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Who on here does locksmithing?

Texasflyer

Koala Gladiator
Full Member
Minuteman
  • Mar 3, 2021
    1,679
    1,954
    Texas
    Just wondering if anybody else likes to pick locks, or upgrade their current locks, or just pick locks for the satisfaction? My dad was a locksmith and i grew up with it. Now i make my own picks most of the time. This is the set i keep in my go bag.
    16205233273781473563693372753224.jpg
     
    I pick locks occasionally.....comes in handy every once in a while...

    We come across old locks in the lab no one has a key for, so rather than find an angle grinder I just pick them off if I can

    i keep one of these in my kit


    It's a little pricey for what you get but has come in handy a few times....I like this kit particularly because it has a little bit of everything and can get you through most common locks
     
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    I pick locks occasionally.....comes in handy every once in a while...

    We come across old locks in the lab no one has a key for, so rather than find an angle grinder I just pick them off if I can
    The chrome picks i make that are on the bottom row. I make those from the metal band inside the rain x windsheild wipers that lay flat. My pressure keys i make from the old style wiper blade metal strips.
     
    I once got addicted to LPL on YouTube and couldn't stop 😂 quite an interesting skill.
    Once you learn it, you can do tricky things to locks, take a spring out of one pin, put a bic lighter spring in another, couple pivot pins and its a nightmare to pick. Its fun, and it gives me a little extra peice of mind. And ive gotten laid from it before too, you open the door when she is locked out and your james bond lol.
     
    Once blew my supply sergeants mind when they forgot their keys to a cage padlock and I picked the lock with two paper clips that were there. Does that count?
    Who are you? Mcguyver? Lol ive never had any luck with paper clips or bobby pins... although i gotta give burn notice props cause i did sacrafice a set of shades once to get a lock open and it worked.
     
    I don't have 'proper/professional' type picks, just ones that I've made for myself. Over the years, I've had to get into enough locks/doors/cabinets and stuff that I found it simpler, easier, and faster to just do it myself.

    Buddy of mine even lost his keys to his 'cabinet' and it says a lot when him and two other guys bring the whole cabinet over to my house and leave it with me to get in to it.

    (and yes, I know it was his because I'd worked on his rifles enough times that when I got into this thing, there they were.)

    The 'big' picks I just made out of steel strapping. Just made what was needed at the time, to get the job done.

    One day...
     
    I don't have 'proper/professional' type picks, just ones that I've made for myself. Over the years, I've had to get into enough locks/doors/cabinets and stuff that I found it simpler, easier, and faster to just do it myself.

    Buddy of mine even lost his keys to his 'cabinet' and it says a lot when him and two other guys bring the whole cabinet over to my house and leave it with me to get in to it.

    (and yes, I know it was his because I'd worked on his rifles enough times that when I got into this thing, there they were.)

    The 'big' picks I just made out of steel strapping. Just made what was needed at the time, to get the job done.

    One day...
    The wiper spring metal i use is awesome, i would put it on par with any picks i ever paid for and they are spring steel so i dont even harden them. I prefer to make my own, respect knuckles.
     
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    I don't have 'proper/professional' type picks, just ones that I've made for myself. Over the years, I've had to get into enough locks/doors/cabinets and stuff that I found it simpler, easier, and faster to just do it myself.

    Buddy of mine even lost his keys to his 'cabinet' and it says a lot when him and two other guys bring the whole cabinet over to my house and leave it with me to get in to it.

    (and yes, I know it was his because I'd worked on his rifles enough times that when I got into this thing, there they were.)

    The 'big' picks I just made out of steel strapping. Just made what was needed at the time, to get the job done.

    One day...
    That and you can see by my rakes that i like my own slightly deviated designs from what they sell.
     
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    Who are you? Mcguyver? Lol ive never had any luck with paper clips or bobby pins... although i gotta give burn notice props cause i did sacrafice a set of shades once to get a lock open and it worked.
    I forget why but I was in bed one night and I wanted to see if the movie lock picking really worked and googled up a youtube, about 4 minutes later I had my first padlock open using two paper clicps and was flabbergasted. Wife enjoyed it and she has a pick kit in the car and when we go on long car trips one of the things she does is pick locks. It's come in handy more than a few times.
     
    I keep a Southord pick kit and a set of bump keys in my duty bag at work. Have had a few times they’ve come in handy getting into locked apartments for well-being checks/deaths, and I’ve prevented the FD from breaking down a few doors I knew we’d have to figure out how to secure.

    Recently bought a Southord jackknife kit that I keep on me when I’m off-duty now. Pretty handy little piece of gear. About the size of an old pocket knife with integral tension tool storage.

    I used to play with random padlocks when I watched TV. Not so much anymore, but it’s a fun skill with real-world benefit.
     
    I had a buddy who went spook and they sent to locksmith school as part of his training. He quit carrying keys and picked everything he had to get into to keep sharp on the skill set. He told me the real test was getting through the double deadbolts on the house when he had to take a piss real bad.
     
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    I worked with a guy out in the Oil Patch for years and I never saw him stymied by any lock of any sort. Doors, padlocks, car doors, whatever.
    As I remember, and it has been a few years, he used steel bristles from the gutter brooms of street sweepers and pieces of steel guitar strings of the right dimension, and a bit of black elec. tape, wound tight for a handle. All ground and filed, just how he wanted them, in different shapes.
    He said it was all spring steel, to a point, and all of us used to look for gutter broom pieces for him in the street.
    We would bring our "finds" to him and he would test each with his fingers and say,"This is shit, or Wow, this is a nice one."
    He carries all of them in a Marlboro cigarette flip top box in his tit pocket.

    At the time I had no interest in pickin as he was always there or close by so I didn't have to do it and he was so fast at it.

    He is still around so I may go get some lessons. Our local Police use him a lot, when needed, when someone locks themselves out. I don't know how he gets around chipped doors as far as electronics go but he is the best in our area and he started out when we were locked out of a water source for drilling and it went from there.
    Thanks OP, you brought back some memories. FM
     
    If it was me and i was worried about securing my house... the last thing i would do would be to announce the make of locks i use openly to the entire internet...
    Jokes on you, he's actually using Abus and he's trying to throw us off 🤣

    Realistically, no one is picking locks to get into your house....they are going to break a window or just kick the door in.

    A secured door frame, a sturdy door, and 3" deck screws to hold the door and lock on are going to provide much more security than high pick resistance.
     
    Jokes on you, he's actually using Abus and he's trying to throw us off 🤣

    Realistically, no one is picking locks to get into your house....they are going to break a window or just kick the door in.

    A secured door frame, a sturdy door, and 3" deck screws to hold the door and lock on are going to provide much more security than high pick resistance.

    I would absolutely pick the lock if I wanted into a house. Or credit card it. Either way kicking is a lot of work and too noisy.
     
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    Landlord, 28 years, locks are for honest people.

    I keep a Southord pick kit and a set of bump keys in my duty bag at work. Have had a few times they’ve come in handy getting into locked apartments for well-being checks/deaths, and I’ve prevented the FD from breaking down a few doors I knew we’d have to figure out how to secure.
    No way to say thanks enough for this, as the "guy who has to fix it".
     
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    A step drill is faster.

    So is a shotgun.

    But I've picked a few with random shit. Most can actually be bumped.
    Depending on what type of lock it is, the pic gun i have in the above picture is pretty damn fast. If its a captive lock ill either rake it or try the pick gun first. I know bump keys work i just always sucked at em... it reminds me of sticking the wrong key in a lock over and over till ya get it right lol.