Make Lock Picks

by cornchip

This is a simple guide on how to make some handy lock picks out of stuff you'll find in your house assuming you have some pretty basic tools. That's right... no trip to the store! Save gas!

#include commonsence.h
#define DISCLAIMER NULL

-----Habiliments (see: Materials)--------------------

Ok, you will need:
At least one wire hangar
A hammer, preferably two... tell you why later Something hard to pound on.
Wire cutters or hacksaw or what the hell do you cut hangars with?
a file
a lock... your house will do, your neighbor's is better!

-----Consecution (see: Procedure)--------------------

Now how will I make a set of picks out of... hangars?

1) Cut your hangar into a few pieces. I don't know how long a regulation pick is, but if you do, cut the pieces to that length.

2) Now you will flatten one and a half inches of each piece. Follow 2a, 2b, or 2c depending on your materials.

2a) Two hammers and a Vise. Position one hammer upside down in the vise. The head of the hammer should be above the top of the vise so it doesn't slip down. Rest the end of a piece of hangar on the hammer and pound with the other. You should pound until the metal is about one millimeter thick. If the metal starts to curve in one direction, pound on the inside of the curve.

2b) Hammer and Anvil. Place the end of a piece of hangar on the vise and pound it flat like in 2a.

2c) I Hope you at least have a hammer. Good luck... figure something out.

3) Now comes the fun part. You probably want a vise for this. Secure the piece of hangar and file the desired pick out of the flat part. See the Classes of Picks for details.

4) Clean your picks off with some steel wool or sand paper so when you run your fingernail over the surface, you don't get stuck on any imperfections.

5) Optional, but helpful. Slip some of the sheath of some fourteen gauge solid core wire over the end to make a more comfortable handle.

6) pick pick pick

-----Classes of Picks (see: Pick Types)----------------

I'll list these in the order I made them and with the method I used. Note: I find it easer NOT to mark the picks before I file them.

Half Diamond) The most useful in my opinion, and simple to make. File from the end of your pick a forty-five degree angle with a flat file. The top of the diamond should be about three millimeters from the base of the pick (not the end, the bottom). File from the tip back down at forty-five degrees until you are about one and a half millimeters from the base of the pick. File and a gentle angle to the beginning of the flat part of the pick to make the tang.

Snake) Yep, I got curious and made it second! The tip will be about half a centimeter long, remember that. First, make some shallow filings: two on top at three millimeters and six millimeters, and on bottom at one and a half millimeters and four and a half millimeters. Use the corner of your file. Man, this is really hard to explain exactly. File a snake shape using the shallow marks and round out your shape as they get deeper. The curve closest to the tip is a little shorter than the other. The tip and curve on the bottom should follow the same line as the tang. Then you are satisfied with your tip, file your tang like you did the half diamond.

Half Round) I shouldn't even bother explain this. It has the same outline as a half diamond, but it's round. You figure it out.

Rake) Start with the bottom curve, just make a curve from the tip to the base of the tang. If you have a knife sharpener, use it to make the inside curve of the pick. File a shallow notch in the tip of the pick if you want to use it as a lever for pin-by-pin picking or leave it flat for true raking. File your tang.

Those are all the picks I have made, but if you want more designs, check out the MIT Guide.

-----For and Anti (see: Pro and Con)-------------------

For: Very Cheap
Anti: thin handle is sometimes awkward
For: Quick to manufacture
Anti: Metal isn't as strong as spring steel.
***look down***
For: Easy to conceal (in a pen with the ink removed)
Anti: They won't make you a locksmith overnight
For: Fun to show off (be careful about this one)
Anti: Illegal in some places
(check the laws where you live)
For: You made 'em, they're yours!
Anti: Anything homebrew will work only as well as the effort put into it. If you buy picks, you know they have been designed EXACTLY to standards.

***the metal may not be as strong, but it's still pretty strong. If you bend your tang you are picking too hard. Lock picking is done with light pressure and tension. Read the MIT guide if you want to learn to pick locks. READ IT, don't skim through it.***

-----Conglomerate (see: Miscellaneous)-----------------

These picks WILL NOT make you a locksmith. Read the MIT guide. Practice. PRACTICE! Just type "MIT Guide" into google. Click "I'm Feeling Lucky".

All these picks can be made with a regular file, but I suggest you get a triangular file, a flat file, and a thin round file. Get a medium to fine grade file because you're working with metal.

For the steel wool, I suggest you get #00 or #000. #00 is works faster but #000 makes it look cleaner. Don't get #0000. That stuff is way too fine. It will make your pick shine, but it won't get rid of the imperfections.

I am not the best locksmith in the world. So far I've only opened a few locks. But then I only started within this year, half a year from the time of this writing. Being a noob at this, i consider myself quite successful so far. There's always room for improvement. Don't ask me how to pick locks yet, for now see the MIT Guide. If (it's possible) that I become proficient at this then THEN you may ask me.

And about the author: I have a lot of experience in the shop. I've been building random things since as far back as I can remember. I'd like to experiment with metal forgery, but that will come after a little reserch on the best method for a home shop. I'm still a student, but most of what I know I have learned outside of school. I am interested in mechanics, networking, programming, and the arts.