Padlock Shims

[Redbull83]

Ok, i know that this topic has already been discussed, ive read quite a few posts with videos, and none of them will work on my comp, the only one that will doesnt show how to make one, it just shows how to use it. i believe its located in mit guide, locksmithing..... in the 101 section. so if any1 has a good video showing how to make, that will play on windows media, it would be appreciated.

[Cerberus]

ah, the one showing how to use it is played through quick time. just pause it and look how its made. thats how i made mine. all you need is a soda can and scissors. the just cut it until its down to size. it took me all of five minutes. its not that hard

[xslayerx92]

Try using a video player that has many codecs such as Video LAN which is open source and works for most operating systems and will play most video and audio.

[stick]

http://tinypic.com/18es6b

That's the general shape of a shim. Length C should go about 1/4 - 1/3 of the way around the shackle. Length B should go deep enough to bypass the locking mechanism. Length A is just as long as you like for comfort when turning the shim.

[Redbull83]

which part of the pop can should i use? the middle part or the bottom, where its thicker?

[hzatorsk]

Right smack outta the middle of the can. half way down the side...

The thin aluminum material must be flexible enough to work around the shackle, strong enough to hold up to the twisting and pushing back the locking bolt and thin enough to get between the shackle and lock body.

Experiment!

[p8ntbller]

Ugh I can't get this to work the aluminum go's part of the way in then just stops, if you push more it bends, but it's not far enough to let you open the shackle. Is this supposed to work on Masterlock combos or only other brand combo locks?

[Exodus5000]

You'll soon find that trying to shim a lock is almost pointless, unless it's a really cheap lock. In which case it is just as easily picked.

[Menion]

Most padlocks seem to be just a little to stiff for standered soda cans id go with something a bit stiffer like a tin can or perhaps a sardine lid. Also make shure shims will work on your particular padlock. the easiest one to learn on is the standard masterlock dial type combination lock. (Shimming pointless.. try to pick open a combo before I can twist a little piece of spring steel.)

[p8ntbller]

I didn't see any twisting in that video? He just pushed down then pulled shackle up? I think I can get a sardine lid I just need to know the best technique.

[Menion]

Well my shims have two little 'arms' that fold around the shackle, the middle part starts out wide and then tapers down to a point
--------------
-----| |-----
| |
\/

kinda like that. on most locks if you just puch streight down the point will jam up. I insert my shim fully into the lock then twist it around the shackle to release the lever. remeber that the piece holding the shackle closed is a spring loaded piece of steel pressed up against a piece of hardened steel, they key here is the spring, direct force will case the lever to bind in its seat and not budge, if you just use the shim almost like a knife and slide it up and down as you press against the lever you should have better luck.

[_Ethereal_]

Personally, i don't see why you people bother using shims, they are the most pointless pieces of crap and i will not lower myself to use them before picks or my "for all crappy locks" set of 15 try-out keys, they may be good for showing off, but go try and shim an American padlock, for the real life locks you will face can't be shimmed, and shimming certainly will not progress your skill in picking, nor will picking cheap locks.


Redbull83, there simply is no point, unless you only want to access school lockers, which is again stupid and pointless.

[Menion]

Personnaly I am constantly encountering crappy locks in real life. And half the time they are a royal pain to pick. The shop I work for is on South Padre Island and as a result every bit of metal tends to convert instantly to rust in the salt air. More often than not its easier to just shim or cut some guys padlock off his boat trailer rather than taking the time to grease it up, free the salt crusted pins, and pick it open. Honestly I get a certain amount of satisfaction every time I bypass a locks security, You may claim shimming is a waste of time, that it dosnt enhance your skills but I do this junk for a living and with twenty calls backed up, anything that saves me a few minutes is well worth it.

[raimundo]

Aluminum is a very friction positive metal, at least use a steel can, but cans are generally soft metal, I use shims for such unpickable locks as master combination padlocks, there is no hole to put a pick in. I make shims differently, I use the thin hard stainless spring steel that is found inside a VHS video tape cassette, heat pressed into one side of the case, take this out, a hot knife heated on the stove will scrape it loose from the plastic, lay is on the end of a pine board, put the shaft of a phillips screwdriver on flat metal end, along the length, so that when you smack the screwdriver shaft with a hammer, you pound the last inch of that stainless flat spring into the pine board along the grain of the wood. this gives it a round shape taken from the screwdriver shaft, and suitable for a padlock shim. Next, with flat file, make that curved last inch of the spring into the shape of a single edge knife, with a curved (belly) edge meeting a somewhat straighter edge on the other side, wrap the rest of the thing in tape to save your fingers from cuts, shove this alongside the shacke of the padllock so that the belly of the shim blade meets the locking dog, if the padlock does not come open right then, shove shim and shacke into the body of the lock as far as possible, then pull the shackle out while holding the shim in, and repeat until pulling the shackle pulls it open.

[p8ntbller]

Im gonna crack open a vhs and try your way of making them. Almost every combo lock I have seen is a master lock regular combo locks, rarely do people use those high security ones so I think shimming is a good thing to know how to do.