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How to Pick a Lock for Beginners: The Tech and Tools of the Trade

by James BoreJanuary 14th, 2023

Too Long; Didn't Read

Locksport, lock picking for entertainment rather than professionally, is a great hobby and conversation starter. It’s also surprisingly easy to start and, especially if you’re the type who likes to keep their hands busy, much better than any fidget toys I’ve ever found. Sadly, it can't be summed up in a few sentences, so I'm afraid that a TL;DR won't quite cut it.

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Almost everyone is fascinated by lockpicking, and in this article I’m going to teach you the basics of it. Locksport, lock picking for entertainment rather than professionally, is a great hobby and brilliant conversation starter. It’s also surprisingly easy to start and, especially if you’re the type who likes to keep their hands busy, much better than any fidget toys I’ve ever found.

Warning: Do your own research! Don’t Break the Law
In many countries, lock picking tools are legal to own. Thisdoes not mean they are legal to carry around with you, as even where they are legal they can be considered as evidence of intent. Membership of locksport associations such as TOOOL can help with the ‘reasonable’ argument in this case, but the better approach is to just exercise caution. Equally, in many countries lock picking tools are illegal, or require a license.

While this article will teach you some basics, you should check local laws and not take anything mentioned here as legal advice.

Read me too!

First, this is sometimes seen as dangerous knowledge. It’s true; this information can be misused. However, most authorities are well aware that anyone wanting to break and enter will throw a brick through a window before they spend time trying to pick a modern lock. You can avoid almost all issues practising locksport by not going around committing crimes, DON’T COMMIT CRIMES!

Secondly, about locks you should pick, or more accurately locks you shouldn’t. The rules are straightforward. DO NOT pick a lock that you do not own. DO NOT attempt to pick a lock you rely on (this is in case you break it). DO have fun and enjoy learning locksport.

I’m going to cover the simplest type of picking, the one most portrayed in the media (inaccurately), and the easiest to grasp. Bear with me, because to explain it I’m going to have to cover the mechanics of a lock which will take a while. Once you know how a pin tumbler lock works, and about tolerances in manufacturing, the rest is self explanatory.

All The Terminology

We’re looking at pin tumbler locks, as they’re the easiest to find for practice. Ultimately, all locks work on the same principles (including electronic), with variations in orientation of the pins and some changes to the details.

The Anatomy of a Lock

Cylinder - the main non-moving body of a lock
Plug - the movable cylinder you insert the key into to unlock
Pin chamber - a hollow cylinder pathway to contain the spring, driver pin, and key pin
Spring - a spring
Driver pin - a standard sized pin resting on top of the key pin
Key pin - variably sized and designed pins to be moved by the key
Shear line - the break point where, when the gaps between the key pins and driver pins are aligned, the plug will turn

As you can see, key pins are of different sizes and the break points of them must be aligned with the shear line in order to rotate the plug, and unlock the lock. When you insert the correct key, it will push the pins to the appropriate height and allow you to unlock the padlock, door, start the car, or whatever it may be.

Obviously, real keys generally have sloped peaks and dips to allow them to slide into a lock and move the pins smoothly, however my artistic skills can best be described as limited so you’ll have to imagine those. When the pins are set as above by a key, you can turn the plug freely which will unlock the mechanism.

Fault Tolerance and Picking

Now you know how locks work, the rest is pretty obvious. There are other ways to pick, but the one that teaches beginners most effectively and establishes the fundamentals is single pin picking. This is the one that pops up in games, or that you’ll see in the occasional film as needing a paperclip and a screwdriver.

Depressingly for the security of the average lock out there, this isn’t far off the truth.

When locks are made, they are not made perfectly, so the pins are not perfectly aligned. This means if you apply a slight turning force to the plug with a torsion wrench (very light, generally resting a finger on a piece of spring steel is sufficient), one of the pins will bind before the others.

In single pin picking you find this pin using your lockpick, (I prefer a hook or diamond pick, but tastes vary), and ease it upwards. When it hits the point where the split between the driver and key pins meets the shear line, the lock will give a slight rotation and the next pin will bind instead.

Then, you just repeat this process for all of the other pins. During the process you may need to work back and forth multiple times to find the order the pins bind in, but once you have the order it will work for that lock in future unless it’s re-pinned.

That’s it, it’s really that simple. It’s also immensely satisfying to achieve.

Final Thoughts

I’ve not touched on many of the complexities, such as security pins (differently shaped pins designed to defeat lockpicking) in locks, raking, impressioning, or anything else, but if this has inspired you then a great place to go for more are Deviant Ollam’s books Practical Lock Picking and Keys to the Kingdom.

Another great place to look for more, especially if someone’s just gifted you one of the beginner lock picking sets for Christmas frommy article on presents for hackers is the LockPickingLawyer’s YouTube channel, with this as one of the best starter videos.

Just remember as I said at the start, remember the two key (ha! geddit?) rules.