Posted: 1/21/2014 7:05:59 AM EDT
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Hello,
I have been interested in picking up a simple lock pick kit to play around with to learn about lock picking. Basically to just pick up a new skill. Nothing serious or professional. I have been looking at the kit that ITS tactical sells, the Bogota Entry Toolset: http://www.itstactical.com/store/security/bogota-entry-toolset/ Is there any other comparable simple, pocket kit that the new person to the skill should take a look at? |
I actually made a set out of large bobby pins and a grinder. I have used old hacksaw blades before also. The little cheap-ass sets I got were from amazon. One was a 'James Bond' credit card with a few picks, and another was a small folding knife looking set. For the little I use them and frequency I lose/break stuff, I opted for some really cheap ones. If I can pick pretty good with some shitty picks, then I know I can do better with some good ones. Most of the locks I've tried with them I can get into in 1-2 minutes. Any longer and I usually give up and get the bolt cutters out. I keep a few different locks here in my truck to practice with when I am bored.
Check Youtube for a ton of picking/make your own videos. Redman |
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As hobby all you really need is a tensioner and a rake. You can get other picks but you won't really use them once you see how easy the rake can be. I started out learning by taking a basic keyed door lock apart and removing all but 1 of the pins. That was very easy to pick. So I added a second pin and picked that up quick. I just kept adding pins until I had them all back in the lock. I was using a single pin pick instead of the rake back then.
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**in a small handful of states. Quoted:
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be aware that picks are considered burglary tools and as such you are subject to a lot of hassel from the popo. **in a small handful of states. It is my understanding and experience, that if you have a semi-professional-type jobs, and the local popo's know you aren't a meth-head-lowlife-type, they usually leave you alone. I had to get a lock open for a very-remote access cell tower. I was in the process of picking the lock on the gate when the local sheriff deputy rounds the corner. He asks if 'I am OK'. I tell him I am working on a fiber here...kinda obvious from my big-ass, telco-labled truck. I finished picking the lock for the gate, he tells me to take care and rides on. Had I been afformentioned meth-head, looking for copper ans shit to steal, then I would probably have been put in the backseat of his patrol car. Redman |
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Gracias, amigo.... 
I may can locate some more, but really I found just about all my stuff from google. Also, check on youtube for some of the DEFCON stuff. Really good stuff! Here's another good list on LP101's site. Here. |
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It is my understanding and experience, that if you have a semi-professional-type jobs, and the local popo's know you aren't a meth-head-lowlife-type, they usually leave you alone. I had to get a lock open for a very-remote access cell tower. I was in the process of picking the lock on the gate when the local sheriff deputy rounds the corner. He asks if 'I am OK'. I tell him I am working on a fiber here...kinda obvious from my big-ass, telco-labled truck. I finished picking the lock for the gate, he tells me to take care and rides on. Had I been afformentioned meth-head, looking for copper ans shit to steal, then I would probably have been put in the backseat of his patrol car. Redman I got my first pick gun from the FBI. It's almost standard issue for their comm guys and the USSS TSCM agents. They say they are allways getting locked equipment (both shelters and equipment enclosures) and have to pick the locks to get the cores or locks out and replace them with Best and Medeco locks. They specifically prohibit factory installed medeco locks on enclosures. I've seen one agent on a VA mountain pick a generic cam lock just to lock it so he could ship the repeater cabinet to another field office (the Medeco locks are controlled and not transfered between offices unless required.) I thought it was really silly, because we order all of our shelters with Best construction cores in stalled, and the locks are used until the contractor (if there is one) is finished and we yank the core and put in our on Best cores. Everyonce in a while we send a hundred best cores to say Rohn, and knock 2 grand off the cost of a shelter. But anyway, I used to carry a set with some cores and core keys, and masterlock pro series repinning stuff. It's been searched a few times and nothing was said. And I never got the hang of the pick gun. |
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I bought a cheap set from Deal Extreme and had a blast learning on every lock around here.
Most Master padlocks take me about 10 seconds or so now. 
