Wake up in the middle of the night because of every noise thinking it might be lockpicking? Has someone told you another scary story about home intrusion? Many people have a totally wrong picture of lockpicking, so many myths and unfounded fears exist. That's why Sure Lock & Key has prepared for you a list of facts about this fearsome practice. Learn them once, and you won't be afraid about the safety of your locks without reason ever again. Let's not waste time and dive into it!
When Lockpicking Is A Good Skill
To pick a lock is one of the first skills a locksmith develops. There are many situations where this is the only solution. However, any skill or tool in the wrong hands can cause real harm.
Many people learn how to pick a lock just for fun, as a hobby, or to learn how a lock works. We bet almost everyone had a temptation to try it with some old lock after those movie scenes where people easily managed to unlock the door with a single bobby pin or paperclip. Thankfully, it's not as easy as it may seem. Actually, there are lots of myths about locks, keys, safes, etc. Movies are probably the greatest catalyst for these fears. These myths have dual polar consequences. Being afraid that someone might easily open their door or safe, should cause people to choose better security measures. Thinking that it’s easy to do often brings one to damage their own locks in vain attempts to repeat what they have seen on a screen.
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Burglars Don’t Use Lock Picking
We want to start with a fact you need to know, the most. Indeed, some burglars developed this skill perfectly, but they usually prefer other intrusion methods. To Pick a lock can take too long and requires lots of previous training. Your door lock type could spoil the whole operation if a thief isn't properly prepared. They will most likely choose a window as an entry point or break the entire lock.
Almost Every Lock Can Be Picked
Please, don't panic. We've already figured out that burglars won't pick your lock because it's too much of a fuss. At this point, you're pretty safe. Also, the more pin stacks your lock has, the harder and longer it will be to pick it. The truth is that cheap locks won't provide you with the security you seek. However, a lock purchased at a low price is better than no lock at all. If you can't invest in a solid lock right now, buy the one on your budget and maintain this lock correctly. Also, you can ask your locksmith to make some changes to your lock while installing it to get some security bonus points. A great solution is to change the shape of top pins to make picking almost impossible. However, not all locks can be upgraded using this method.
Lockpicking Is An Art
That concerns only professionally performed lockpicking. A skilled locksmith can open a door without leaving the slightest trace of what has happened. Reaching such a level of professionalism takes time, constant training, and intuition because we can't see through the lock.
This is probably the reason why people are scared of lockpicking.
Lockpicking Helps To Improve Locks
Let's suggest you've just invented a super cool lock. How would you test its security and durability? The best and the fastest solution is to give it to a locksmith expert to try to pick. The high-security locks, with anti-picking mechanisms that we have today, are a result of major testing.
Lock Picking: The Bottom Line
So, lockpicking isn't as scary as you used to think. On the contrary, we need this skill to develop manufacturing locks which open people's doors without causing them further issues. And all the texts on the Internet about "How does lockpicking work?" weren't written for burglars but for your entertainment or educational purposes.
