One thing a working Locksmith can count on is finding himself on occasion scratching his head at a job that was supposed to be stupidly simple and ecstatically easy but is anything but.  Such an occasion reared its ugly head for me last week when I responded to a lockout call out in the middle of nowhere — which doesn’t have to be very far from my business location since it, itself, is pretty much in the middle of nowhere.

This was a call from a man who had recently installed a new piece of hardware on his barn and had managed to lock the keys inside with no spare key to fall back on.  How many times have I heard that story in my 28 years of professional service?  Too many to count.  No matter that it was an incredibly hot day (keep in mind I live in arid Arizona where it can get hot as all get out even in October), or that I wasn’t feeling particularly well . . . I figured this would be routine enough and wasn’t the slightest worried as I made the 1 hour trip over dusty, bumpy dirt roads.

When I drove up and was directed to the barn, I still didn’t think much of the situation until I walked up to the door for a closer look.  It was an industrial steel man door in a small barn, and it had a commercial duty Schlage leverset on it.  These are never fun, as the keyway is orientated sideways and the Schlage keyway can be a bear to pick, with its six-pin configuration and constrictive keyway.

The sun was beating on the white steel door, further amplified by the fact that the barn itself was covered with white siding (what ever happened to red barns?) and it was out in the middle of a field of barren dirt.  I felt like a fly under a seven-year-old’s magnifying glass.  I pulled out my trusty pick set and got to work, after flooding the keyway with lubricant and saying my standard pre-picking chant, keeping it under my breath so as not to create undue suspicion on the part of my customer.  I could tell after three minutes that this wasn’t going to be much fun.

At this point I pulled out my Lockaid Pick Gun but instantly realized it was going to be of no use whatsoever.  Pick guns are incredibly unwieldly when you try to use them on keyways that are not nice and vertical, but in this case I couldn’t even get a straight shot into the keyway because this door was in a very deep frame and the lever hardware was too close to the door frame to give the pick gun adequate clearance. 

It was at that moment that I remembered I had a month earlier slipped a new Brockhage BPG-15 pick gun into my service van’s tool box, just in case I ran into one of those upside-down Euro locks that are showing up in so many decorative security doors now days.  It occurred to me that maybe it would allow me to pick a sideways keyway.  At least I knew I’d be able to line it up straight with the lever.  I fished it out of the box, put it together (I hadn’t even used it yet), and approached the burning hot hardware with a new sense of purpose.

It took me less than ten clicks of the gun to pick the stubborn thing!  I was, quite frankly, shocked.

So chalk up another seriously serious advantage to taking along the BPG-15 . . . which, if you don’t already know . . . is the DOWNWARD STRIKING pick gun that Brockhage introduced to the market not so long ago.  I can honestly say I will never go out on another lockout call without it.

You can find this wonderful tool, by the way and not surprisingly, at our web site, www.LockPickersMall.com.  If you are a working Locksmith, you have no business being without one of these pick guns.

Oct. 13, 2008 – by George Robertson, Lock Picker’s Mall

I’ve done it a hundred times.  If you’re a working locksmith, you have, too.  You’ve picked the lock that you’ve been working on for way too long and it finally picks, but you picked the wrong direction.  You either weren’t thinking or you’ve had to do it this way because it just plain wouldn’t yield going the other direction.

For as long as I can remember there have been plug spinners designed to rescue the hapless locksmith, saving him from having to re-pick the lock.  Some work better than others, and even with the best ones there are a few tricks that will help insure a successful spin.  If the spin is not successful, of course, the plug simply stops at the neutral position and relocks.

One thing to consider is which tool to purchase.  Don’t make the mistake of thinking that they are all the same.  True, a few models are so similar that they function in the same way — but even here there are differences.

