some youtube videos for materials that work other than credit cards which can often be too thick. That trick is however considered "bypass" and we only talk about bypasses in a special area of the forum reserved for trusted members who have been around for a while.

good luck,
Squelchtone

[jimu57]

[EDIT: Please do not give instructions or descriptions of destructive entry on open forums.]

GWiens2001 - moderator

[Protec2]

Maybe I've been up to long but it looks like that door opens inward. The CC trick I know of, you'd need to be inside that room.
Is the foreign object protruding from the key hole at all? If so maybe with some nice needle nose pliers you could pull it out?
If it's already been locked for a few weeks, get on amazon and order up a key extractor. Look at them before purchasing and get a skinny one, not a whale harpoon. And $300 to replace a door slab? Try $60 if you can work a screwdriver to remove and reinstall the hinges and knob. (after you get it open.)

[Pauljones102]

Thank you for the replies. Sorry for coming off as suspicious. That was not my intention but after reading my first few posts I can definitely say I understand where you guys are coming from. As for the question about is the object protruding out of the lock, it is by a very very tiny amount. I've tried to extract it using tweezers to no avail. I might pick up a can of lubricant such as wd40 to see if it'll loosen it at all. As for the credit card method. Believe it or not I have locked myself out of that room once before and that did do the trick. However that was before the new lock was installed. My roommate tried that a while back but wasn't successful but I'll watch some videos and try to find out how to do it, thanks for the advice squelchtone. One last question, should I try and remove the paper clip first before attempting to bypass the door? The reason I'm asking this is because I don't want the paper clip to break and jam the door when the latch is forced backwards. Thanks once again.

[RumballSolutions]

Cut your losses and call a locksmith. It's clear you are not familiar enough with the techniques to allow for damage free entry with any sort of reliability.

If you have a toothache, you don't do your own dentistry do you?
Why? Because you just want to make sure its fixed quickly and relatively painlessly.
How does the dentist do this? With the right tools, training and experience of course.

Some things are a great DIY project, but you have to honestly consider your abilities and weigh up the true economy of things. A decent locksmith will have that door open and back in service quickly and without further damage.

[74TR6]

Call a locksmith. Continued attempts to extract the foreign metal bit will likely only compound your problem

How long ago was this lock installed? That lock has had a hard life and not a short one on that door. Some of those abrasions appear to have been made when door was open and better access from the side of handle