Professional locksmiths handle an impressive variety of tools with every job they perform. If you want to offer dependable, efficient, high-quality service to your clients, you need to know your way around your lock picking set. From choosing the right pick for a specific lock to safely removing broken keys, the right tools and knowledge are a necessary part of every lock picking job. Make sure you know your way around your toolset with this guide to the different types of lock picking tools explained.
A Versatile Set of Picks
An arsenal of different lock picks at the ready allows you to handle a wider variety of locks. No two security systems are the same; if you only know your way around a few tools, you’re severely limiting the number of jobs you can take on as a professional locksmith.
Lock picks come in a wide range of shapes and styles. While they all function on the same basic premise—manipulate a lock’s pins into the right position to open the lock—each pick requires a slightly different technique to work. This also means they all have different types of locks they excel at. Knowing your way around the different lock pick styles makes it easy to pick the right tool for the job, helping you pick each lock efficiently and effectively.
Hook Picks
Hook picks are what most people think of when they picture a lock pick. They’re a simple, hand-held tool with a hook-shaped tip that allows you to manipulate the pins of the lock one at a time. Hook picks are easier to use than many other pick designs, making them an ideal tool for beginner locksmiths.
There are several variations of hook picks that alter the length or size of the hook. Deep hook picks have a longer length, offering greater reach for deeper locks. Slimline hook picks, on the other hand, are smaller, more agile picks that are better for locks with narrower keyways. Other variations include the flat hook, gem hook, and gonzo hook picks.
Half-Diamond Picks
Like hook picks, half-diamond picks are single-pin tools that allow you to pick individual pins within a lock. Half-diamond picks feature a triangular shape at the tips. This offers greater control and makes it easier to locate individual pins.
The biggest benefit of half-diamond picks is how easy they are to control. They excel at pin tumbler locks, dimple locks, and cylinder locks—locks where they can maneuver easily and set the binding pin simply by dragging across the stacks. However, half-diamond picks are larger than hook picks and other single-pin pick styles, which means they don’t work as well with smaller locks or shorter pins.
Ball Picks
Ball picks stand out from other single-pin pick types with their rounded circle or half-circle tips. These picks don’t have the same precision and control as hook or diamond picks, making them more ideal for wafer locks than the more complicated pin tumbler locks. Variations of ball picks include the snowman pick with two ball designs at the end, the half-ball pick with its half-circle design, and a half-snowman with two half-circles.
Rake Picks
The goal of rake picks is to manipulate multiple pins at the same time. This makes lock picking much more efficient and doesn't require as much precision from the locksmith. Rake picks feature a ridged design at the tip—not unlike the look of a standard key blade. To use a rake pick, you slide the pick across the pins rapidly in a “raking” motion. This technique takes more practice than single-pin picks, but once you master it, it can speed up picking times for most low- to medium-security locks.
There are different styles of rake picks that feature different tip designs. Bogota rakes have a three-peak design that offers great torque and speed with minimal friction, snake rakes have a smooth, serpentine design for greater agility and precision, and city rakes have a longer ridge that work well with standard or wafer locks that have longer and more complex keyways.
Tension Wrench
Lock picks work by removing the pins from the lock cylinder so the cylinder can turn and open the door. However, this doesn’t work if you don’t have something to rotate the cylinder once it’s free. That’s where the tension wrench comes in. Your tension wrench applies torque to the lock cylinder, allowing you to hold the pins in place as you pick them and open the lock once the pins are in the right position.
Pick Guns
Lock pick guns, also known as snap guns, are another solution for opening pin tumbler locks. The idea is the same as the traditional combination of a pick and tension wrench. The difference is that, instead of fidgeting with individual pins with a pick, the snap gun strikes all the pins at once, bumping them up out of the lock cylinder. From there, the tension wrench can turn the cylinder and open the lock.
Pick guns are fast and easy to use. However, they run the risk of damaging the lock pins during the impact of the gun. For this reason, professionals usually reserve pick guns for emergency situations when they need to get through a door quickly.
Key Extractors
A customer hires you because they need to get into their house, and they don’t have their key. You arrive at the location and find that the key is there—broken inside of the lock. You have your lock pick set on hand to open the lock, but first you need to extract the broken key without causing any more damage.
This is why a handy key extractor is another type of lock picking tool you need to know about. The goal of a key extractor is to push the lock pins up and out of the way so you can grab the broken key and pull it out. Key extractors look a lot like half-diamond picks, but they also have a hook shape at the tip that allows you to catch and extract pieces of broken keys.
The Importance of Choosing Quality Tools
Quality is crucial when purchasing your locksmith supplies. With durable tools and expert knowledge, you can handle any lock you come across while on the job. Shop a wide variety of lock picks and other tools at Locksmith Keyless today and find everything you need to offer fast, safe, and dependable lock picking services to your customers.