The old standby is a trick that locksmiths have known forever, involving the use of a rubber band and a tension wrench.  I’ve seen this done with a paper clip, too.  The band is wrapped around the tension wrench a few times until there is plenty of stored up energy in it while it is inserted in the keyway, and then part of the rubber band is pulled outward, in the direction of the desired spin, while the tool is prevented from moving with a fingertip.  When the finger is suddenly moved away, the rubber band snaps the tool and the lock plug in the proper direction fast enough to spin the plug.  I’ve never been very successful with this, but I have to admit that I’ve only tried it a few times in my 25+ years in the business.  Why should I when there are so many good spinners available?

A very elementary spinner is made by the A-1 Company.  It’s a bit cumbersome to use and while I once had one I found it didn’t work all that well for me.  A much better spinner is the RY57 model made by Rytan, which is my personal fave.  It is well made, well balanced, and you can buy replacement blades for it.  A blade will last quite a while unless you get carried away and over-twist the tool.  It isn’t necessary to turn the knob more than a few degrees because the spring steel stores up a heck of a lot of energy with very little twist.  Another very good one is the Flip-It by HPC, almost a miniature version of the Rytan (or is the Rytan a larger version of the HPC???).

No matter which one you use, follow these easy steps to make success more likely:

• Lubricate the lock with WD40, TriFlow, or some other oil-less lubricant
• Do not over-twist your spinner.  Turn the knob in the direction you want the plug to rotate, and lock it in place after about a quarter turn twist.
• Very carefully rotate the plug back toward the lock position so it is just a few degrees away from being relocked.  Take care because you might accidently relock the plug when you insert the spinner.  I find that spinning works better if the plug has less distance to rotate.
• Insert the spinner at the very bottom of the keyway and push it all the way in, but resist the temptation to push against the plug as you operate the spinner.
• Now release it, maintaining a light touch on the tool to prevent putting pressure on the lock plug.

It helps to hold your mouth in just the right position, but you’ll have to spin a few dozen locks before you figure that one out for yourself. 

Thanks for reading!

George Robertson, owner/Administrator

Obviously a huge part of becoming skillful in any endeavor is Practice . . . with, as noted, a capital ‘P’.  This is no less true with lock picking, the fundamental skill universally attributed to the locksmith profession.  In fact, it is simply impossible to acquire lock picking skill, let alone sharpen it, without something to practice on.

Up until fairly recently there was precious little available for locksmiths or students to practice on, after exhausting all the obvious resources.  You can only pick the locks in your home so many times without it becoming non-productive, and most folks frown upon strangers wandering up their homes or businesses to pick their locks.  When I started the web site LockPickersMall.com, there were perhaps two choices on the Internet and they had limited use and even more limited ordering options.  It was due to this void that I decided to create affordable, well crafted Practice Locks and complete lock picking practice kits to offer my customers.

The current popularity of lock picking Practice Locks may or may not be a result of that decision — if it is I’m proud as punch.  The important thing is that the market exists now whereas before it was at best a novelty item on some (very few) locksmith supply sites.

Yet I still get emails from customers who are confused as to what to buy, and whether to buy at all.  It warrants some discussion:  

As mentioned at the top of this article, it is incredibly important to have locks on which to practice lock picking.  That fact alone answers the ’should I buy’ query.  Yes, you should.  If you are just learning to pick locks, especially, you should equip yourself not only with a good set of lock picks but also at least three Practice Locks (unless you choose to purchase one and rekey it when you want to increase your picking challenge — I’ll discuss that option in a moment).  There should be one Practice Lock that is only partially pinned, to act as a starter cylinder.  I recommend a 3-pinned lock, as a 1- or 2-pinned lock is just too easy to pick and will be of very short term use.  The other two should be 5-pinned locks, one with a fairly easy combination and the other with a much more difficult combination.  Progress from the 3-pinned lock to the easiest of the 5-pinned and then on to the more difficult cylinder.  Whether you should invest in a Cut-Away version depends on how you feel about your state of comprehenstion with regard to the mechanical aspects of lock picking.  If you fully understand what is going on within the lock cylinder and you know something about how pin tumbler locks work in the first place, maybe you don’t really need one.

