Tools to Open a Lock

Torque Wrench

• The lock-picking function of a torque wrench is to turn the inner cylinder of a lock until the pins are pressing against the cylinder and hull (the area around the cylinder). With a good torque wrench, a lock picker can precisely gauge the amount of pressure he is exerting on the cylinder.

  A torque wrench is roughly L-shaped, composed of a handle and head. The MIT guide to lock-picking recommends two raw materials for making a torque wrench: a street-cleaner bristle and a bicycle spoke. The guide recommends bending the metal shaft in an 80-degree turn to separate the handle and head. The handle should be 2- to 4-inches long, and the head should be 1/2- to 3/4-inch long.

Picks

• The pick consists of the handle, the tang (the shaft connecting handle to head) and the head. Picks are used to push the pins of a lock cylinder gradually up until they reach the desired level---no higher, no lower. Because this is such a delicate process, a good set of tools includes picks with different heads for different situations. Common variations in the shape of the head are the half diamond tip with steep angles, the half diamond tip with shallow angles, the full diamond, the rake, the half round, the full round and the snake. The appropriate pick for a given lock depends upon the arrangement of the pins within the keyhole.

Key Blank

• A key blank can be cut to produce a key appropriate for a particular lock. Key makers grind them down on machines to produce copies of keys, but you can also produce your own. Brick strap, the metal strap wrapped around bricks for shipping, is an ideal raw material for key blanks. It is very tough and it can damage a grinding wheel or key-cutting machine. A hand file is an effective tool with which to shape it.

  When milling brick strap, it's important to replicate not just the peaks and valleys at the top of a key but the groove in the side of it, which determines whether a key will fit in the keyhole at all. One way to make this groove is to clamp the brick strap lengthwise in a vice and tap against the protruding section until the right-shaped crease has been created.