The Lockpicking Lawyer saw a report about an illegal car-booting outfit in Chicago (embedded below), and decided to see how hard it is to remove the Amazon-bought car boots that scammers use.
It is easily defeated in a few seconds... so long as you have a screwdriver and a lock impressioning tool.
Looks like an angle grinder would make short work of it, too! Read the rest
Enjoy one minute and eleven seconds of fun from the Lockpicking Lawyer, who makes short work of a Smartkey Kwikset Padlock [Amazon], which you absolutely shouldn't buy as a gift for someone whose property you have plans for. Read the rest
Is a wooden lock as tough as one made out of metal? Nope. Is buying a lock easier than building one? Absolutely. Is a lock you made with your own two hands significantly more badass than anything you can purchase, ready-to-use? Without a shadow of a doubt.
If you're looking for an unusual woodworking project to undertake, Matthias Wandel has you covered. You can buy the plans for his wooden mechanical lock, here. Once you do, you'll also get access to the plans for a laser cut iteration of the project. While it might not provide the level of security that you'd want for keeping your valuables safe, the level of whimsy that this project could bring to a woodworker's life looks like it would be hard to beat. Read the rest
The LockPickingLaweyer modified a cheap battery-powered pumpkin-carving saw into a rather effective electric lock pick!
Tapplock sells a fingerprint-enabled padlock for $100. Zack was able to defeat it quickly and quietly by twisting off the back plate and removing a couple of screws. Ouch. Read the rest
"Using only the paper pizza menus that were pushed under our door during the day, I can shim open our hotel room door defeating both the striker and the top swing arm latch in under 30 seconds," writes MM Developer. "Faster times can be achieved if you aren't trying to video."
This brass-and-steel "detector" doorlock, on display at Holland's Rijksmuseum, was made in 1680 or so. It has lots of clever features. To open and close the latch, you have to fiddle with the man's hat. The keyhole is hidden under the man's leg. It has a dial counter that lets you know how many times it has been unlocked, so the owner can tell if someone else opened it. When the lock has been opened 100 times as indicated on the dial, the main bolt can be locked, but not released until a tiny button on the man's chest is pressed, which resets the counter.
The inscription on the lock reads: "If I had the gift of tongue I would declare and do no wrong who you are that come by stealth to impair my master's wealth."
I hope they share the Arduino code for this.
Moving into the house we just bought, I found to my delight a mysterious locked safe at the back of a closet. I've asked a few people how to get into it, and the consensus is either to use powerful microphones to listen in on the tumblers (apparently stethoscopes don't really cut it) or to see if the hinges are weakened by time and can be removed by force without damaging the door or the mechanisms.
Before I get cracking, though, what do you think? I asked the previous owners for the code, but they don't know. They just assumed it was empty. It's a Yale safe.
I know that it's probably full of air, but you never know. Read the rest
If you don't have the patience to learn lockpicking, and a bolt cutter isn't dramatic enough, you might try shooting at the lock. Achieving success is more difficult than movies would have you believe though. (Demolition Ranch)
Canadian locksport supplier Sparrows makes some of the best advanced picks in the world, but they're also the rank beginner's best friend. Read the rest
Coming soon from Sparrows Lock Picks: a $59 pair of cufflinks that integrate a set of handcuff keys. Yet another reason to regret the fact that none of my shirts have French cuffs.
Upon first glance, The Sparrows UNCUFF LINK appears to be a standard pair of cuff links. However, a covert, hidden handcuff key has been engineered in to the design. This concealed hand cuff key will to open almost all Standard Hand cuffs. It’s also designed to hold your French Cuffs closed. A must have for any international SPY or the average citizen looking for some styling carbon fiber inlaid cuff links that happen to open Hand cuffs.
*WARNING: The use of this product under some circumstances may result in you being shot.*
Don’t Break the LAW
(Thanks, Fipi Lele!) Read the rest
