Lockpicking Equipment Primer
How Pin Tumblers work
The Basic Principle of lockpicking
Equipment : Lock Pick Set
Equipment : Lock Pick Gun
Equipment : Inflatable Wedge
Equipment : Silent Drill
Equipment : The Qwik Pick Tool
Equipment : Plug Spinner
Equipment : Circular Tension Tool
Equipment : Training Equipment
A lock is actually a mechanical machine and like any machine has its imperfections. The pretext of lockpicking is that these imperfections can be exploited in order to bypass the lock.
There are quite a few different types of locks such as wafers, pin tumblers, cylindrical, combination locks and others. Basic locks can be opened as simply as with the use of a skeleton key, however the majority of locks used are of the pin tumbler variety, these have become the standard and are used extensively for many applications. These require more effort and equipment to exploit;
How pin tumblers work
When you put your key in the keyway, the teeth of the key push up the pins connecting the keyway’s inner cylinder to the outer cylinder. The pins are of different heights, when the key is put in the lock the pins are set in such a way so as to allow the inner cylinder to turn. If pushed incorrectly the pins block the perimeter between the inner and outer cylinder and therefore do not allow the inner cylinder to turn and open the lock.
The Basic principle of Lockpicking
A pin tumbler is never perfect, keeping in mind the above process for opening a lock; if a slight torque is applied to the inner cylinder of a lock and the pins in the keyway are actuated with a pick tool in such a way so as to trap the pins in the lock opening position, once all the pins are in place the inner cylinder will turn and therefore the lock will open.
This technique is not demanded all the time and there are many different ways to bypass a lock without working with the lock itself. The next sections will cover the different types of lockpicking equipment available.
Lockpick Set
This is the fundamental tool for lockpicking. A lock pick set is made up of tension tools and picks. This equipment is always manufactured out of steel for durability. The picks have to be designed in such a way so as to comfortably maneuver in the lock. The tension tool has to be of such a shape so as to not interfere with the pick tool while it is maneuvering in the keyway. A basic pick set is very cheap and contains a leather pouch, various picks and wrenches of different sizes and shapes. Although the basic set is good to experiment with for entertainment purposes a serious set is needed for more complex applications. The advanced pick set has many more different types of tension tools and picks and is more expensive than the basic set. A good advice is to obtain the advanced set if work is to be done on a larger variety of locks.
Lockpick Gun
A lock pick gun is an advanced tool for opening pin tumbler locks. It was designed for the FBI to facilitate the quick opening of locks. Although this device can open a lot of different types of locks it is not suited for all of them and contrary to common belief training is required to be able to use this tool. It works by hitting all the pins in a lock at the same time with a needle while applying a torque with a tension tool. There are two versions of the lockpick gun, the standard mechanical version which has a trigger that has to be pulled in order to actuate the needle that will strike the pins. The other version looks like an electric screwdriver and is powered by batteries which is also more expensive. Opinions vary widely on the benefit of the electric lockpick gun, one opinion is that the electric version is more comfortable to use as it doesn’t require the repeated pulling of a mechanical trigger. Whichever solution is chosen will require training as with all lockpicking equipment.
Inflatable Wedge
A small handpump is connected to an inflatable balloon produced out of tough unbreakable material. To open a car door or a normal door the balloon is placed between the door and the frame then inflated. When inflated it separates the door from the frame by enough distance so that the door can be opened bypassing the lock entirely. This device is a smart version of the door jack which spreads the frame of a door for opening. The limitation of this tool is that it cannot be used for a door surrounded by concrete and the concrete does not give any leeway to the expansion of the frame, it is best used for a door frame surrounded by a wooden wall.
Silent Drill
Although any drill could be used a silent drill is specifically targeted for special operations when very quick door entry is required without detection by the surroundings. A drill is the all over best lockpicking tool there is. One drilling technique involves drilling over the shoulder of the keyway so as to drill through the pins and render them useless giving very quick access to the lock. The disadvantage is that the drill destroys the lock leaving it useless for further use, also silent drills are very expensive unless an off the shelf drill can be substituted. Another major requirement is that it has to be battery powered to allow for on site use.
The Qwik Pick Tool
Made well known by its role in the movie ‘Gone in 60 seconds’, Nicholas Cage used this tool to open the door of the car he was stealing, as with all movies the truth is very different. The Qwik pick tool is actually looks like a pen with a large clip, the clip is actually removed and used as a tension tool while the pick is extracted using a knob. This is a fantastic tool to use on lock cabinets, drawers and other less secure locks, it would also work with the lower quality door lock and several car door locks however it is not an absolute solution as it is extremely difficult to use on any of the higher quality pin tumbler locks. Still it is an interesting tool and worth having in a collection.
Plug Spinner
Not really a crucial tool to have but could be quite useful. If a lock is picked and accidentally turned the opposite direction of opening this tool can be used to reverse the position of the lock without having to pick the lock again, it works by using a spring to quickly turn the lock past the pins before they are moved into place.
Circular Tension Tool
A tension tool that is easy to gauge by using graduations. A common problem with the normal tension tool is that it is difficult to understand how much torque is being applied to the lock unless the user is very experienced. Different locks can require different torques so the use of this tool creates an exact science out of tension tools. There are different varieties such as the spring loaded version or the button operated version.
Training Equipment
Lockpick shops carry an extensive line of training products and equipment. This is for a good reason, all the above tools are useless without the proper training in their use. There is literature on lockpicking all the kinds of locks, safes, cabinets, bypassing techniques without using a pick tool and training manuals and videos. The training equipment available usually includes a practice see through lock and can be found in different varieties of difficulties.
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