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To Rustee's point, I made a vid about ways to keep your EE kit grey. If you're concerned about overtly carrying lock picks, consider the items in the video. They can be just as effective as almost any pick gizmo. If there's interest in a video demonstrating (or proving) let me know. You need some picks to get proficient first, or you'll just be frustrated and quit. HPC, southern specialties, sparrows , Peterson are all good brands.
direct link 
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did ITS or the maker. remove the leo only credential from them yet? that was pretty stupid I thought Its really pretty hard to beat a standard tension and rake kit. The better you get at the sport, the easier it becomes with the more basic sets. just something to keep in mind. I have use teh bogota kit, they are nice quality and I love ITS and generally support everything they do, and those guys know lockpicking, but the bogota set doesn't do anything special that you couldn't just as easily accomplish with a tensioner and a rubberband if you wanted, except make things more complicated then they need ot be. |
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did ITS or the maker. remove the leo only credential from them yet? that was pretty stupid I thought Its really pretty hard to beat a standard tension and rake kit. The better you get at the sport, the easier it becomes with the more basic sets. just something to keep in mind. I have use teh bogota kit, they are nice quality and I love ITS and generally support everything they do, and those guys know lockpicking, but the bogota set doesn't do anything special that you couldn't just as easily accomplish with a tensioner and a rubberband if you wanted, except make things more complicated then they need ot be. Huh? I have no clue what you are saying? |
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Quoted: Huh? I have no clue what you are saying? Quoted: Quoted: did ITS or the maker. remove the leo only credential from them yet? that was pretty stupid I thought Its really pretty hard to beat a standard tension and rake kit. The better you get at the sport, the easier it becomes with the more basic sets. just something to keep in mind. I have use teh bogota kit, they are nice quality and I love ITS and generally support everything they do, and those guys know lockpicking, but the bogota set doesn't do anything special that you couldn't just as easily accomplish with a tensioner and a rubberband if you wanted, except make things more complicated then they need ot be. Huh? I have no clue what you are saying? The First generation SerePick/Bogota design were made of titatinium and were a combination design that had an S rake on one end which was then bent into an angle with opposite side acting as a torsion wrench. The second pick was the same curved design except with an short hook (feeler). Because of the angle built into the picks and the dual side use, the way I saw it being demo-d was by only using one hand to work both the pick and the wrench (pick in thumb and pointer finger with wrench tension applied with rind finger) You sometimes see people do something similar by using a rubberband to hold tension on the wrench if they are new at picking and want to concentrate on just trying to feel the tumblers while the wrench pressure is completely steady. I just pick locks as a hobby and im far from an expert, but the varying amount pressure and timing that you use when working the wrench is in my experience the most important part of being able to pick the lock, so keeping both pieces held in one hand is not always the best method. however, I see now that the 2nd and 3rd gen Bogota picks are no longer using the same one handed desing shape. |
| Tension is everything. I'd pick a good tension wrench over a good pick every time. On many locks and especially more advanced locks, a rubber band won't cut it (I get where you're coming from though). My opinion is a beginner should start learning the feel of proper tension from the beginning. |
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I've had one for decades that I think I bought from Shomer-Tec. I never learned to use it but I guess I should.
Only use I ever had for it was opening the athletic equipment shed in high school because the coach was always late to practice. It was just the simple hook that I safety pinned to my glass case so that I could pull the latch away from the strike plate and open the door. That was pretty handy! I also used to hide a cuff key on my belt near my spine. Used that to escape from an FBI special agent's cuffs one time (it was on a dare at my station)...that guy was shocked!
