Monday, January 06, 2014

The Most Fun You Can Have With a Pair of Paperclip

Imagine this scenario:

We walk into a room and the door slams and locks behind us. In front of us is a table that contains a cabinet. The cabinet is locked using a plain old Master Lock. The front of the cabinet is clear, shatterproof glass. We can see inside the cabinet there's a ticking *bomb* and a disarm switch. I reach into my pocket and pull out two paperclips. I've got 2 minutes to pick the lock and turn off the bomb. What happens?

Sorry, we almost certainly die in a fiery explosion.

But, if you change the scenario and give me a week to fiddle with the lock, trying to pick it when I get a few minutes here and there, we make actually make it out alive!

At least that's what I learned last week, as I finally managed to legitimately pick a Master Lock using nothing more than two paperclips:

Above is an improvised tension wrench and rake.

Anyone with even a modicum of lock picking skill is shaking their head at the above tools and the notion that it should take more than a minute to pick a Master Lock. But, as a beginner, I can tell you the process is easy in theory and tricky in practice.

But it's immensely gratifying to feel the lock click and open.

All you need are the most basic supplies: a lock, some improvised tools (Bobby Pins probably work better than paperclips), YouTube and patience. You can do it! And I promise, when you do, you'll feel a thrill!

For more info, you should pickup the book: How To Open Locks With Improvised Tools, it's filled with useful tips for getting past locks.

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