key picks

[Mr Ules]

After reading through a course on locksmithing, something interesting caught my attention. It was a picture of a key pick. And after making a cuttaway deadbolt, and using a blank key, I tried it. I inserted a key with and added tension to the lock. Slowly, I retracted the key maintaining the same tension to the plug. And as I did this the pins stayed at the shearline. Note that the key must have fairly shallow cuts to accomplish this. Even a blank would work.
I was just wonder if there was anyone out there who practises this technique of locksmithing.
p.s I did search the forum prior to posting and didn't find anything, however, since the keyword was keypick, there were several thousand posts which didn't apply to the topic which I was looking for.

[CaptHook]

It sounds a little..... hmmmm difficult. If you are pushing all the pins up, and adding a turning force to the plug, what is going to allow the bottom pins to drop as the key is removed but still tensioned?
I can only picture it with smaller diameter bottom pins.
Chuck

[zeke79]

I agree with capt hook. smaller diameter bottom pins is the only way i can see it working.

[Mr Ules]

Since this process is so complicated, tension is changed completely. When doing this, maximum tension must be maintained, and because you're offsetting the plug slightly, the bottom pins are simply dropping because of the force being displaced by the springs. This forces the springs down, however, the because the plug is offset, the top pins are staying at the shearline while the bottom pins dropped. The problem of extreme tension on the plug, and the combination of bottom pins above the shearline could cause the problem of having these pins stuck above the shearline, the appropriate tension will cause them to drop and top pins remain at the shearline.
Hope this helped. This technique can be practised with a cutaway lock and the wrong key with high cuts.

[Chucklz]

I've opened a few Kwiksets by inserting a blank key, and removing it slowly under tension. I think this is made possible by the rather low tolerances of this lock. I think with a well machined lock, this technique would be rather limited in its usefullness.

[PYRO1234321]

This seems to reproduce the action of "reverse picking" with a key rather than a pick. A straight pick or the straight back of any pick can accomplish the same thing (assuming no sidebars or whatnot addressed with a blank).

[WhiteHat]

dispite the afore mentioned fact about how it may not work on low tolerance locks, it has some interesting implications for lock forensics - it would leave no traces that a normal key wouldn't.

[skold]

It works well on locks that have bittings with under 4 pin height differences

etc 042424

Limited success with other locks, i prefer to grind out a small section of the bottom of the key to allow room for a wrench ( allows more control over the key )

[Peaky]

It almost sounds like a revese bump key method.

[raimundo]

In the last month, my neighbor said she lost her keys, (she found them later, ) but she was locked out. I picked her lock clockwise, but could not pick it counter clockwise, it was a left hand open in door. Along came another neighbor with a key very similiar, both keys were all high cuts, its from the same building. he put this in and used a rapid jiggleing and jerking and soon it turned anticlockwise. I have never made or owned a plug spinner, unless you count tension wrenchs with rubberbands that I tried that time to make it spin, the the pins caught it every time. Anyhoo, the door was opened. Now how often have any of you had people ask you to pick a lock in a situation that actually seems bogus, like they are just asking to see it done, and need to pretend its a real situation. And for those of you who are going to tell me to get a spinner, there is no doubt in my mind that i could have picked it anticlockwise, it was just convenient to get it done as soon as possible.

[the_transporterkk3]

I've done this before, when I wasn't near my picks. Sometimes if I leave my picks in my car then I simply use one of my own keys. Padlocks are harder to do, yet their easier to pick. And, many people disregard this technique because it's usually harder to accomplish.