On the other hand, if you are truly new to the world of locks and locksmithing, and you are mystified by the whole process, obtaining a good quality cut-away lock will provide a wealth of instant education the first time you slide a working key into it.  You will be able to see clearly what is going on in that mysterious lock cylinder when a key is inserted that allows the lock to turn.  And inserting a blank or an incorrect key will teach you even more.  Same goes for your lock picking attempts.  When you can see inside the lock, as you can with a good cut-away lock, you can monitor how you’re doing with your picking technique in a different way than you can if you’re working with ’standard’ practice locks.

Therefore I heartily recommend beginning students (and/or hobbyists, of course) invest in a 5-pin Cut-Away Practice Lock along with a couple of standard types.  Another option is to purchase a product LockPickersMall.com recently introduced called an ‘EZ ReKey Practice Lock’ and make it the cut-away version.  That way you have one lock cylinder that doubles for dozens and dozens of common practice locks.

The Practice Locks we offer at our web site, under our name, are of the key-in-knob variety.  This is something of a misnomer, however, because these cylinders are also used in about 95% of the deadbolts you find on both homes and businesses.  They are of excellent quality and will give the student meaningful experience.  We offer them in both Kwikset and Schlage keyways because these two keyways are the most commonly encountered by the working locksmith (commercial locksmithing, however, brings the locksmith into close contact with a wider variety of keyways).

Mortise cylinders are sometimes used as Practice Locks and they are no easier and no harder to pick than key-in-knob cylinders because they are constructed exactly the same except that their outer ’shell’ is much larger and heavier.  It is, in fact, due to the bulkiness and weight of mortise cylinders that we choose to produce our Practice Locks from key-in-knob cylinders.

It is also necessary at some point to do some serious practicing on wafer locks, as they are very common in businesses.  They are found in cabinet locks, desk locks and cam locks.  For the most part, common wafer locks are easier to pick than are pin tumbler locks, with some notable exceptions.  So-called ‘Illinois’ locks are special high security wafer designs that use a true double sided key — as opposed to double sided ‘convenience’ keys.  They are devils to pick and even harder to fit keys to.  Picking is accomplished with special double sided picks, such as SouthOrd’s DSS-4 pick set.  It doesn’t hurt to work such a lock into your practice routine!

In conclusion, then, I believe Practice Locks are as important to the development of lock picking skills as are lock picks.  Unlike a few years ago, there are now dozens of kinds to choose from and a good many Practice Lock Stands are available now to make using them much easier.

Thanks for reading!

George Robertson, Administrator

After months of planning, we’re finally getting down to brass tacks and lining up the ducks in our effort to produce a complete locksmithing course on DVD . . . something we’ve been asked to do by customers and vendors alike for years.

This course has yet to be formally titled, but it will be a ‘from the ground up’ approach to starting your own mobile locksmith business, which will include several DVDs, each one of them concentrating on one aspect of the trade. 

Over 25 years of real world locksmith experience is behind this collection of instructional DVDs.  As the producer, I bring all my personal experience to the project with relish and I consider this to be an extension of the LockPickersMall.com web site in that it will give help and aid to those who want to make a living at this fascinating business but simply don’t know where to begin.

Not only will this collection address the business end of getting started, but it will offer individual instructional DVDs covering all the basic skills a working locksmith needs.  These will include:

• Outfitting your mobile truck or van
• Deciding on the bare minimum with regard to required tools, and planning for expansion
• LOCK PICKING course, covering pin tumbler and disc or wafer locks as well as GM sidebar locks
• LOCK REKEYING course
• LOCK MASTER PINNING course
• IMPRESSIONING
• Pricing your services to be competitive

Register with us if you wish to be notified by email when the course is available.  Registering in no way obligates you to buy . . . but by doing so you will be eligible to take advantage of a discount that will be offered only to those who did register.  This discount will be worth real money, so if you think you might be interested in the course please do register:

To register, please visit this link:  http://lockpickersmall.com/locksmithcourseondvd.html

We also welcome any suggestions or comments regarding this project!

