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Lock Pickers Mall

How To Learn Lock Picking the Easy Way

Untitled Document

HOW TO LEARN LOCK PICKING THE FAST WAY -- AND KEEP IMPROVING THE FUN WAY

Teach Yourself to Pick Locks

Time was that anyone setting out to learn the skill we call lock picking was hard pressed to find any help at all.  In fact, the mere mention of this subject would often bring instant suspicion and scorn, unless you happened to be a locksmith's apprentice or enrolled in a school dedicated to the locksmithing industry.  Things are a lot different in this more enlightened age, thank goodness.  People interested in becoming locksmiths no longer have to pay high tuitions to enroll in specialized courses because information is readily available.  The public, by and large, has become more tolerant of the subject, having finally realized that lock picks aren't quite the magic tools they might seem to be in the hands of a truly skilled user.  They are, after all, just tools -- not much different than hammers and saws.  Capable of doing good in the right hands, capable of sheer destruction in the wrong hands.  I often wonder how many would-be criminals have ordered a set of lock picks only to realize that it takes a great deal of dedicated practice to make them actually work.  It's back to the old methods of smash and grab for them in most cases, where their bad deeds can be done with much less effort and much faster.

There was also a time when someone wishing to learn lock picking would have to buy cheap locks for lock picking practice.  Cheap locks aren't so cheap when you discover how many it will take to have much variety (important, because learning to pick one or two pin combinations won't get you very far).  Also, cheap locks can actually be harder to pick because of the low quality (too much slop in the cylinder, tumblers don't react the same way as they do in a quality lock).  Wandering around the house picking door locks isn't the answer, either, because most homes have all locks on the same combination, or just a few different ones. 

You need Practice Locks.  These were once very hard to come by, but you'll have no problem finding them now days due to the exploding popularity of lock picking as a sport (usually referred to as Locksport).  There are hundreds of well organized hobbyists out there, in just about every civilized country.  Locksmith students, law enforcement, security service providers and hobbyists alike all need better ways to learn to pick locks in a timely manner, and to develop those skills over time in an efficient way. 

Here are the important steps and some suggestions for anyone looking to learn lockpicking, or improve existing skill level.

 

Step 1:  Do some reading. Not just one book or ebook, but several in order to get varying takes on how to go about lock picking.  Over time, you'll settle on one approach or, more likely, you'll develop your own that is a hybrid of several approaches.  If you just dive into picking locks by purchasing tools and practice locks, you'll probably learn but you'll learn at a much slower pace, and you'll pick up a lot of bad habits that will impede your progress.

SUGGESTED READING

Lock Picking for the New Millenium (DVD)

dvd-2000click image for details/price/to buy

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Lock Picking Basics (Book)

Lock Picking Basics, bookclick image for details/price/to buy

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Secrets Of Lock Picking (Book)

Secrets of Lock Picking - book click image for details/price/to buy

Step 2:  Buy a good pick set (or jump to step 3 as an even better alternative).  Okay, what is "the best pick set" for beginners?  The truth is, the best choice comes down to 3 important considerations:  Your budget, the level of quality that will fit your budget, and what sort of locks you'll be trying to pick.  Budget is always a big hurdle, but the good news is that there are more inexpensive pick sets available than ever before.  The better news is that you don't have to sacrafice quality when you choose a less costly pick set (unlike the old days when the only "cheap" pick sets were CHEAP pick sets).  We'll suggest four very good choices in the next column, all of which are excellent in quality and value.  The last consideration is most likely going to be "pin tumbler locks" because they far out number any other kind.  But there's good news here, too.  All these pick sets are capable of picking wafer style locks, as well.  So unless you're going to focus on tubular locks (those locks with a circular keyway), you can buy any of these sets knowing you're covered for like 99% of the locks you'll come across.  One other exception to that rule comes under the heading of automotive locks.  Modern vehicles use very specialized disc locks, often with other security features built in, that make them extremely difficult to pick using standard picking tools.  Specialized picks and pick sets are manufactured for these locks, but they work in entirely different ways than "standard" picks and they are very, very expensive.

BEGINNER'S LOCK PICK SETS

MPXS-08 Pick Set from Southord

mpxs-08-th.jpg click image for details/price/to buy

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PXS-14 Pick Set from Southord

pxs-14 click image for details/price/to buy

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PIP-13 from HPC

pip-13 HPC pick setclick image for details/price/to buy

Step 3:  Invest in a few Practice Locks - or better yet, purchase a Practice Kit.  Most of our complete lock picking practice kits include a pick set as well as at least 1 high quality practice lock.  Most kits include a variety of practice locks.  Practice locks, at least those we provide, are all brass and have sufficiently tight tolerances as to be challenging enough to develop lock picking skills.  They either come with pre-determined combinations or, in the case of our EZ Rekey locks (and kits that include them), they are entirely user rekeyable without the need for tools or prior experience.  This makes them timeless.  They grow with you because you devise your own combinations (we suggest you start with extremely easy ones, such as single pin or 2-pin combos) and you move at your own pace.  Practice locks also make it possible to work wherever you choose, in the comfort of your own home, at any time of the day or night.  Set up a stand (available as part of many of our practice kits) on your desk or workbench and you'll have at your fingertips many different picking combinations to work with (in the case of EZ Rekey locks, the combinations are limited only by your imagination). 

RECOMMENDED PRACTICE LOCKS AND KITS

CutAway Practice Lock

Cutaway Practice Lock click image for detail/price/to buy

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Pkg. B Practice Lock Assortment

Practice Lock Assortment B click image for detail/price/to buy

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Complete Lock Picking Practice Kit No. 1

CSK-1 Lock Picking Practice Kit click image for detail/price/to buy

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EZ Rekey Practice Lock, Cutaway Style

EZ Rekey Cutaway Practice Lock click image for detail/price/to buy

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EZ Rekey/YouTube Lock Picking Practice Kit

EZ Rekey/YouTube Practice Kit  click image for detail/price/to buy