My character’s design was made by KoidelCoyote.

The Basics of Lockpicking

Let me start by saying what I usually say: I’m not an expert by any means. Lockpicking and locksport in general is something I picked up on big time when the pandemic started and it’s proven to be one of my most useful skills that I actually use regularly. Picking locks is something I consider therapeutic and a good test of patience and endurance.

Something else I feel inclined to say: I offer this blog post with the intention that it’ll be useful to someone somewhere whether for hobby or practical purposes. My blog post is not to be used for commiting criminal acts nor do I condone the commission of criminal acts. Only pick locks you own or ones you have permission to pick and when it comes to picking for sport (and not because you locked your keys in somewhere), always follow the rule of “don’t pick a lock that’s in use.”

Also also ensure that you’re aware of any and all laws for your locality. Possession and use of lockpicks may be illegal where you live and/or it might carry special restrictions, so always be aware of what’s allowed where you live/operate.

Note: This is my first time ever writing anything like this and I must say… it’s pretty difficult. This is my first pass at it and I’ll likely revisit and revise regularly with feedback from others. Expect this guide to change several times between now and the heat death of the universe.

Why Learn Lockpicking?

Because it’s fun. Also it’s useful for when you inevitably lock your keys inside your shed and you happen to have a pick set on you. But also it’s fun.

Mostly because it’s fun. I don’t need to justify this to you.

What’s a Lock?

A lock is literally anything that keeps something from turning/opening/whatever regardless of how effective it is. A padlock is a lock. A deadbolt is a lock. A zip tie is a lock (technically). A Cheeto taped to a door and its frame is a (very shitty) lock.

Generally speaking, when we’re talking about a lock, we’re talking about pin-tumbler locks, which are the most common type of lock sold/installed by and for the public. Chances are that your home has a pin-tumbler lock on the front door (unless you replaced it with something more hardcore).

We’re not covering other types of locks in this article, as I wanted this to be more of a beginner’s guide to how locks work and how to exploit them via the technique of single-pin-picking and maybe briefly touching on raking.

How Does a Pin-Tumbler Lock Work?

Before we can get started picking, it’s important to understand how a pin-tumbler lock actually works and why it’s designed the way it is. We can get super lucky with opens without understanding exactly how these locks work, but what’s the point? Let’s describe some parts and action of the lock when used with a key.

This diagram above shows a cross-section of a lock I totally made up (no banana for scale). It’s a five-pin lock and the important parts are labeled. We discuss these parts and how they work below. Note that this lock is in a “locked” state, which is to say that the driver pins haven’t cleared the shear line. If you’re approaching a lock that’s in a locked state for the first time, this is sort of what it might look like inside maybe.

A quick note: “top of the keyway/TOK” refers to the side your key’s cuts interact with when you unlock a lock. In North America, this is usually “up” when a lock is installed in a door whereas in places such as Europe this will be “down.” This is something to keep in mind with phrasing such as “downward force.” (h/t: Phyxis)

Plug/Tumbler

Pin-tumbler locks consist of a plug (or “tumbler”), which is the part your key goes into. The plug contains a set of key pins which are specific lengths that correlate to the cuts in the key meant for the lock.

Bible

The upper half of the lock is called the “bible” and consists of a spring for each chamber with a “driver pin” under each spring. Springs apply downward force on the driver pins which keeps them firmly placed into the correspodning key pin holes in the plug, keepiing the lock from turning over. The driver pins are (usually, but not always) the same size in all chambers. If you encounter security pins (we briefly touch on this later), they’re likely to be the driver pins rather than the key pins, though there are some exception (American 1100 locks, for example).

Shear Line

The shear line is best described as the gap between the plug and the bible. Once the driver pins pass the shear line, so long as the key pins don’t pass this line, the lock should be able to turn over. A key that’s properly cut for the lock (or a lock that’s pinned for the key, even) shouldn’t cause the key pins to cross this line. If it does, then… well… it’s the wrong key for the lock!

Action

When the correct cut key is inserted, it makes contact with the key pins as it moves through the plug. The cuts on the keys cause those key pins to raise to a specific height and pushes the driver pins against the tension of the springs above the shear line and allows the plug to turn over, unlocking the lock.

How Does Lockpicking Exploit Locks?

In an ideal world, these key pin holes would be milled perfectly straight, but we don’t live in a perfect world, so they never are. (“Thinking Face” emoji designed by OpenMoji – the open-source emoji and icon project. License: CC BY-SA 4.0)

Lockpicking takes advantages of loose manufacturing tolerances found in all locks. It turns out that getting the chambers all perfectly aligned in a lock plug is actually really hard to do properly even with precise machining. The cheaper the lock, the more true this tends to be as well.

