Content

• To step
• Tips
• Warnings
• Necessities

Have you locked yourself out in the middle of the night? Lost the key to your shed padlock? Before calling a locksmith to open the door or breaking a window, consider opening the lock yourself. Most locks in and around the house are simple pin-and-tumbler or pin cylinder locks and can be opened relatively easily with a lockpick and a torsion wrench. Both can be made from household items that everyone has lying around.

While this procedure is not difficult and can be learned with practice a few times, opening a lock this way requires a lot of patience. To open a lock without a key, you will have to insert a thick metal rod or needle into the lock and turn it around until you hear a click of a gear. This article will explain what to do.

To step

1. Understand how your lock works. The pin-and-tumbler lock consists of a cylinder that rotates within a housing (see illustrations below). Once locked, the cylinder is held in place by a number of pairs of pins. The top pin of each pair passes through both the cylinder and the housing, preventing the cylinder from rotating. When the correct key is used, it pushes the pin pairs up so that the top pins are no longer in the cylinder. When this happens, the cylinder can be turned and the lock will open.
   • Notice the 5 pairs of pins. The yellow pins go into the cylinder as well as the silver housing. The springs resist holding the pins in place.
   • When the key is in use, the grooves and teeth of the key push the pins to the correct height so that all yellow pins are completely out of the cylinder, allowing the cylinder to turn and the lock to open.
2. Buy a lock pick and tension wrench. Each lock pick is for a different problem. A tension wrench, or torsion wrench, is the tool you use to apply pressure that causes the cylinder to turn. Professional lock picks and tension wrenches can be purchased in sets (see image), but hobbyists often make their own sets. Look at the Supplies department for more information about making lock picks and tension wrenches yourself.
3. Use the tension wrench to turn the cylinder and open the lock. Once all the pins are in place, you should now be able to turn the cylinder. Hopefully you know which way to turn. If you turn in the wrong direction, you will have to start all over again.

Tips

• It is not really possible to look inside the lock, so rely on your hearing and your feelings to figure out what is going on inside the lock. Be patient and methodical, and pay attention to the faint clicks you may hear and the resistance you feel. With this information you can get an idea of ​​the interior of the lock.
• The pins should be placed front to back or vice versa; it takes some experimenting to determine the correct direction for your lock. Although back to front is most common, deviations are possible.
• When opening a lock without a key, the tension wrench is especially important. You will always need to find and hold the correct torque to push the top pins out of the cylinder, while continuing to check that the pins are in place and stay there.
• Apply just enough pressure on the pins to overcome the resistance of the springs. Make sure the bottom pin does not get between the cylinder and the housing.
• You can also use a faster technique called “raking” or “scrubbing”. To rake the pins, do the lock pick (preferably a rake lock pick or multi-prong paper clip) all the way to the back of the keyhole without torsion on the cylinder. Then quickly pull the lockpick out of the keyhole, raking it up against the pins and at the same time applying slight torque with the tension wrench. In theory you can open a lock with just two rakes, but usually only a few pins will be moved, after which you will have to place the remaining ones
• The number of pins varies per slot. Padlocks usually have 3 or 4, while door locks usually have 5-8.
• Some locks are “upside down” (especially in Europe). You will find the pins at the bottom of the cylinder instead of at the top. The procedure for opening the locks is the same, except you now push the pins down. If the lock is opened by inserting a key into the lock with teeth down, the pins are located on the bottom of the lock. If you have placed the lock pick in the keyhole, it is easy to find out whether the pins are at the bottom or at the top.
• There are special tools available for doing this, but with a little practice and patience, the homemade tools can be very effective.
• If it is a simple lock, such as in a safe or drawer, you don't even need a lock pick. Place a flat piece of metal all the way into the lock, turn it clockwise as you move up and down, and with any luck you'll have the lock open in seconds.
• If you are really lazy, you can also buy lock picks online that you can use right away.

Warnings

• If you do it correctly, the lock will not be damaged by breaking open, but if you apply too much torque to the cylinder or too much pressure on the pins, the mechanism can always be damaged.
• If a pin does not yield when you try to push it up, you are probably exerting too much torque on the cylinder, causing it to misalign. If this is the case, you will have to reduce the torque slightly. This may cause pins that have already been placed to fall back. Unfortunately nothing can be done about that. Try changing the order next time you try.

Necessities

• Tension wrench: Many common objects can be used as a tension wrench, provided they are strong enough to put pressure on the cylinder and thin enough to fit into the keyhole. It is not necessary for the wrench to be so thin that it disappears completely into the keyhole. The tension wrench should also be small enough so that you have enough room to maneuver the lock pick when they are both inserted in the keyhole. You can use a small Allen wrench that you filed down on the end or a flat screwdriver that is thin enough.
• Picks: You can use a safety pin or a paper clip for this. To make a lock pick from a paper clip, unfold the paper clip and then bend it 90 degrees very close to one end. You can bend one end into a small loop if necessary. Make sure whatever you choose as the lock pick is sturdy, otherwise you will not be able to apply enough pressure on the pins of the lock without bending the lock pick. It is best to make a lock pick from a hacksaw. Bobby pins are also a good alternative. Simply saw off the sphere, make it into a rod and then bend it at an angle of 90 degrees.