Picking A Yale Lock

First, let's understand how a lock works. I'll only be describing the common pin-tumbler lock (generally called a Yale lock, after its inventor in 1860). This is the type you likely have on your front door, with a key containing a series of mountains and valleys of various heights. While your key may fit into other locks, the height of those bumps determines whether or not it will roll.

Brass pins stop the lock cylinder from turning and un-latching the door. Each pin is in two parts, that must be lined up accurately for the cut in the pin to match the edge of the turning cylinder. If just one of those pins (most locks have got five) is too high or too low the pin would bind and prevent turning.

The correct key corresponds to the cuts in the pins to set everything in position. If you've ever seen an old lock, or an improperly cut key, you may have had to jiggle the key to get the lock to work. That's basically very similar to the process of picking a Yale lock.

Actually, learning how to pick a Yale lock you randomly drift the pins up and down until you get them to the proper height. But, if they move freely up and down it seems impossible that you'll quickly find them all aligned at once. Even if you did, you would not be sure if you didn't turn the lock at that moment. So, step one of picking a lock is to put some torque.

You turn the cylinder of the lock, winding it with a small screwdriver, thus the pins are squeezed against the chamber walls. Next, with friction the pins will not move freely up and down, but they can be moved by tapping smoothly with your lock pick. (a professional lock pick will have a small steel spring included to help you 'twang' it and make a subtle tapping motion).

The torque should really keep that in place while you move in to the second pin, and so on.

For any current Houdini picking a standard Yale lock is not too big a problem, hence many apartments and offices employ more complicated locks (such as Medeco brand). These require accurate pin rotation combined with height.

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