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How to Pick Locks From Start to Finish Newbie to Expert!

Have you become interested in how to pick locks like an expert? Well, good for you! Lock picking isn’t exactly rocket science and with practice, some knowledge, and the right lock pick set of tools, you’ll be well underway to becoming an expert lock pick technician. You may be wondering, “What’s the need of learning how to pick a lock when I have no intention of committing any breaking and entering offense?”

Learn the right way of lock picking. Learn from the professionals.

There are various circumstances or reasons that may see you learn how to pick a lock.

Makes you handy. If you’ve ever had the misfortune of getting locked out of your vehicle or home, you are aware of how frustrating this experience can be as you wait for somebody with the spare key or a locksmith to come. Not being able to jimmy your way will waste a lot of your time and money. Lock picking is an extremely convenient skill under these circumstances and can really prove to be a lifesaver. With the proper toolset and some patience, you’ll be able to jimmy just about any locking system, providing you with access quickly.

The lock picking skill may even assist in saving somebody else’s life one day. There are circumstances that have necessitated somebody to pick their parent’s lock because they weren’t responding to phone calls or door knocks, only to find them on the floor and in urgent need of medical care. They could also have decided to break the window or kick open the door. Although that’s an option, picking the lock is a way better choice since it will take a couple of seconds and is non-destructive.     

It’s a fun and cool skill. Think back to all the spy movies where you’ve seen the characters pick a lock with ease. Pretty cool right? Even if you don’t have their fighting and physical abilities, lock picking is one skill you can easily attain. Imagine how powerful you’ll feel when you know you can slyly gain access to most doors without needing a key. Lock picking can also be fun and act like a hobby you do when you’re not busy with work or the kids. If you master the art of lock picking, you can attend contests and events to evaluate your skill set against other pro lock pickers.

So, what is lock picking?

Locks are silly and simple things that have a rigid path operation. This straightforwardness and unchanging pattern make lock picking a very attainable skill for anybody to acquire and execute. Lock picking is a non-destructive technique to circumvent a locking system without the use of a key. This can be achieved through various lock picking methods like raking and single pin picking; still, each method aims at tricking the locking mechanisms into thinking you’re using the right key of the lock whereas you are imitating the key’s action. However, to obtain this skill of mimicking a key, you’ll need to have an understanding of how a key operates when inserted into a lock. This is achieved by first knowing how the locking process itself works.

There are various types of locking systems used these days, but all use relatively simple concepts as the basis – keeping in mind that locks are senseless things. This read focuses on the most standard and frequently used locking system, the pin tumbler lock. This lock makes up over 90% of locks utilized these days and is what you’ll expect fitted in every padlock, door lock, and deadbolt. The design of the pin tumbler lock is very elementary and has been utilized for 6,000+ years dating back to ancient Egypt.

How a Pin Tumbler Lock Works

To become an expert lock picker, you’ll need to know the terminologies and different parts of the pin tumbler lock. When you have this know-how, you’ll have a firm grasp on how a lock functions, and how you can use lock picks to manipulate it. The standard pin tumbler lock consists of six main components.

The Cylinder

The lock’s cylinder is basically a little container that holds the rest of the functional parts. This is the piece that’s affixed to a padlock or door.

The cylinder makes up the topmost part of the shear line and can also be called the body of the lock, housing, or shell.

The Plug

This is the cylindrical part of the lock that revolves freely inside the housing, making a rotating shear line.

The plug’s front side is where the correct key is put in and on the backside is either a tailpiece or cam which pulls back the latch and unlocks when rotated. The plug makes up the bottommost part of the shear line.

The Shear Line

The shear line is the opening between the plug and the cylinder. This is the abstract line whereby the plug revolves in the cylinder and is the most integral section when it comes to lock picking.

If the line is hindered in any manner, the cylinder and plug will ‘lock’, making the plug incapable of turning. The plug will be able to revolve again only after the shear line is clear of any impediments. If you want to successfully pick a lock, it’s essential that you understand how the shear line works.

Key Pins

Key pins are responsible for figuring out the cuts of a key. After the key is slotted into the plug, the upper section of the key comes into contact with the key pins. Every key pin is made to a different length matching directly to a key matching those patterns. When you observe a key, you’ll see there are low and high parts. These are what we refer to as ‘cuts’

Driver Pins

These are the top set of pins above the key pins whose role is obstructing the shear line. Driver pins make sure that the lock can, and will remain locked. When the wrong key is inserted into the plug, these driver pins linger midway between the plug and the housing. This forms a bind that obstructs the plug from fully turning, thereby keeping the appliance locked. Also, you should note that driver pins have the same length, unlike key pins.

