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Basics of Lockpicking: How to Pick Your First Lock
Rating: 4.3 out of 5(23 ratings)
142 students

Basics of Lockpicking: How to Pick Your First Lock

A Beginners Guide to Lockpicking
Created byAlex Eriksson
Last updated 5/2021
English
English [Auto],

What you'll learn

  • Promise: You will be able to pick your first lock
  • The correct technique and the right tools
  • How a lock operates
  • What security pins are and what a false set is
  • Legal considerations
  • History of locks & keys

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Course content

1 section • 15 lectures • 52m total length

  • Introduction1:42

    Introduction to lock picking and what you will learn in this course

  • What is Lockpicking?2:13

    Lockpicking is a non-destructive way to open a lock without the original key or brute force, emphasizing subtlety, feel for pins, and focused tension through practice.

  • Legal Considerations3:36

    Examines the legal side of lock picking, including state laws, ownership permissions, and two rules: never pick locks you don’t own and don’t pick locks you rely on.

  • History of Locks & Keys3:18

    Trace the origins of locks and keys from ancient Egypt to medieval metal locks, featuring cylinders, keyholes, ornate keys, and Joseph Brahma's 1784 18-wafer plate design.

  • The Pin Tumbler Lock1:24

    Explore the pin tumbler lock, its historic rise from yale’s padlock to the dominant 90% of daily locks, and why this course focuses on learning to pick them.

  • How Does a Lock Work?2:36

    Explore the anatomy of pin tumbler locks, including the housing, plug, driver pins, and key pins, and understand how aligning pins at the shear line enables the plug to rotate.

  • The Correct Technique6:29

    Discover the main lock-picking techniques, including raking, pig gun, bump key, and single-pin picking, with step-by-step guidance on tensioning, pin binding order, and rotating the plug.

  • The Right Tools3:42

    Identify the essential tools for single pin picking—tension wrench and three picks: hook, rake, and diamond—and learn how to vary tension and set pins in pin tumbler locks.

  • Security Pins2:17

    Explore the three common security pins, mushroom, spool, and serrated, and how they trigger false sets and block rotation at the shear line in security tumbler locks.

  • The False Set3:48

    Learn to identify the false set caused by security pins, understand the role of binding pins and the shear line, and recognize deception via counter rotation.

  • Video Demonstration #1: Abus Padlock4:59

    Practice the lock picking process on an Abus padlock, learning tension application, pin binding order, and step-by-step techniques to open a five-pin lock.

  • Video Demonstration #2: Burg Padlock5:13

    Watch a step-by-step demonstration of picking a medium-security burg padlock: insert tension, count five pins with a pig, set binding pins, navigate false sets, reset pins, and finally open.

  • Video Demonstration #3: DOM Door Lock5:28

    Demonstrates picking a dome round cylinder door lock with a tension range and hook, navigating five pins and false sets to align along the shear line and open.

  • Video Demonstration #4: Disassembly DOM Door Lock4:05

    Demonstrates disassembly of a dome lock to inspect its inner components, including pins (regular, spool, mushroom) and magnets. Explains how magnetic and security pins affect picking difficulty and reassembly.

  • Summary1:32

    Explore lock picking tools, techniques, and the picking order to understand how to beat security pins, then practice the steps on your own locks.

Requirements

  • No previous knowledge required

Description

In this course you will learn how to pick your first lock successfully. No previous knowledge about lock picking is required. However, to really benefit from this class you will need some basic tools and a padlock to practice on.

I made a comprehensive guide on the history of locks, the legal considerations of lock picking, I teach you the correct technique, show you which tools to use and what kind of pins are commonly found in pin tumbler locks. I also included three video walkthroughs in which I pick increasingly difficult locks and show you my step-by-step guide during that process. If you repeat these steps you will also be able to open locks super quickly. Lastly, we disassembly the hardest lock and have a look at the inside of a commercial door lock. You will be surprised which security pins we find there.

Overall, this class covers all the important aspects of lockpicking. If you make it till the end of this class you will be set to open basically any padlock. As an extra, feel free to check out my other class on how to make your own lock picking tools, such as the tension wrench and the hook.

Who this course is for:

  • Anybody who want to open a lock without the right key

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