In exchange for teaching him something he showed me how to do it with a comb. -Emt1581 |
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*** I bet NY is one of them *** 
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be aware that picks are considered burglary tools and as such you are subject to a lot of hassel from the popo. **in a small handful of states. *** I bet NY is one of them ***
Like I said, buy some decent picks, keep them at home and learn. Throw some bobby pins and wiper blade inserts and some small needle nose pliers in a "repair kit" for your EDC bag and you are set. |
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Quoted: Tension is everything. I'd pick a good tension wrench over a good pick every time. On many locks and especially more advanced locks, a rubber band won't cut it (I get where you're coming from though). My opinion is a beginner should start learning the feel of proper tension from the beginning. ya, that's exactly the point I was trying to make, and I agree learning how to get a feel for the tension is when you start to suddenly find your able to start popping locks over and over again that you never had a chance with in the past. Thats the real key to to the hobby I'd say. My point about the rubberband is that it can just serve as a decent beginners tool to help you be able to concentrate completely on getting a feel for the tiny, subtle pop of each individual pin falling into place. |
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Hands down the best simple lock picking set I have ever used was one of these:
HPC jackpick I am not recommending this vendor or price, put the product is awesome. |
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Quoted: Like I said, buy some decent picks, keep them at home and learn. Throw some bobby pins and wiper blade inserts and some small needle nose pliers in a "repair kit" for your EDC bag and you are set. Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: be aware that picks are considered burglary tools and as such you are subject to a lot of hassel from the popo. **in a small handful of states. *** I bet NY is one of them *** Like I said, buy some decent picks, keep them at home and learn. Throw some bobby pins and wiper blade inserts and some small needle nose pliers in a "repair kit" for your EDC bag and you are set. A lot of people have worked really hard to try to make the hobby known as the legitimate and imo very fun and simple sport that is really is. I don't have the state list of 'posession of burglarly tools' in front of me at the moment, but lets just be completely honest here, if a cop is looking to jam you up, hes gonna jam you up, end of story. There was a story a while back of a contractor in his work truck who had a small flathead that he filed down to a point years ago to serve as an all that was sitting in the tray of his toolbox that was found to be enough to get him into matching bracelets in the past. like everyhting else dont be stupid. fun fact about just how ridiculously easy lockpicking most locks truly is. If your like me you and you need to keep your toys locked with a trigger lock due to kids at home or whatever. You probably have about 20 different trigger locks with 20 different numbered keys. I've wasted at least 2 complete range trips after driving alll the way out popping open my pelican and realizing that I didn't have the fucking key for the damn trigger lock that was now snapped onto my gun. Or just as bad I had the key to the wrong lock. Whole day wasted. Nowadays I don't even bother with pulling out the correct individuals keys for each toy im taking out with me and rmemebering to toss it in the range bag. instead I just threw a single old beat up hand made pick I have from way back in the day. You can pop you locks with that tiny piece of metal literally twice as fast that it could even be done using the actual key. |
| I picked up the titanium Bogota set from Serepick and started playing around with it, reading up on raking and single pin picking, and messing around with Master padlocks while watching TV. I had the kit in my bag at work and picked my way into a desk when an employee's kid had opened the drawer, locked it, took out the key, dropped it into the drawer and closed it. Doh! I was a hero for about a minute and a half there. |
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I picked up the titanium Bogota set from Serepick and started playing around with it, reading up on raking and single pin picking, and messing around with Master padlocks while watching TV. I had the kit in my bag at work and picked my way into a desk when an employee's kid had opened the drawer, locked it, took out the key, dropped it into the drawer and closed it. Doh! I was a hero for about a minute and a half there. I've got the same set. I like it. I find raking pretty crude, but an effective way to open a lock. The skill of single pin picking eludes me, and my attention span got the better of me. I haven't practiced in quite awhile. |
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Quoted: I've got the same set. I like it. I find raking pretty crude, but an effective way to open a lock. The skill of single pin picking eludes me, and my attention span got the better of me. I haven't practiced in quite awhile. Quoted: Quoted: I picked up the titanium Bogota set from Serepick and started playing around with it, reading up on raking and single pin picking, and messing around with Master padlocks while watching TV. I had the kit in my bag at work and picked my way into a desk when an employee's kid had opened the drawer, locked it, took out the key, dropped it into the drawer and closed it. Doh! I was a hero for about a minute and a half there. I've got the same set. I like it. I find raking pretty crude, but an effective way to open a lock. The skill of single pin picking eludes me, and my attention span got the better of me. I haven't practiced in quite awhile. |