When you’re picking a lock, you’ll apply tension to the plug either at the top of the keyway (TOK) or bottom of the keyway (BOK). The tension applied on the plug simulates turning the key and when the right amount of tension is applied, driver pins that make it past the shear line will remain there (thanks to sloppiness in tolerances), allowing you to move to the next set of pins of your choosing.

How Do Lock Manufacturers Protect Against Picking?

There are several measures lock manufacturers may take to reduce effectiveness of lockpicking. I won’t go into great detail on them, but I will briefly describe some. You can do your own research on these further, if you want.

• Security pins: Typically done with driver pins in most locks that feature security pins, these pins are machined into various shapes designed to snag, bind, and generally slow down the lockpicking process. If you want to learn more, you can look up “spool pins” and “serrated pins” which are the most common types of security pins.
• Counter-milling: This involves intentionally machining away a small slot on the inside of one or more of the lock cylinders so that pins snag easier when the lock is under tension.
• Threaded Holes: The plug has holes that are tapped/threaded similar to that of a screw hole. Pins will get snagged on these pretty bad and would cause an inexperienced lockpicker to reset and try again many, many times. This is particularly effective when used in conjunction with serrated security pins.
• Tighter Tolerances: Lock manufacturers putting in the QA/R&D to reduce tolerances in their manufacturing processes, making it harder for pins to set when tension is applied. Higher end locks tend to have tighter tolerances even with no security pins.

You can see how difficult it would be to fit a standard hook into this tight of a space. Thinner lockpicks and shorter or longer hooks may be necessary in these scenarios. These almost always require TOK tensioning as well. If you want to see what a standard hook profile looks like, jump to the section on actually picking locks or you can find commercial examples of them in the links in the section about picks and turning tools.

• Wicked Warding: Intentionally shaping the key hole in such a way that reaching the pins can be difficult or could potentially damage your tools if you’re not careful. The front profile vector image shown above gives an example of what I call “Wicked Warding.” You’d need a thin pick and patience to get through that kind of thing. Most locks don’t have wicked warding like this and instead are pretty open and easy to gain access to the pins.

Equipment Selection

Before you can pick a lock, you need three things: a lockpick, a turning tool, and a lock (duh). If you don’t already have these pieces, you can read below for recommendations on tools and locks to get started with.

Good Locks to Start With

Many might recommend the Master Lock No. 3, but I personally wouldn’t. I can only describe picking a Master No. 3 as “sticking your pick into silly putty.” There isn’t much to feel there. Instead, I’d recommend a lock like the Master 141D, which is a 4-pin padlock with no security pins and it’s very easy to feel what the pins are doing with practice.

If you want to get experience with security pins, the Master No. 140 is a brass padlock with 4 pins and only one is a spool security pin. Its smaller cousin, the Master No. 130, is basically the same thing in a smaller form factor and gives extraordinarily good feedback while picking the spool pin (at least from my own experience).

Generally speaking, it’s hard to go wrong with a Master lock to start picking on. They’re better than dollar store locks, but still sloppy enough for easy and satisfying opens. Some Master locks are a little better, though (such as the LOTO 410 or any of their American 1100 variants), so I’d stick to the ones I listed above for now.

Are you just looking to get started without buying new locks? The best lock to start with is the padlock/deadbolt lock/whatever you have lying around in a junk drawer (especially if it’s not in use in any way). The next best lock to start with would be whatever you find at your local Goodwill or hardware store for dirt cheap.

Picks and Turning Tools

If you’re just looking to get started picking locks, the natural tendency might be to buy the cheapest set you can find on a site like Amazon or eBay. There’s nothing “wrong” with doing this, but they tend to be made of inferior metals, bend very easily, are usually rather unfinished, and the kits tend to include way, way more pick/rake profiles than you’ll ever need. If this is what you can afford, then great! Any kind of lockpick set will get you started, but I would recommend building your own kit if you can afford it.

Southord, Sparrows, TOOOL, Covert Instruments, Peterson, etc. Get yourself a standard hook, a standard rake, BOK turners and TOK turners. Some of these companies sell kits for relatively cheap too!

Here are a few links to some kits I’d consider if I was starting. Note that I am not affiliated with any of these nor do I have a sponsorship. I get nothing if you click them other than the satisfaction of knowing I may have helped someone get started.

• Covert Instruments FNG
  • Side note: This kit includes a transparent padlock, which is good if you want to see what’s going on when you’re first starting out.
  • Second side note: This kit doesn’t come with a TOK tensioning tool, but Covert Instruments does sell the Ergo Turner Set which I very, very highly recommend for comfort and ease of use. They also have a southpaw variant for lefties.
• Southord Five-Piece Lock Pick Set
• Sparrows Kick Start
• TOOOL Necessary Nine Pickset v2
  • Side note: TOOOL is a non-profit organization, so each purchase of tools helps contribute to their cause.
  • Second side note: TOOOL also has a great resource for looking up lockpicking laws if you’re specifically based in the United States. You can find that here.

