So, I Learned the Delicate Art of Lockpicking Today...

Hmmmm, brass body, now lets see him do that with a body made of stacked steel plates, like in a typical Master lock.

Make note - don't depend on brass body locks.

 

Glass half full, half empty, don't know which, Oltymer took the glass!!

 

To the Master lock (stacked steel plates) issue, we used to use two large screwdrivers on the Master locks on trailers (worked for a moving/storage company) to pop even those with a minimum of effort.

Now, screw it. I have a set of bolt cutters that even chew through the "hardened" hasp of a master lock. May not go through others but it eats Master locks for lunch and the only "damage" I have to the bolt cutters is scraping the black off the side of the blade (not the edge).

BTW, bolt cutters were less than $20 on sale at Home Depot.

If I'm popping a lock, it's because I don't have the combination any more (fixed with a couple of spreadsheets now) or lost the key. In either case, I'm not at all concerned about reusing the lock because I no longer have the non-destructive means to open it. No, I don't cut other people's locks.

 

Never said Abus, only said Master in direct reference to the "stacked steel plates" comment. Don't know if it was a 911 and I've thrown it away and have no intention of blowing money to prove a point. The shackles all said "HARDENED" (not yelling, it was in all caps on the shackle). Both stacked plate and combination.

 

This summer, me and the junior monkeys bought a few lock picking kits and bought a large variety of padlocks, door knobs.
Many hours spent racking and picking.
We came to the conclusion:
Kwikset sucks big time along with generic store brand padlocks.
Masterlock was marginally better but my daughter can blast though her horse locker padlock in about 10-15 seconds.
Slage door locks cause us the biggest issue and it would be faster to bust the door down.
Also, adding this to the annual 'What I did over my summer vacation' would be ill advised.

 

The bigger the lock the louder the explosion required to *Pick* it

 

On a serious note I only use Abloy locks they will deter the vast majority of people. However now matter how tough the lock is, or unpickable there is always a easy way to defeat it.

 

Not much that properly mixed Thermite won't turn to bubbling goo either

 

"Things that go PaWoomph in the night" comes to mind for some odd reason...

 

cheap lock but cool demonstration of leverage. i appreciate a new use for tools since i use them every day.

 

Before reading this thread, I was a law abiding innocent, now I'm law abiding with my innocence stripped! Might just as well secure my treasure with zip ties.

 

Save your pistol brass and mix up some thermite. Use water proof canon fuse through the primer hole and plumbers wax on the other end. A snip of electricians tape and your good to go! Takes the doors off of armored cars pretty easy too, Or so I hear!!!

 

I sense a "hold my beer and watch this..." moment coming up