Why is the pin tumbler lock pick so important...

In your kit you will need a pin tumbler lock pick, so what type is best

If you are going to get in to lock picking then you will find that sooner than later you will come across a pin tumbler lock. Pin tumbler locks are extremely common and are usually found in a cylinder fashion.

In order to even start to imagine getting into one of these you must first know what a pin tumbler lock is and what the tools and techniques are to get into one. We will cover the basic structure of this style of lock and how to use the right lock pick set to get in.

This will of course take practice and effort on your part and of course the right lock picks. There will be no images used other than those that you create in your mind. This should be no problem since you are not going to see the internal lock parts while you are picking so why not start off imagining now.

Principle and anatomy

The basic principle of a pin tumbler lock is simple. Brace yourself as we will be using some terminology that you will have to learn and get used to if you are going to be in this field. The cylinder lock, the most common type, is a cylinder shaped device that has a plug inside of it. The plug is what allows the lock to open and in effect the door opens. The catch is that the cylinder has to be able to rotate to do so and that is where you come in. Of course the whole purpose of the lock is to stop the plug from rotating. Normally a key is inserted into the channel that is at one end of the lock. One interesting thing to point out is that if you look at a keyhole you will see a pair of ledges and a set of corresponding grooves on the matching key. These devices are so that the pins, which we will cover in a bit, do not fall too far down in to the slot. These ledges also make it tougher to use a pin tumbler lock pick instead of a key.

What in the world is in there?

Inside the top of the plug there are some vertical holes drilled in with spring loaded pins inserted into them. To give you a visual, these pins ride on the top of the key and those bumps on the top of a key bring these spring loaded pins to the right height allowing the top pins and the bottom pins to line up the shear line with the plug letting the plug rotate. Since we do not have a key to make these pins move up to the right spot we will have to use a pin tumbler lock pick to accomplish our mission. We will cover this a bit more now that you have the pin tumbler lock anatomy down.

We have been talking about pins and up until now we have not described them. There are two set of pins, the driver pins and the key pins. There are about five or six sets of pins. The key pins are the pins that come into contact with the key and the driver pins are on top of the key pins. Where the two pins come together is called the shear line. To create a picture in your head the key pins and driver pins are cylinder in shape sort of like regular AA batteries. Think of the pin arrangement being like two batteries as they are in a flashlight, end to end. When the lock is at rest, no key or pin tumbler lock pick inserted, gravity pulls the pin sets down to their lowest level which is the horizontal notch we spoke about earlier. The driver pins are stopping the plug from rotating, even with pressure, because the space between the cylinder and the plug is blocked. When the key is inserted and the pins rise to the exact point they should the sheer line is exactly lined up with the gap between the cylinder and the plug.

So how in the world can you get into a pin tumbler lock without the use of a key? The answer is with the use of a pin tumbler lock pick or similar device. The whole key and the principle of lock picking are to simulate the key that is used to open the lock. You are going to use a lock pick to try to raise the pins up into their channels so that the shear line matches with the gap in the cylinder and plug. This can take some time and practice but it is very possible and will later become easy to accomplish. A lock pick set has a number of tools to use for this mission but really a lock pick and a tension wrench are what you need. The tools are so simple, in fact, and they can easily be made on your own in your own home from everyday materials. Now a lock pick is not a complex device and neither is a tension wrench. A pin tumbler lock pick is nothing more that a skinny piece of metal that can fit into the keyhole of a lock and strong enough to raise the pins which takes virtually no pressure. A tension wrench is nothing more that a piece of metal skinny enough to fit into the lock that is strong enough to put enough pressure on the plug to turn it.

Getting it yet?

All locks are different from one another meaning they have different shear lines except if they are part of a set with a master key. This is important because whenever you sit down to pick a lock you will be working with a different shear line and therefore you will have to get used to the feel and not one single trait that you memorize. This is where the practice comes in. The more that you practice the better and faster you will get at using you pin tumbler lock pick or any other device that you choose to use. Start off slow and be patient. Work on getting one pin to the shear line first then move on to two and three until you get the lock open. If you force yourself to get all of them right off the bat you will be very disappointed and get very discouraged fast.

Lock picking is a fine art as far was we are concerned and that takes dedication and desire whether you use a commercial pin tumbler lock pick, a kwick lock pick or a home made one. Hopefully you are learning to pick locks for fun and entertainment and not for illegal reasons as the fun aspect is why this information is displayed. If you have chosen picking locks as a career excellent, because lock smiths enjoy a lucrative and rewarding job, not to mention have a blast doing it.

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