The kits I listed above seem good for their prices and intended audiences for the quality you get. While kits are great, I again recommend building out your own kit with a mix of tools from various companies to fit your needs, but that’s something that you’ll be more able to justify as you get further along in this hobby.

Enough. I’m Here to Pick Locks Now.

Picking left-handed (i.e. - holding the pick with your left hand) is not as popular, so many locksport entertainers online don’t really know how to approach telling people how to do it. Luckily for you, I’m a lefty too. I just learned to do most things right-handed for ease because… I dunno, life just seemed easier that way.

Cool. Let’s get started then. For the purpose of getting started, I’d suggest using a padlock, though you’re not required to. Padlocks mentioned in the section above are highly recommended for this tutorial as they allow for BOK tensioning with few issues. You don’t have to follow these steps exactly, but if you do, you should have success.

Before you start, observe the image above. You can see how I hold the tools and lock while picking right-handed and how I do it left-handed with bottom-of-the-keyway tensioning. This should be helpful if you’re looking to figure out just how you should be using the tools.

1. Hold the lock in your non-dominant hand gripping the lock body with the shackle facing away from you. The top of the keyway should be… well… up.

2. Place a BOK tensioner into the bottom of the keyway. Most locks will unlock by turning clockwise, so apply steady tension using your index finger on the side of the turning tool so that it turns clockwise. If you’re picking left-handed, you should use the thumb on your right hand to apply tension as seen in the right frame of the image above.

3. Hold the pick in your hand similarly to how you would hold a fork (as a civilized human being, not an animal. sorry, fellow animals). Use your middle finger on the side of the pick to give some counter-balance/support. You may have to angle your lockpick hook in various ways to lift pins, but for the first one, it should be pretty easy to get to. In this image, the first pin stack is properly set and it’s time to move to another one while the tension holds this driver pin in place.

4. Work from front to back (or back to front… your choice!) and gently lift up on each key pin while continuing to apply tension. You may overset the pins. Don’t get too frustrated by this. Just let go of the tension so the pins fall back down and try again. If you’re too forceful or you’re not used to how much pressure you need to apply when lifting pins, you’re likely to overset like this scenario where the second key pin got snagged on the shear line.

5. Pick the rest of the fucking lock untl the plug turns and you hear a satisfying “POP!”. Getting all the driver pins above the shear line while leaving the key pins in the plug is the aim of the game.

What is Raking?

Raking is just spam in locksport form. Note that this type of pick is often referred to as a “wave rake” because of the obvious peaks and valleys in its profile.

You’ve probably noticed raking mentioned a couple of times above and wonder what it is. Raking is another technique to exploit locks that’s in the same vein as single-pin-picking (SPP). Raking achieves similar results specifically on locks that don’t have security pins by lifting all the pins in an alternating fashion quickly by moving the raking tool in and out while applying light tension on the plug. It’s bruteforcing the pin stacks and it’s surprisingly effective against some of the cheapest locks while having meh results on ones that contain security pins of any amount.

If you’re looking to build a kit for picking, I’d recommend having at least one wave rake as these are pretty useful for quick opens on less secure locks and wafer locks.

What About Other Types of Locks?

This article is mostly covering locks, which are the most common locks found in general. There are other locks such as disc-detainer locks, dimple locks, wafer locks, tubular locks, TuBAR locks, etc. Non-ordinary locks generally require specialized tools to pick them easily (if at all). I may cover some tools and techniques for picking more special locks at a later date if there’s particular interest.

Special Thanks

I want to give a special thanks to my partner Odie for helping me out with feedback and giving me tips on designing the springs in my vector graphics. Also a thanks to Phyxis, Ti5Al2Sn on Telegram for rewording advice (and future adjustments I’ll make soon), etc. Thanks to Serif for specifically not being Adobe. All of these graphics were made with a combination of Affinity Designer 2 and Affinity Photo 2. Huge shout out to my weird-ass Telegram chat for existing in general. If you’re interested in joining said chat, shoot me a message on any of the platforms listed at the bottom of my site.

Future Locksport Posts

Depending on how this goes, I may cover more specific topics like security pins, TOK tensioning vs BOK, decoding combination locks, bypasses, etc. Do let me know on Fedi, on Telegram (see link below), Signal, etc. All my contact info should be available below. There’s also email if you’re looking for a fight. (I’m kidding, probably.)

Thanks and have a good one.

Changelog