Thanks for reading,

George Robertson, administrator

A hot topic amongst seasoned locksmiths is whether or not pick guns — whether manual or electric — are truly better than hand picks.  Like so many other issues that involve skill and experience, this one has no ultimate answer, but a discussion is warranted.

Speaking strictly from a personal standpoint, I can say that there have been MANY times during my locksmith career that the use of a GOOD pick gun bailed me out of a tough situation.  One of the tools you have at your disposal when trying to pick a lock is pure and simple ‘variation of technique’.  This comes into use every time you vary the tension on your tension tool, alter how you hold your pick, and whenever you change picks.  It also comes into play, and is useful, when you change from manual picking to mechanical.  That can be using a manual pick gun, an electric, or even going to key bumping or rapping.  I think the value in changing your approach is that it prevents you from becoming fixated on one technique that might simply not be appropriate for the lock you’re working on, and it also staves off boredom.

Of the variations in technique you have open to you, I feel the manual pick gun is one of the better choices.  Because it is capable of delivering a lot more energy to the pins (each time you click the trigger), you have one more device that might be just what was needed.  Also, it can be used for a longer period of time without causing exhaustion . . . though even here you should alter how you hold it and which finger you use to pull the trigger from time to time.

Proper use of a pick gun is another topic altogether.  Many locksmiths have best results if they are absolutely level with the pick needle.  Others, like myself, seem to get better results by varying the angle JUST SLIGHTLY, and doing so as the gun is being fired.  There isn’t much use in trying to ‘rake’ a lock open when you’re using a pick gun because the gun works on the principle of percussion alone.  The needle strikes the bottom of the bottom pins and the energy is imparted to the entire pin stack (in most cases you’ll have the needle inserted all the way to the rear of the plug, so you’re actually affecting all the stacks at once).  The pin stack jumps upward but for a fraction of a second there is a separation between the bottom and top pin, particularly as the energy bleeds off and the stack begins to fall back down.  The idea is to have just enough turning tension on the plug at the EXACT instant that all the top pins find themselves in the upper chamber and all the bottom pins have separated from them enough to create a shear line.  In that instant, the plug will rotate.

The short answer, in my opinion, to the title question is YES.  Pick guns (good ones) do work.  Which are the good ones?  Wow, another topic still.  But the short answer is that we carry only the models that we personally endorse, so you can’t go wrong selecting from our inventory.  My favorite?

Lockaid, only because I’ve used this brand for so many years I feel very confident with it.  And, oh yes, because if anything goes wrong with it there is a LIFETIME replacement warranty through the manufacturer, and I have had to take advantage of that one time in 20 years.

Thanks for reading!

George Robertson, administrator

I’ve had a lot of emails about this question, so let’s take a minute to consider it.

Cut-Away Practice Locks are lock cylinders, usually key in knob or mortise cylinder types, that have had a lot of material milled away in order to reveal the inner workings without destroying the lock’s usefulness as a practice lock.  In other words, as much of the insides is visible as is possible without causing the lock to fall apart.

They are primarily intended as training aids for people who have never picked a lock in their lives, and, on top of that, have no idea how a pin tumbler lock works.  The fact that you can watch the top pins and springs, and to some extent the bottom pins as well, while you work with it is a fascinating way to get quickly educated in both these areas.  If a picture is worth a thousand words, imagine what the real thing is worth.  Some find that cut-away varieties help with understanding how picking works, because you can watch the interaction between pick and pin tumbler as you go.  You can SEE what happens when too much tension is applied . . . you can SEE how the pin stacks react to the picking tool with each motion.  You can see the top pins become entrapped in the upper chamber when a stack is finally picked, and see how the bottom pin then falls into the plug, creating an open shear line at that position.

