Lock picking is not a crime. It is an important aspect of the locksmithing profession, as well as an interesting and challenging hobby. Defeating ingenious locks can be a thrill as well as very educational. Below, we will look at the most basic principles of lock picking, however, specific instructions on how to pick a lock will not be given as an article of this length could not do the subject justice.
Basic components of a pin tumbler lock:
Plug : This is the cylinder which rotates within the shell of the lock. The plug has a series of spring loaded pin stacks which each sit at different heights protruding from the plug into the shell. When a key is inserted into the keyway the grooves and ridges on the face of the key, known as bittings, push the pin stacks to align at the same height, which in turn allows the plug to rotate in the shell. The end of the plug is linked directly to the locking mechanism such that when it is rotated it unlocks the door.
Shell : This is the casing that the plug sits and rotates in. The lock pins protrude into a space in the shell, preventing the plug from turning until a key is inserted in the keyway, which pushes the pin stacks up and down to be flush with the bottom edge of the cavity in the shell, known as the shear line .
Pin stacks : The series of spring-loaded lock pins which prevent the plug from turning in the casing until a key is inserted by protruding into a cavity in the shell above the shear line.
Keyway : The slit at the front of the lock that they key is inserted into.
All basic pin tumbler locks work on this same principle. Because the machining on the inside of any lock is not perfect the lock pins hit the shear line in locked locks at slightly different points. Lock picking involves poking lock picking tools (known as picks and rakes) into the keyway, while applying some rotational force to the plug with a torsion wrench and feeling which of the pin stacks is hitting the shear line first. By manipulating each of the lock pins in turn it is possible to push them below the shear line, one by one. With the rotational force being applied with the torsion wrench once they have been pulled down the plug slips around slightly more and the just picked pin stays trapped below the shear line. At this point you can move onto the next pin stack and, oncel they are all done, the plug will rotate all the way around.
If you wish to learn how to pick a lock it is a good idea to buy a variety of cheap door locks at a hardware store. You should make sure that they can be disassembled to give you a good idea of the internal workings of locks and to allow you to make reconfigurations. By re keying locks (swapping or replacing some or all of the pins) you can get prolonged use out of a single lock with greater challenge and experience resulting. You need to be very patient to learn this skill and be prepared to break a few locks while you're practicing.
