The Basics

In this post, we will be getting right into the basic concepts and viewing some of the tools used to pick locks.

When it comes to picking the most common type of lock, the pin tumbler, you essentially only need two tools: An appropriately sized tension wrench and a pick. The variance in size of the keyway can be quite large, thus the need for different sizes of tension wrench's. There are many types of picks, such as the hook, diamond, halfball and so forth, but for the purpose of this post (being post number two and trying to keep it simple) we will use one of my personal favourites, the hook pic.

It is my belief that if you are just begin to learn the art of lock picking, you should first learn how to single pin pick (spp) rather than raking, a popular technique that we will discuss in the near future. Single pin picking is the type of picking most people picture in their minds when they think of what they saw in the movies, whether or not they actually know whats going on in there or not. When single pin picking, you set each pin inside the lock individually while apply pressure on the tension wrench in the direction that you would turn the locks key to open it. For a demonstration of SPP and a sneak peak at beating spool pins. Watch this video!



So, now that I have you ahead of yourself, my next lesson will be about how a pin tumbler lock actually works and why it's flaws allow them to be picked...

Stay Tuned!