The Springs

Springs are the final piece of the puzzle and they essentially play two roles. The first is pushing everything down into the plug to maintain the driver pins at the shear line when no key has been inserted into the lock. The second is pushing the key pins in opposition to the key, which assists in reading the key cuts. Without the presence of springs, the lower and upper sets of pins could get jammed in the pin chamber, making the use of a key impossible.

Okay, now that we’ve covered the main components of the pin tumbler lock, let’s go through how everything comes together to make a fully operational lock.

When a correct key is inserted inside the plug, it forces the key pins to go up. Since the key’s biting and the key pins’ lengths have been specifically fabricated to correspond, the lower set of pins go up evenly with the shear line making the upper set of pins get out of the plug entirely. It’s at this particular instance when the space between the driver pins and the key pins is exactly the same as that of the shear line, that the key can be turned and the lock disengaged.

In a nutshell, the key has taken out all hindrances –the pins– from the shear line. When you have an understanding of the locking mechanism, you’ll know exactly what you need to do to successfully pick a lock.

Quintessentially, lock picking is all about imitating the key by configuring the pins to the same position they would otherwise be if the right key were slotted in.

All Of Our How To Pick Lock Courses Will Teach You Step-by-Step

Unlike many other course sites, we strive to be different. All of our courses include lock pick sets, pick guns, practice locks & hours of training along with industry secrets!

Lock Picking Tools

Getting the right lock picking equipment is usually the most challenging and confusing aspect of taking on this amazing craft.

But when it comes down to it, you don’t necessarily need to have a wide selection of tools to start off or advance your lock picking skills. Even expert lock pickers only utilize one or two different picks – even if they have a slew of lock picking tools at their disposal.

When picking the pin tumbler lock, you’ll need the following lock picking tools:

– Hooks

– Rakes

– The Tension Wrench

1. Hooks

Hook lock picks are thin and pointy at their end and are very concise when it comes to identifying pins in the lock. This preciseness makes them suitable for single pin picking where you’ll need to find and manipulate each lock pin at a time. The whole concept behind this hook lock pick is forcing the pins to be level with the shear line.

There’s a wide selection of varying styles of hooks ranging from different shapes to different lengths. Nevertheless, regardless of the design you wish to go for, they all do the same function of manipulating separate pins at a time. If you’re a beginner, you should consider starting with the standard short hook.

2. Rakes

Rakes contrast to the hook in that these picks have multiple ridges. They have an erratic appearance and are made with many bumps and humps that assist them in manipulating several pins in the shortest possible duration. Their elongated and serrated end make them suitable for raking whereby you randomly and rapidly pull them against multiple pins at once with the aim of disengaging the lock mechanism, just like how a key does.

As with the hook lock pick, there’s a broad selection of rakes available and they all do the same function of manipulating numerous pins simultaneously. The best rake to use as a novice is the Bogota rake.

3. The Tension Wrench

Also known as the turning tool or torque wrench, a tension wrench is a thin metal piece with wide ends. It’s L-shaped or Z-shaped, whereby the diagonal part of the Z forms a straight line. It is slotted inside the plug to apply pressure to it.

The ‘L’ shape of the tension wrench plays two very critical roles. First off, it provides the power needed to turn the plug, just like a key.

Secondly, it gives the torque needed to set and support the pins at the shear line as the lock is being picked. Without this tension, the pins would just fall back into place in the plug and the lock will stay locked.

Now that you have an understanding of how the locks function and the requisite tools required to successfully pick a lock, let’s get into what has really brought us here – How to pick a lock! The main techniques used to pick a pin tumbler lock are Single Pin Picking and Raking. Here we will be looking at the raking technique.

Raking is the easiest and fastest lock picking method. The technique entails you manipulating all the pins at the same time. This is the best technique for newbies to start picking their first lock as they grow their skills.

Here’s how it’s done in 6 steps.

Step 1:

Slot in the short end of your torque wrench into the plug. From there, apply slight pressure on the wrench using a finger or two in the direction you would otherwise turn with a key. If you exert too much force, you’ll make the driver pins bind under the shear line. You should maintain this position throughout the coming steps because it’s the wrench that’s supporting the key pin to flush with the shear line. *Note that the amount of force you exert on the tension wrench is what distinguishes a Newbie from an expert. Either way, if you notice your wrench is bending a lot, chances are that you’re applying too much tension. Go for applying less force than more.

Step 2:

While applying slight force on the tension wrench, grab your rake pick and slot it into the key passage and shove it all the way to the rear.

Step 3:

Exert an upward force to the pins and rake or scrub the interior of the plug with your pick. Ensure that you’ve all the pins when coming out.

