How to Pick a Lock

One of the most fun things that no one knows how to do is to pick a lock. It can often be an easy thing to do, even if you are not a natural criminal. Sometimes, I like to pick locks just for the fun of it. In this article, I will discuss how to pick a lock.

Above anything else, figure out exactly how that lock operates. Most locks will be a pin-and-tumbler variety that will be made up of a cylinder that will have the ability to rotate. When the lock is locked, the cylinder will stay in place because of many pairs of pins. On each pair, the top pin will go into the cylinder and the enclosed housing. This is done in order to stop the cylinder from doing any turning. The lock is obviously unlocked when the right key is put into the lock. At this point, will push the pen pairs up and force the top pins to be out of the cylinder of the lock. From here, the cylinder is no longer inhibited and will be able to turn freely.

If you want to pick a lock, then you will need a lock pick and some sort of tension wrench. A lock pick is something that is usually a specialized device based upon what kind of lock you have. The tension wrench, on the other hand, will be what you use to put pressure on the lock. Good picks and attached tension wrenches will need to be purchased together in a set.

You first need to find out which way you will need to turn the cylinder in order to unlock your lock. If it is your door and you know which way to turn this lock, then you will know which direct it needs to be turned. If it is a foreign lock, then you will need to use your tension wrench in order to figure this out. To do this, you will apply torque first to the cylinder in a clockwise manner. You must know that the cylinder is likely to only turn a little bit before you are unable to turn any more. Feel just how firm you are stopped during this process. A very firm stop indicates that you have turned the lock the wrong way. If you go the correct way, feel for a little bit more give. Padlocks are one type of lock that will probably turn if you put pressure on the cylinder in any direction.

From here, you must apply some torque to your tension wrench in the right direction and hold it there. Obviously, you will have to put a different amount of pressure on the lock depending on its settings. Start off gently and slowly move to putting more torque on the tension wrench.

Now, you should put the lock pick into the keyhole and try to feel for the different pins. Once your pick is in the hole, you can put upward pressure and feel which individual pins that you are working with. You can probably push these pins upward and feel their downward force once you stop applying the pressure.

Of all these pins, you will need to locate the one that feels the most stubborn. Continue to apply torque and press upward on each and every pin. You should do this individually in order to find out the pressure of each pin. If you find that all of the pins will allow you to push up easily, then you must apply more torque with the wrench.

From here, you will want to push up that most stubborn pin until you feel it click. This one pin is actually a couple of pins and you will have to fight the downward pressure. While pushing, you will want to push the upper pin completely out of the lock cylinder. Once you achieve this, the lower pin will come down into the lock cylinder. The correct amount of pressure will likely cause the hole to not be aligned with the correct hole in the lock housing. Because of this, the uppermost pin will sit in the cylinder and will not fall down into the lock. The thing that you are looking for is a very subtle clock that will indicate success. Once you hear this click, the lower pin should be able to go up with no resistance. After this, one set of pins is set and you are ready to continue.

You must keep the torque on your lock and continue these lock picking steps for every pin in the lock. Keeping torque within your lock is very important because it will keep those set pins from falling back into the lock. Each different pin will require a different amount of pressure, so be aware of this as you attempt to break the lock.

Once you have completed the steps of popping the pins, then you should use that tension wrench to turn that cylinder. When all of your pins in the lock are set, the cylinder should turn with little problem. By this time, the lock should be able to turn with no problem.