Lock Picking Guide

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Peanut

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The need to have a basic knowledge of locks, how to open or pick them came up in a thread yesterday… Here is a pretty good book on the subject. It covers all the basics, has excellent illustrations and uses easy to follow descriptions.

https://www.homesteadingforum.org/threads/lock-picking.7330/#post-199233

Visual Guide to Lock Picking 3rd Edition
By McCloud & Santos Copyright 2006

At the end of the day you can easily open 75% of the residential door locks and 95% of the pad locks used in the US with only 2 tools… A rake and a torque wrench. What makes some residential door locks difficult isn’t the design, it’s quality of the parts. The basic design of these locks hasn’t changed in 50 years.

The pins of quality door locks like Schlage have really tight tolerances. The pins in cheaper door locks are down right sloppy making them easy pickins’ (pardon the pun). The number of pins in a lock whether cheap or well-made increase the difficulty. Most use 4 or less, good locks use 4+.

Anyway, this book will give basic understanding of locks to preppers and the tools used to open them.

lock picking (1).jpg
 
Be careful! Even though it may be legal to buy and own the tools of lock picking you might be charged with possession of burglary tools if you are caught carrying them.
If you are found carrying tools that can be used to pick locks you may end up answering questions every time there is a break-in or thefts in your area.
I found a "slim jim" while out walking. I picked it up and was carrying it home when a police car stopped to "talk" to me. I was asked if I knew what it was, why was I carrying it, and what was I going to do with it.
They finally asked if I would give it to them. I agreed saying that I had a few at home. we talked about what I did for a living and parted on good terms - and why not they got a free slim jim and found out where a good mechanic lived.
I didn't have to turn it over but since I found it they could have charged me with possession of "stolen" property or possession of burglary tools.
 
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