Lock Picking By Mykel Gold Expert Author Mykel Gold
To be certain there are many ways to bypass a lock and open a door with the use of drills, bump key, jacks and bolt cutters but these methods might be best left for more urgent needs or as a last resort as they can damage or destroy the fixtures and frames they are attached to. A more advisable procedure to these is lock-picking, a quick and essential technique that all locksmiths possess the ability to perform.
The procedure for lock-picking is one of manipulation and study of a lock and its workings in order to open it without its original key. When the primary key is lost or unavailable lockpicking is the best method for access since it is not only a quick and easy process for the professional locksmith, but it also provides relief for not causing damage to the lock, thereby allowing it to be re-keyed, its door and the fixtures and frame that surround it.
Lock-picking also allows for much greater ease in impressioning the lock in order to make a new key. After the lock has been opened a locksmith can insert a blank key into the keyway in a manner that will make an impression of the tumbler marks on the blank key. The locksmith then files the key on the marks and reinserts the blank again in order to make more marks. This is also quite a quick procedure for the experienced locksmith.
One common process for lock picking is called raking. The rake method involves the use of a half diamond, rake, pick being inserted into the keyway beyond the last set of tumblers and then, in a figure eight motion moving the pick quickly in and out of the keyway. Raking, for the most part, is based on luck. However it is a system that has been known to be extremely useful as it helps in binding some of the top pins making regular lock picking easier.
Tools for locking picking are varied in size and shape such as the pick gun, the aforementioned half diamond rake pick, the hook pick, a warded pick for warded locks and a torque wrench in order to supply torque to the lock plugs and keep them from being pushed down by their springs.
Lock picking tools in the United States by those outside of the locksmith or repair industries or law enforcement agencies is considered the same as carrying tools that can be used for burglary. Merely having possession of them is not necessarily illegal but can certainly look suspicious, and of course anyone caught in the act of picking a lock outside of their own personal locks or those of family, friends and acquaintances that give them permission will be considered to be conducted an illegal activity.
Locksmiths have spent years training in their craft with these numerous tools learning these techniques and acquiring superior abilities to work with these situations. For the best results when needing to open a lock always refer to those professionals with the proper know how. Lock picks