And cut-away locks, once all this education has been derived, are perfectly functional as ’standard’ practice locks, too.  You don’t have to watch the upper chamber anymore once you’ve acquired some skill, so you’ll use it the same way you would a ’standard’ variety.

On the other hand, those who already know how pin tumbler locks work, and have had a little practice in lock picking, really have no need for a cut-away practice lock.  For these people, I suggest standard practice locks to fit their particular skill level . . . or the new EZ-ReKey series which allows magical transformation from beginner’s lock to super-challenging drive-you-up-the-wall monster lock, all without tools.

Hopefully this little discussion will help.  I invite suggestions or comments that might help someone else along these lines.

Thanks for reading!

George Robertson, owner

A new item has just been introduced in the Practice Kits section of our store, and I thought I’d announce it here.

It’s one thing to browse a selection of kits and it’s quite another to have one made up for you.  If you’re the kind of person who appreciates custom things, you’ll like this!

Just gravitate to our Practice Kits area and you’ll easily find the DYO kit (Design Your Own).  All you have to do is select the stand you want, the practice locks you want, and the pick set you want.  In addition, you can add a few optional items.  The important thing is that you’ll save overall by buying the indiviaul items in the DYO product. 

Thanks for looking!

George Robertson, owner

By popular demand, I have introduced two new items to the Practice Locks section of our web site, and already it is selling better than any of the other Practice Lock selections.  Maybe I’m cheating myself out of profit, because one of these locks is literally worth ten thousand standard Practice Locks.

That’s a heck of a statement, but it’s true.  With the EZ-ReKey Practice Locks (standard type and Cut-Away type), you have so much unlimited versatility!  Whereas before you would purchase, say, a 3-pinned practice lock, a 5-pinned practice lock, maybe a cut-away 5-pinned lock, and maybe one with spool drivers for later, when you really need a higher challenge . . . now you need only one!

The EZ-ReKey Practice Locks are designed to be rekeyed not only without tools but without prior experience as well.  In point of fact, all our Practice Locks are rekeyable, using standard tools and standard rekeying techniques.  But most beginners to this field lack those things.  They are coming to us looking for a starting point, and most choose to learn to pick locks before learning anything else.

So . . . the EZ-ReKey line was developed.  No tools needed.  No prior experience needed.

You get extra bottom pins with the kit (ten of them, which makes a total of 15 when you count the five already in the lock), and you get 5 spool drivers that you can add at your whim to make your combinations super challenging.  You get full printed, illustrated instructions, too.

So, one EZ-ReKey Practice Lock can be anything you want it to be, as per this very brief example:

1-pinned beginner’s lock, 2-pinned, 3-pinned, 4-pinned, or 5-pinned.  All these with or without spool drivers (substitute spool drivers for standard top pins . . . don’t use both in the same pin stack).

With the 15 bottom pins and 2 different kinds of top pins, you can create over ten thousand different combinations, and you can do it any time you wish.  Rekeying, with a little practice, can be done in under one minute!

Take a look at these little marvels if you’re thinking of buying a Practice Lock any time soon. 

Thanks for looking!

George Robertson, owner

Blogs and forums are all the rage now days, and it occurred to me that it might be a positive step for LockPickersMall.com to put one up on the site so that visitors and customers will have a place to check for news, ask questions, or help each other on topics of their own choosing.

This will be a partially moderated space, so I’ll be able to respond to questions and comments from time to time.  For the most part, I’m hoping my visitors will use the feature to help each other out.  Most important of all, please be courteous and avoid unacceptable behavior . . . just like your mom taught you.

It will take time for this new feature to develop and mature, as it always does for such things.  I want to thank you all in advance for whatever input you choose to make.

Regards,

George Robertson, owner