What resources would you say are the best for learning how to lockpick or "lcokpick"?

It's caught my interest for the past few years but I never actually attempted (Successfully) or what-not.

Any resources/tools you could suggest?

get a set of lockpicks, then go to a hardware store and find the crappiest no name padlock you can find..
This will teach you the basic ideas of how to pick yet no name POS padlocks are generally easy, getting you used to the motions of pressure and whatnot.. then just start getting more locks.. then park your ass in front of your house and don't let yourself use the key to get back in.. Thats basically how i learned.. I looked around a little.. read the MIT lockpicking guide thing then just got a set and started picking locks.. I'd visit my buddy at work when he used to work at dennys and sit there all night with a backpack full of padlocks deadbolts or whatever and shoot the shit and pick them slowly.. you just get used to the motions and thats basically all it is.. there is no master secret, it's having the right touch.. Although I in no way am as good is I could be and am in no way an expert, but thats my recommendation..

You could get a 5 pin lock cylinder and remove all the pins but one. Doing so will allow you to see the innards of a lock to note its workings. Once you can manipulate the one pin to open the lock, add another pin. Keep doing this until you can master the 5 pins, by then you will have noticed the intricacies of that particular lock. You will then have a better understanding about the 'feel' of a lock. Each lock is different than the next.

i went and got a few cheap door knobs w/ lock to practice on and then tore one apart for the cutaway. also.... for a better method of "picking" you could always do a little research in to "bump-picking". its by far he easiest to pick up and has a greater then 98% success rate.

If you want a really good community to look around at and get info, check this out.

http://www.lockpicking101.com/


Tonnes of info, and helpful people.


Oh, and "bump picking" or bumping a lock, is not lockpicking. Its a bypass method. Picking requires patience, and time.


Also, DO NOT PICK LOCKS YOU RELY ON!!! Lockpicking causes damage every time, and you really don't want to be locked out of your house, with a non functioning key. (I have)

I found, and so has others I know, learning to pick is easiest when relaxed, not paying attention to picking, we would turn on a movie we have seen before, sit there, and pick. I know, does not make sense, but worked every time.

I would suggest checking out that website, possibly attending a LSI meeting, (or more- there is a link near the bottom of the main webpage for LSI info, with a new Toronto Chapter opening this fall) buying a pick set, and getting a Master lock (padlock) #3. (good beginner lock)

Hope ths helps.

bumping is a method, just more of a hackers aproach to lock picking. unlike conventional lockpicking, it does no damage to the lock and is virtually impossable to tell if a lock has been "bumped". yet it is rather easy to tell if a lock has been picked. i perfer bumping due to my ability to buy locks at garage sales w/o keys and use them the same day ( i do have a locksmith on retainer, so he makes me my blank keys ) with out a large hassel.

Again, I would say, bumping is a bypass method, not lockpicking. Lockpicking is using picks to pick a lock, hence lockpicking as the name. Bumping also requires almost no skill, this is why so many people (in the know) are worried about it.

It can also damage the lock, after lots of bumping, after all you are hitting a key into the keyway with some force. There is alot less chance of lock damage via bumping though.

There is also a way to tell if a lock has been bumped, theres always a way to tell.

Lockpicking seems more of an art to me.. For the point of UE I would just get good at bumping, it's faster and easier to pickup from what I am told..

For UER, I would recommend bumping, easier to do, and less chance of getting caught by the police with B & E tools. (no lockpicks, only keys) BUT on the other hand, Some Police forces are now being trained to recognize bump keys...

Its still B & E, but if you are gonna do it UE'ing, I would say bump away over carrying lockpicks. (I don't recommend either though)

What resources would you say are the best for learning how to lockpick or "lcokpick"?

Someone who already knows how to pick locks. You'll understand allot better from someone than from any manual.
Second would be a lockpicking video or flash description of the lock mechanisms. I saw a video on bumping (it's on this site, do a search) and I understood from there the (simple) mechanisms that keep us "safe".
As practice I had the fortune to get the old plug from the family door wich we thought was broken. It was not and after failing miserably the first day, the second day I was able to open it in less than 5 seconds in my first try. That after I replaced the cylindrical pin wich I used to pick the lock with a flat hair pin wich didn't slide on the side of the pins.
Good luck and keep at it... after your first lock you tend to think you are indestructible...king of the locks yeah!...but there are always more interesting ones.

how is bumping a bypass method?
all it is the the tension device and multiple picks all in one.
bypassing would be shimming the shackle or carding the striker.
and bumping does take some skill, while it's the same skill set as with picks.
some people are better than others when bumping with the same key, same lock. to me that would equate that the persons are of different skill levels....
bumping is my first round of assault on any lock, then picking it is the reliable way if yo have to get the lock open

Posted by Bettner12 how is bumping a bypass method? and bumping does take some skill, while it's the same skill set as with picks. some people are better than others when bumping with the same key, same lock. to me that would equate that the persons are of different skill levels....

bumping is not the same skill set as picking. i can't hardly pick a lock to save my self. i can bump a lock with the best of em.

best bump to date: 5 pin American 700 series

then i broke my key on a 6 pin

SD

Posted by Bettner12 how is bumping a bypass method? and bumping does take some skill, while it's NOT the same skill set as with picks. some people are better than others when bumping with the same key, same lock. to me that would equate that the persons are of different skill levels....

that's what i meant originally... sometimes brain thinks faster than i type and i just skip whole words

The best way is to get a plasma cutter, but out the area surrounding the lock, then take it home so you can work on it in the comfort of your own living room

Posted by Rendge i went and got a few cheap door knobs w/ lock to practice on and then tore one apart for the cutaway. also.... for a better method of "picking" you could always do a little research in to "bump-picking". its by far he easiest to pick up and has a greater then 98% success rate.

But bump keys are noisy. At least for UE purposes. Or am I missing something here.

L

Posted by sandaili But bump keys are noisy. At least for UE purposes. Or am I missing something here. L

they are not that loud, i guess it would depend on the site.

SD

Posted by sandaili But bump keys are noisy. At least for UE purposes. Or am I missing something here. L

Bump keys are noisy when being used by novices. Almost everybody hits them too hard, which can work, but works much less of the time. So bump keys that are hit harder are louder and require more hits.

I use a very small screwdriver, held by the screwdriver end, it's quiet, and it's pretty effective.

i have half a dozen lox at home, actually the cheapest crappiest of them i can't get open, some of the better quality ones are easier with practice because the quality of the lock mechanism is better.....just sayin

managed my first with a bit of wire and a bobby pin the other day, hello mcgyver

As everyone is saying, learn by doing. The MIT guide is great, and it's easier to learn on a lock depinned some of the way (i got really good by learning on a 3 pin lock, picking it in class during lectures), and make sure you aren't trying to learn on a sfic (interchangeable core). That's how I started, and it sucked.

And properly picking/bumping a lock does very minimal amounts of damage, improperly picking does some, but not enough to worry about, and improperly bumping a lock made me glad I was changing dorm rooms at the end of the year. Lock became a b8tch to open even with the right key.

Also, if you are in need of a lock brand that sucks, kwikset.