Key Bumping

[Shana]

Does this still fall under the category of Lockpicking?
Was just curious as to peoples thoughts about it.
Seems a sure way to open a lock but it kinda takes the fun out of using the tools dont you think?

[capt.dunc]

do a search for bumping on this site, you'll find it's often discussed. tools and techniques such as bumbing and pick guns aren't as satisfying as pin by pin picking, but this site is used by some locksmiths, and the focus of a thread may be on opening a new style of lock whatever the method. i for one think this is good, otherwise every question would be, "how do i open this?" and every answer would be, "find the pin that's binding...etc"

[Chrispy]

Does this still fall under the category of Lockpicking?

Lock picking: the art of unlocking a lock without its intended key.

Notice the, unlocking.... not opening. Drilling, shimming, etc. is not lock picking. The lock must be opened in the way it is intended to be opened for it to be considered picked.

[skilless]

I did a search and could not find anything more than a mention here and there. I understand the idea but not how it's done (not that i need to know but i just cant believe this works - is it just for shit locks?)

[rohi]

There are only a few cilinders that are "bump resistant", Kaba and MCM among others.
Big names like EVVA, Assa, Dom and Mul-T-Lock open with no effort at all. (just some practice and the right bumpkey)
On http://www.toool.nl you can read the PDF on bumpkeys, and watch a video presentation on how it's done.

Ronald

[vector40]

That's an interesting definition, Chris...

[Chrispy]

[kodierer]

As to your definition of unlocking thats up for interpretation. However I consider bump keys viable to our society of security interested site attenders. I'm not much for telling people to search, so I am going to explain the bumping briefly.
For a bump key to be made you must first obtain the appropriate key, or preferably blank key. As you know different locks have different types of keys. A shlage might be sc1, and another lock might have m1.
To make a bump key you must also have access to a code cutting machine. The code cutting machine cuts the bitting on the key to the appropriate depths. This is not a key duplicator. As we know pins are different respective lengths, and these lengths are not random, but standard, and this is how a locksmith can decode, and cut a key.
The bumpkey is cut to the lowest depth on all cuts. This is so that the pins are not raised to high, but can still be reached(I believe). The key is then tapped with a hammer to cause a vibration which causes the upper pins to jump above the sheer line without moving the lower pins. Torque is placed on the key while an object taps on it, so that at the moment the top pins are all above the sheer line the lock will turn.
Due to tolerances in a lock the bumping method is rumored to work best on high security locks such as multilock.
There are some locks which cannot be bumped such as the Medeco M3, and the assa twin while bumpable is bump resistant, as the side bar code has to be cut the same as the sidebar on the key. This requires perhaps not only a locksmith, but a locksmith from the area the lock was purchased in. So if a kwickset key was cut to be a bumpkey it would be cut to 7 on all 5 depths, as 7 is the lowest depth on a kwickset lock.
This is my understaning Correct me if I am wrong at any point.

[vector40]

A few points of clarification --

While I believe it can be done that way, another, possible more effective/common method, is to apply torque (just twist the key) a fraction of a second AFTER the bump, not continuously, to "catch" the pins in a separated state rather than bind them up and keep them from moving in the first place.

Pin heights/cut depths are indeed standard, but not across brands. (Hence why you need a different decoder for a Schlage versus a Kwikset, say.)

You can use a hammer, but it's a bit overkill. You need rather little force. Something with a small amount of weight and some "swing" is best. I was thinking of using a thin metal ruler held part of the way up, with some weight taped on... dunno. The HANDLE of a hammer is a little more appropriate. Remember, you don't want to break anything.

The "minimal movement method" is a modification to the bumping technique which Barry Wels has shown to be particularly effective, which involves filing a bit of material from the bow of the key (as well as the tip, if necessary -- especially if there's no bow and it's tip-stopped), allowing the key to move a little farther into the lock than it ought to. The pins therefore aren't resting in the cuts, but just slightly up the ramps, and when you tap it the rest of the way in, they kick them up. If you're not doing this, you usually have to withdraw the key one "notch," letting it thump all the way over the peaks for each bump, which is much less effective.

[capt.dunc]

i made a bump hammer from a foot long section of plastic curtain track, with a rubber stop and a couple of washers bolted on at one end to provide the hammer head. hey presto one light, slightly flexable bump hammer.

[raimundo]

Spoons and butterknifes I've used, but so far I dont have a hammer for that technique. I do have some bump keys, they have a lot of spalling on the key bow, but it shows that most of the blows were straight inward, I have begun to wonder about the oblique strike, hitting the corner of the the blank, it would hit harder at the end away from the fulcrum, were the angle opens up. Does the video of bumping in europe with the special little nylon hammers show clearly if the strike was straight in or oblique? In any case, these are mostly dimple locks that it is being used on, so the springs are light and the full travel of the pin is short.

[RenderMan]

Does the video of bumping in europe with the special little nylon hammers show clearly if the strike was straight in or oblique? In any case, these are mostly dimple locks that it is being used on, so the springs are light and the full travel of the pin is short.

Having seen Barry in person and up close, I can attest that it's a stright strike (90 degrees to the pins), I've found that oblique strikes usually damage pins faster and also damage knuckles.

Actually, it's primarily pin tumbler locks that this technique works best on. It is best shown on a dimple lock because most are labeled 'pick-proof' and assumed to be because of thier non-standard (to the layman anyways) design.

toool.nl has a good video from a TV spot about bumping and most of them are normal pin tumbler -

http://www.toool.nl/bumpkey-alert.wmv

[E-Mind]

Just went to home-depot and asked to copy a key. Since they didn't have a machine that can cut based on codes, just from the original- I gave them several keys that have the lowest cut at different spots and asked to reuse the duplicated key again and again - they only charged me for one blank (a dollar something...) going to file the edge and sholder later

Took me a while to explain to the mexican guy there that it is possible to use a non blank as the key to duplicate to, I think it was a language problem since English is not the native tounge of neither of us.

Does anyone know how well this bumping method works on Schlage? they didn't list it in the pdf nor on the movie - but I assume that since there is no sidebar, and it is a "bit" more accuratly machined than kwickset - it should work just fine. Am I right?

[vector40]

Should work great...

[Jimmie]

about oblique strikes ...

we use when the lock is nearly opened and has a lot of "give" .... in particular on dimple locks ... but it is not a real "strike" it is more a "whipping" .... (a slight "kiss" on the bow with a sliding movement)

... most of the time the locks opens when you release the tension on the bow in particular on dimple locks or on MTLocks

the perfect movement is like the one used with the pick gun ... the tension is applied a very tiny time just after the stroke

if you use hard oblique strikes ... the bump key will be quickly over ... breaking near the shoulder

it is not necessary to have hard blows ... but you need to train to find the good striking technique which is not the same for each lock brand .... some locks need a "tap tap tap" rythmic strikes others need only a strike

for ex ... we've found some locks don't open with the minimal movement ... but with the one cut outward striking


happy bumping !!

Jimmie