Never knew locks this easy to 'pick'...!

[AJMD429]

.
https://youtu.be/Kx0U2rNKnUo

Makes it seem like padlocks are just a token or symbolic thing to a serious thief...

[gcs]

Locks are for honest people..

[GunnyMack]

There isn't many buildings on the planet that a guy with a battery sawzall can't get into!
Only keeping the honest out.

[Old No7]

Speaking as a 3rd-generation locksmith...

Makes it seem like padlocks are just a token or symbolic thing to a serious thief...

Locks are for honest people..

True, for all the above. Locks and heightened security (lights, motion detectors, cameras, etc.) won't make your home/business 100% protected, but they may convince a perp to go break in somewhere else -- and that's what you want -- don't be an easy target, make it hard for the crook and they'll usually go elsewhere.

There isn't many buildings on the planet that a guy with a battery sawzall can't get into! Only keeping the honest out.

True enough. Back in the 70s, Consumer Reports did a report on Dead Bolt locks to rate them; some were better than others -- but they "all failed" if put onto a door with a door frame made on 3/4" pine. The "tool" that CS used to test the dead bolts was a 220 pound man who wore Timberland Hunting Boots. Most of the locks held tight -- but the door frames failed after 3 to 5 kicks! We used to sell hardened Strike Plates that went behind the standard cheap brass plate, and those had hardened 4" screws that went far past the pine door frame and into the studs.

Did those hold up? Usually, if the force was only applied to that side of the door. But if someone had a door that swung out, and not in, all the perp had to do was defeat the exposed hinges on the other side of the door and open it up from that side. Firefighters actually have a special demo tool that works great to rip off exposed hinges.

I recall my Dad used to sell a line of gas fill locks during the gas crisis decades ago, and it came with a decal you could put on your gas cap cover. He would remove the decals from the box and folks would complain and want the decal. To which my father would say "No, you don't -- there are crooks who specialize in defeating this system and if you advertise that you have it -- they'll take your gas first."

Bottom line...

For every 10 men or women designing the next best security device, there are 20 or more neanderthals out there working on a way to defeat it. All you can do is take every reasonable and affordable precaution so it's not easy for them to get at your stuff, and hope they'll go elsewhere.

Or "shewt em" -- with a levergun, of course!

Old No7

[GunnyMack]

Out swing door all you have to do is drive out the hinge pins and pry that side out.
Some of the developments here used nothing but Styrofoam as exterior sheathing and vinyl siding. A guy with a siding tool, hammer and a utility knife could get in almost silently. The hardest would be the sheetrock inside!
Still the best deterrent is a dog that barks !

[wecsoger]

For those of you who hate clicking on the random video links (don't worry, I'm one of you) this video is from the YouTube Lock Picking Lawyer.

To get an idea of how low security level is of expensive locks, it's worth the time to watch. Any manufacturer should be terrified of him.

He is the Bob Ross of the locksports (yes that's a 'thing') community, calm soothing voice and mad skilz for defeating the more complex ones.

But most aren't complex. Maddeningly so. Like a gun safe electronic lock you can defeat with the tap of a hammer. Or a popular combination lock you can defeat by 'feel', but even easier with a thin shim to the right place.

Seriously, he has hundreds of videos. Short, well made, easy to watch.

Has some very neat toys and tools too.

[jeepnik]

Back in the early 80's, working nights with a wife and kids at home I looked into "hardening" my home. Talking to experts, there are some who actually know their stuff not just claim expertise, They made one thing clear. Layered defenses (their word). The entire point is to keep them out. You can do it without making your home a prison or more importantly a death trap in case of fire. In other works, NO BARS. Even with the "quick" releases many folks have been found right next to the unopened bars.

So what dis they advise. First a fence on you property line (crossing a fence back then upped the crime from misdemeanor to felony). Lighting that removed shadows to hide in. A good quality and properly installed steel doors and locks. The same for windows. I did have shutter's installed on the windows and a thief's favorite, sliding door. The nice things about shutters is when up they disappear. And more importantly, they are easy to operate when scared. Strategically placed plants that had stickers. No one is going to climb through/over a bougainvillea.

But no matter what you do they still might find a way in (a neighbor had her security screen door yanked out by thieves using a chain attacked to a pickup, it didn't end well for the thieves). So, a safe room. We're not talking a vault. But, a properly installed solid wood door. Again with properly installed locks. But being a fireman I knew just how easy it is to punch through a typical interior wall whether wall board or lathe and plaster. I removed the sheet rock and installed a 1/2" plywood sheeting on the two interior walls to the master bedroom.

If anyone got through all of that, they were then going to be faced with a mama protecting her two sons armed with a shotgun she was quite willing to use.

To our knowledge no one ever even tried to trespass, much less break in. So was the time, effort and expense worth it since nothing ever happened. Well I tend to think a thief would have taken one look at the outside and realized it wasn't worth even considering and moved on.

[Ray]

Deleted.

[jeepnik]

These days of anti syphon fill necks and plastic tanks thieves just poke a hole in the tank.

[cas]

Was over at my dad's the other day and we needed to get in his shed. He said "I have the key." And he fumbled around in his pocket. While he did I reached into my pocket, took out my folding pick and opened the lock before he could take his hand out of his pocket. He was surprised. I said "Master lock, one step above not locking it at all." (Edit to add: The day before we had sort the same thing with his pickup, he didn't have the keys. I took something out of my wallet and unlocked the truck door with it. He was surprised to say the least. I laughed, walked two steps over to his car and unlocked it as well. Surprise turned to worry when he thought about how easy it would be for anyone to do. I said "That one opened because it's old and worn out, and that one opened because it's a Ford and they're easy." lol

Anyway... we have tons of Master Lock padlocks at work and years ago I had to carry a mass of keys around for them. Much too late I learned how easy it was to pick them and never carried a key again. Sometimes just sticking the pick in them will open them.

I still have a few around the house, like on my shed and a plastic storage box. Low security stuff, you could easily get in if you wanted to. But I don't even HAVE keys for them, I just pick them as quick as it would be to use the key.

I used to fool around with picking locks for fun, then I started working on/with locks every day, and it's lost its charm. lol

Locks keep honest people honest.


Oh... I was just about to hit send and I realized I had my Youtube account open. These are two quick clips I made for someone who was talking about buying "The Club". We had a few at work they'd bought to put on golf carts, so I took one and put it on my Jeep to show them how easy they are to open. You can't even call this "picking", I'm using a rake, but I'm "rocking" the lock.

https://youtu.be/bToFOG3HOD0?feature=shared
https://youtu.be/IoiFflk9k0k

[marlinman93]

A set of bolt cutters would make even faster work of it! And the brass shields they made to somehow hinder bolt cutters can be easily cut through too.