Questions To Ask Before Picking Up Lockpicking

There are many different, amazing skills to try out there, but few are as interesting and unique as lockpicking. While movies may portray it as a thieves’ skill, lockpicking is very useful for anyone locked out of their house or car. But before you try picking up lockpicking, there are some questions you should ask.

What Are the Styles of Lockpicking?

Lockpicking isn’t as simple as grabbing a pin and putting it in a lock until it turns. There are various lockpicking methods out there for picking certain locks. From the common single-pin picking and raking methods to the rarer “warded lockpicks,” you’ll need to find the styles that best suit your needs.

How Do You Pick a Lock?

While picking a lock isn’t as simple as they make it seem in the movies, most locks aren’t too complex once you know what you’re doing. Single-pin picking will be your best bet for the majority of the locks you come across. This style uses a tension rod to apply pressure as you use a pick to slowly move the pins in the lock until it turns and unlocks.

What Tools Do You Need?

The tools you’ll need to pick a lock will depend on the method you want to use and the type of lock in front of you. However, in most cases, you need a tension bar and some form of long pick to move the parts inside. Most people like to carry around a good lockpicking set, like these SouthOrd MAX lock picks, to have all the tools at their side.

How Do You Get Better?

Once you get the basics down, you should ask how you can improve your lockpicking skills. Any time you pick up a new skill, you must practice regularly. Watching videos and reading articles about it will help too. Once you get past a certain point, it comes down to minimizing your mistakes and breaking any bad habits you may develop when learning. That’s how you can improve.

These are the questions you’ll need to know the answer to when you learn to lockpick. They’ll guide you through your first steps and help you get past the first hurdles of learning this trade. Soon, you’ll be ready to take on bigger challenges and focus on improving rather than just learning the basics.