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It's Easy
The big secret of
lock picking is that
it's easy. Anyone can learn how to
pick locks.
The theory of lock picking is the
theory of exploiting
mechanical defects. There are a few basic
concepts and
definitions but the bulk of the
material consists of tricks for opening locks with particular
defects or
characteristics. The
organization of this
manual reflects this
structure. The first few chapters presents the
vocabulary and basic information about locks and lock picking. There is no way to learn lock picking without practicing, so one
chapter presents a set of carefully chosen
exercises that will help you learn the
skills of lock picking. The
document ends with a
catalog of the mechanical
traits and defects found in
locks and the techniques used to recognize and exploit them. The first
appendix describes how to make lock picking
tools. The other
appendix presents some of the
legal issues of lock picking.
The exercises are important. The only way to learn how to recognize and
exploit the
defects in a lock is to practice. This means practicing many times on the same lock as well as practicing on many different locks. Anyone can learn how to open desk and
filing cabinet locks, but the ability to open most locks in under
thirty seconds is a skill that requires
practice.
Before getting into the details of locks and picking, it is worth pointing out that lock picking is just one way to bypass a lock, though it does cause less
damage than
brute force techniques. In fact, it may be easier to bypass the
bolt mechanism than to bypass the lock. It may also easier to bypass some other part of the door or even avoid the
door entirely. Rememer:
There is always another way, usually a
better one.