Step 4:

If the right amount of force has been used, multiple pins will have been flush at the shear line and the plug will have rotated a little.

Step 5:

Again, shove your pick into the rear of the lock and repeatedly scrub or rake the pins until all of them are set. But after you repeat the scrubbing motion around five or six times and you don’t see any progress, release the pressure on the wrench. Allow the pins to reset, and begin the process all over again, using as little pressure as possible as you re-rake the pins.

Step 6:

When you finally find the right amount of pressure to apply and all the pins are set, the plug will give way and permit you to completely turn it with the tension wrench, just as how the right key would disengage the lock.

And with that, you’ve successfully completed raking your first lock. You see, pretty easy!

Ready To Pick a Lock?

We hope the information provided above has helped. If you’re a novice or have found an interest in lock picking, please reach out to us if you’d like to learn more about picking a lock. For those looking to pick the more complex or difficult locks, you can call our offices at How to Pick Locks for more info. We are professionals and take lock picking very seriously, which is why we offer a Pick Lock Educational Course from Beginner to Expert. We have lock pick sets & practice locks for newbies and expert lock pickers in line with the course chosen.

How to Pick Locks Courses From Newbie to Expert

Lock picking is an easy skill to pick up and execute, and in a short period, you’ll know all the lock picking techniques and concepts. Although some locking systems are more challenging to pick compared to others, having a basic understanding of lock picking can assist you jimmy most of the locks used these days.

We at How To Pick Locks know everything about lock picking and will definitely help you get started. We provide a range of different lock picking courses depending on the entry-level you want to master. We offer a standard beginner course that will educate you on the basic nitty-gritties of lock picking and include your own set of lock picking tools. For the expert course, we also provide advanced lock picking equipment together with our step-by-step training demonstrating how to utilize your professional lock tools.

You can skyrocket your skills and knowledge with our different courses for beginners, intermediate and experts. Here’s a rundown of the courses we offer at How To Pick Locks.

Beginner Course ($59.⁰⁰)

This starter course is structured to be an overview of how to pick locks.

This course features everything you require to start picking locks including your very own practice locks & lockpick set along with a bespoke virtual educational training course & videos.

Intermediate Course ($99.⁰⁰)

Our Intermediate lock picking package is a bit more sophisticated than the beginner course. This course comes included with the standard-issue practice locks & a Lock Pick set and Training course and is supplemented with a Lock pick gun and extra educational training video demonstrating how to use lock pick tools and the lock pick gun together in order to successfully pick some of the more complex and tough locks.

Expert Course ($349.⁰⁰)

Our Advanced Professional Course is the highest level of lock picking you can attain and comes included with the standard lock pick set & locks, lock pick gun (accompanied with an instruction video), along with other state-of-the-art like Electric Lock Pick Gun + Charger + Different Heads, Kw1 Lishi (standard doors), and Kw1 Lishi (standard doors).

Depending on what sort of skill you’re looking to acquire, make sure to select the right course that suits you! In contrast to most other course sites, we aim to be different in how we deliver our services. All of our different packages come included with practice locks, pick guns, lock pick sets & hours of practice and step-by-step training coupled with industry secrets that will surely make you a master of the craft. Contact us today at +123-456-7890

The Legality of Lock Picking

There’s a common preconceived notion that the only persons who are legally allowed to be in possession of lock picking equipment are licensed locksmiths or first responders. In reality, many states allow people to use, carry, and own lock picking equipment, plus learning how to successfully pick locks is legal, as long you don’t attempt to break and enter somebody’s house illegally with your set of lock picks.

Nevertheless, there are other states that have regulations that make owning or being in possession of lock picking tools is evidence enough that you’ve got criminal intent. Even though having a lock pick set is legal in the majority of places, in such circumstances, in order to avoid criminal charges, you’ll need to prove you didn’t have nefarious intentions. You should always remember that breaking into other people’s property is a misdemeanor.

Order A Course And Learn WITH HOW TO PICK LOCKS TODAY!

There are different lock picking courses suited for everybody’s needs regardless if you’re a professional locksmith looking to grow your skills or you’ve recently become curious about picking locks, or you’re just taking it on as a hobby. The courses we offer at How To Pick Locks will provide you with the requisite know-how and resources you need to pick any type of lock.

We cherish every client that enrolls in our Pick Lock Educational Course. We make a point of catering to each customer individually and providing them with the best service with our professional and educative training courses that teach how to efficiently pick locks using the advanced lock picking tools in your package. You can check out our different package prices from our website home page "Howtopicklock.com" or call us at +123-456-7890 to book an appointment.