Bump keys that work?

[d_Random]

1) Do bump keys work?
2) Can you suggest a website that sells them?

P.S. I am a locksmith, I am looking for another tool to help doing house lockouts.

[RumballSolutions]

Like any other tool, they work for some applications and not for others. Only practice and experience will tell you where they work.

I have found residential and commercial locks that will pick quickly, but not bump, while others will take ages to pick but bump open in seconds.

They are not the panacea, but just another tool in the toolbox.

They're cheap to make and as a locksmith you should have absolutely no problems cutting your own. I've never bought one and no locksmith with code cutting would ever pay for one either.

[billdeserthills]

I bought my set from Sparrows, but they have not worked for me, yet...

[Tyler J. Thomas]

1) Do bump keys work?
2) Can you suggest a website that sells them?

P.S. I am a locksmith, I am looking for another tool to help doing house lockouts.

You don't have any sort of code cutting equipment? No depth keys?

[WestCoastPicks]

1) Do bump keys work?
2) Can you suggest a website that sells them?

P.S. I am a locksmith, I am looking for another tool to help doing house lockouts.

1 yes. In many cases they will work. Even on security pinned locks. Like most things tension is key. There are some locks they will not work on however. You can buy them from sparrows or lockpick shop or almost any lockpick site. Peterson sells them too but they want too much for them.

2. Sparrows. Lockpick canada. Think peterson. Lockpick shop. Probably almost any other one.

As stated above. Just make them by cutting your keys to the lowest bitting for each pin. If you're a locksmith thus should be easy. You might already have a bump key if you have manual key cutting sets. The first one is a bump key.

[tpark]

Is there any benefit to cutting the bump key so that the depth is a a bit deeper than the lowest depth? I would think that there would be a tendency to overset a pin if it was the deepest cut. The strategy might be to cut a max depth key, then deepen them a bit with a file. Perhaps it should be cut so that the peaks of the key push the pin just up to the shear line for the deepest cut.

[WestCoastPicks]

Not that I know of, I've bumped locks with lowest bitted pins in them. Doesn't seem to make a difference. But maybe make one anyways, keep it on hand in case you get one that won't bump and try it...

What you say makes sense. Might be worth trying. Or find a lock that won't bump with lowest bitting and see if it works. I would be interested in the results.

[MBI]

Is there any benefit to cutting the bump key so that the depth is a a bit deeper than the lowest depth? I would think that there would be a tendency to overset a pin if it was the deepest cut. The strategy might be to cut a max depth key, then deepen them a bit with a file. Perhaps it should be cut so that the peaks of the key push the pin just up to the shear line for the deepest cut.

Cut and paste, partial text from my post in another bump key thread here:
viewtopic.php?f=32&t=59696&start=15#p461725
which you can read if you're interested in some other variants in how to cut a bump key.

"While it's not a rule, some people report better results if they file the key cuts down deeper than the max cut. Anywhere from a tiny bit of filing, a half cut, or even a full cut depth deeper than the max cut. One theory of why this sometimes helps is that if you have a 9 cut on any pins in the lock, you're less likely to accidentally lift the bottom pin above the shearline if the cut is deeper than max, so the pins aren't resting directly on the key blade before you smack the key."

Now I don't KNOW if that's why some people report better results with slightly deeper cuts, but it's one theory. Some people do fine with just standard "9" cuts. Different locks can behave differently though, even locks that are the same model, so I know some people who are big bumping fans will keep more than one bump key for each keyway. They'll have some with "9" cuts, some deeper, some with filed shoulders, some not. If a lock isn't bumping with the key cut one way, try a bump key cut a different way.

One problem with this, is that when you start having to carry several bump keys for every keyway and number of pins, it can be a LOT of keys you have to carry if you're relying on bump keys for lockouts. In my opinion, it's a lot more efficient to just carry a couple tension wrenches and hook picks.

[RumballSolutions]

One problem with this, is that when you start having to carry several bump keys for every keyway and number of pins, it can be a LOT of keys you have to carry if you're relying on bump keys for lockouts. In my opinion, it's a lot more efficient to just carry a couple tension wrenches and hook picks.

Or you could just do what most professional locksmiths do and use a pick gun. I consider it the universal bump key. Impact picking is impact picking, doesn't really matter how you impart the kinetic energy

Sure it doesn't ooze the same finesse, but time is $$$$ when you locksmith for a living.

[Tyler J. Thomas]

One problem with this, is that when you start having to carry several bump keys for every keyway and number of pins, it can be a LOT of keys you have to carry if you're relying on bump keys for lockouts. In my opinion, it's a lot more efficient to just carry a couple tension wrenches and hook picks.

Or you could just do what most professional locksmiths do and use a pick gun. I consider it the universal bump key. Impact picking is impact picking, doesn't really matter how you impart the kinetic energy

Sure it doesn't ooze the same finesse, but time is $$$$ when you locksmith for a living.

Not only this but bumping will actually begin to mar the surface of whatever cylinder you're bumping. I've seen people use rubber washers with the shoulder of the key cut back to account for this difference but, again, why not just use a pick gun? Same difference and you can get out dozens of snaps in the time it takes you to bump a lock once.

A neat parlor trick I guess.

[tpark]

Now I don't KNOW if that's why some people report better results with slightly deeper cuts, but it's one theory. Some people do fine with just standard "9" cuts. Different locks can behave differently though, even locks that are the same model, so I know some people who are big bumping fans will keep more than one bump key for each keyway. They'll have some with "9" cuts, some deeper, some with filed shoulders, some not. If a lock isn't bumping with the key cut one way, try a bump key cut a different way.

One problem with this, is that when you start having to carry several bump keys for every keyway and number of pins, it can be a LOT of keys you have to carry if you're relying on bump keys for lockouts. In my opinion, it's a lot more efficient to just carry a couple tension wrenches and hook picks.

Thanks for the info - I think you would want to try the least damaging options first before bumping the lock. My suspicion is that the difficulty of opening a lock is proportionate to the distance you have to park the van from the job site, so you would want to minimize your kit weight.

[Slayer85]

In my experiance, bumping most of the time highly depends on the type of tool that you are using to hit the key with. Bumping could be really efichient if you use a home made tool. You need a different setup for different locks.

[billdeserthills]

Now I don't KNOW if that's why some people report better results with slightly deeper cuts, but it's one theory. Some people do fine with just standard "9" cuts. Different locks can behave differently though, even locks that are the same model, so I know some people who are big bumping fans will keep more than one bump key for each keyway. They'll have some with "9" cuts, some deeper, some with filed shoulders, some not. If a lock isn't bumping with the key cut one way, try a bump key cut a different way.

One problem with this, is that when you start having to carry several bump keys for every keyway and number of pins, it can be a LOT of keys you have to carry if you're relying on bump keys for lockouts. In my opinion, it's a lot more efficient to just carry a couple tension wrenches and hook picks.

Thanks for the info - I think you would want to try the least damaging options first before bumping the lock. My suspicion is that the difficulty of opening a lock is proportionate to the distance you have to park the van from the job site, so you would want to minimize your kit weight.

Or get that nifty handicapped plate!