Lock-picking “Night School”

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Learning how to pick locks is a lot of fun, in a challenging sort of way. To “know” how to do something is nice, but being able to “do” the thing is a completely different matter. And to do it well? Now that is another level all together.

Honing one’s lock-picking skills requires practice, lots and lots (and lots) of practice, on lots of different types of locks. This practice/training sharpens one’s “feel” of the mechanisms more than anything else.

In addition to constant practice, gaining a true understanding of the principles behind the lock mechanisms, their weaknesses, and how to take advantage of those weaknesses is required—otherwise, you’re just guessing. One of the best ways of gaining that understanding is to “see inside.”

A year ago we pointed readers to some “visible locks” that we found extremely helpful when we were trying to understand the way different types of pin tumblers worked. Practicing with them gave us good visual feedback on how best to manipulate the pins. Eventually, we got pretty comfortable working the locks, even without looking 🙂

Sparrows

Recently, a few folks called our attention to the Sparrows company, which has a large selection of picking tools, keys, and related items. We thought their gear would be of interest to those RainyDayMagazine readers who, like us, are keen to furthering their lock-picking skills…especially when “the classroom” is a convenient, easy to carry package!

Night School: Tuxedo Edition

• The Sherman Case
• The Tuxedo set
• 3 Practice locks

Sherman Case

The Sherman case is a tough, zippered case with plenty of pockets for tools AND a few Sparrows practice locks! We really liked that everything is contained in one neat package.

The Tuxedo Set

The Tuxedo set comes with the following:

• City Rake 0.025″ thick, with handle
• Triple Peak 0.025″ thick, with handle
• Short Hook 0.025″ thick, with handle
• Offset Hybrid 0.025″ thick, with handle
• Twin Peak Hybrid 0.025″ thick, with handle
• Half Diamond 0.025″ thick with handle
• Snake Rake 0.025″ thick with handle
• Tension Wrenches (Level One Tension Set)

Cut-away Locks

Sparrows practice pin tumbler locks are made of brass, feature a barrel key with a Schlage keyway, and are available in both right- or left-handed versions.

Just like the acrylic locks, Sparrows’ brass cut-away locks reveal the internal workings, allowing pickers to see how different picks manipulate the pins. However, they offer more…the ability to change cores. We hope to have more on that in a future article!

The brass cut-away locks are designed for practice with them either held your hand like a padlock or clamped in a vise to simulate a door, cabinet, etc. Very clever, very helpful, very versatile.

Seeing how the picks work the pins is useful, but what is invaluable is understanding how the pin types (standard, serrated, barrel) MOVE with how they FEEL when working them. This is the key (see what we did there?) to really getting the hang of picking locks. These Sparrows locks offer exactly that: after all, we won’t get to see the pins when picking “in the wild.”

FinalThoughts

Lock-picking skills cannot be learned intellectually; they have to be acquired with patient study and honed by constant practice. “Enrolling” at the Sparrows Night School is a great way to start!

Links to items mentioned:

• Night School – Tuxedo Edition
• Sherman Case
• Tuxedo set
• Cut away Locks: Standard, Serrated, Spool