this video will show how a standard pin
and tumbler lock
can be picked with hair pins just like
it's been done in nearly every spy movie
ever made
the first thing we need to learn is how
these locks work
in a pin and tumbler lock like this
which is the most common type of lock in
use today
a series of pins cut at different
lengths prevent the barrel of the lock
from turning unless each pin is pressed
up to the exact right height
the grooves cut into the key are a
unique match lifting each pin
just enough for a split in their center
to align with the edge of the lock's
barrel
allowing it to turn to open this lock
without the key
i need to make two simple tools the
actual pick that i will use to
manipulate the pins
and also a small lever that will allow
me to apply rotational pressure to the
barrel
to begin with the pick a hairpin is bent
open until the ends are about 90 degrees
apart
the bit of rubber on the straight side
of the pin needs to be removed which is
pretty easily done with your teeth if
there are no tools present
the end of the pick now needs a slight
bend which can be done by pushing it
into the lock itself
and applying pressure like so
the last improvement that can be made is
to bend the other half of the hairpin
into a bit of a handle
which will make the pick a lot easier to
control
now making the lever that will turn the
lock is extremely simple
and just involves bending a pin as shown
so it can be inserted into the keyhole
causing pressure on the arm to translate
into rotational force on the lock
now we're ready to actually begin
picking and our lever is inserted into
the lower side of the keyhole leaving
enough room for the pick to be inserted
above
the first step is to put tension on the
lever with one hand so that the barrel
of the lock is under pressure to turn
it of course can not turn because the
pins are in the way and cause the barrel
to seize
but it's precisely this friction between
the pins and the barrel that i'll be
taking advantage of
keeping tension on the barrel the pick
is inserted and the first thing to
notice is that even though the lock is
under pressure
some of the pins still move up and down
freely because of inherent imperfections
in all locks only one or two pins will
ever bind against the barrel at the same
time
for now the pins that easily raise and
fall can be ignored
and our focus should be on finding one
that is currently seized
seized pins can be identified by one at
a time feeling each pin with the end of
the pick
pressing them up slightly and letting
them fall again
when we find a seized pin it will behave
differently
being much harder to push up than the
rest assuming you are keeping constant
pressure on the lever this whole time
once the first seized pin is found which
just happens to be the third pin in this
lock
it is very slowly and carefully forced
upwards
eventually the split in the seized pin
will align with the edge of the barrel
and there should be an audible click
the click is the sound of the barrel
suddenly being allowed to rotate
forward very slightly before hitting and
seizing on one of the other pins
since the barrel has been allowed to
slightly rotate it prevents the pin we
just worked on from falling
and at the same time a new seized pin
has been created
which can be identified and treated the
same as the first
as each seized pin is successively
identified by feeling it with the end of
the pick
and the tension on it is released by
aligning its gap with the edge of the
barrel
it causes one of the remaining pins to
then become seized
until every pin has finally been aligned
and the lock
opens if once you believe
every pin has been dealt with you find
that the lock still does not open
there's a good chance that one of the
pins was pressed too high
and its gap is above the edge of the
lock's barrel
if this happens there's a chance that
reducing the tension on the lever will
cause the offending pin to fall into
alignment and allow the lock to open
but it may also allow other pins to fall
which could require starting over
in this video i used a transparent
practice lock so you could see what i'm
doing on camera
and there are a number of other practice
locks like this that can be purchased
online
for this skill to be of any use in a
real situation though
it's important to be able to identify
and adjust seized pins by feel and sound
alone
as real locks don't usually come with
transparent sides
both of the tools that i made in this
video could also potentially be formed
out of a single hairpin by breaking it
in half
but doing so would not leave enough
extra to bend a handle for the pick
and would also result in a lever only
half as long
because of these things using an
individual pin for each tool
as i demonstrated here is far easier
than trying to use just
one but it is possible with enough
practice
this project was made in part as a
collaboration with all time numbers who
have made their own video to go along
with this one
all time numbers is a brand new channel
from all time tens with quite a few
great videos out already
you can check them out by clicking on
the icon on screen now or through the
link in the video description below
if you'd like to see more of my own
videos you can find them on my youtube
channel
nighthawk and light thanks for watching
you