Wear Your Lockpicks!

Wear Your Lockpicks!

One of our new members at the Hack Factory is Ray Connors, a locksport aficionado. He makes his own lockpicks, which are sold in pairs, double-sided rake/tensors. Also, I really liked his method for storing them, in a safety pin laced through a pen spring. Wearable lockpicks!

10 thoughts on “Wear Your Lockpicks!

  1. Anonymous says:

    Someone would know what that is. So why? Just asking, since I have no knowledge of picking locks. What is the advantage of doing it this way? Can you hide it better? How does it fit in the pen? W/ the safety pin? Please understand, I know NOTHING of this sort of thing. So could you explain why this is so wonderful?

    1. Tyler Werenskjold says:

      I’m no locksmith, but basically, it’s a neat way to store small tools that are easily lost by using commonly available materials.

      So instead of tossing it in a pocket or on a desk, you could pin it to a board, or your shirt for easy access.

      Just because you have a lock pick doesn’t mean you’re up to no good, haha.

    2. john gomm says:

      I carry a homemade lock pick to get into my house and mailbox if I lose/break my keys. I have found them to be very useful for opening 2 doors, my mailbox and 2 padlocks when I misplaced the keys, due to tidying up. However, if you don’t have your pick when locked outside your house, they do no good whatsoever, which is why I carry them around in my everyday backpack. These picks are quite handsome and wearing them as pins on e.g. a hat or jacket would not look out of place in many contexts. You could put them on the inside if you don’t like the looks. Never forgotten at home when you need them most.

  2. Anonymous says:

    correction: Ray is a member of Twin Cities Maker. The Hack Factory is just the space, the community is http://www.tcmaker.org.

    locksport is not about illegal entry, it’s solving little mechanical puzzles. ray makes some of the most amazing picks i’ve ever worked with, and finding ways to keep the bitty bits of metal from getting lost is quite a trick. i use a little mint package or a cigar tube to store mine.

  3. Rahere says:

    In the UK, Section 25 of the Theft Act 1968 establishes that the mere possession of lock-picks outside of one’s place of abode is sufficient to impute an intent to burgle. There is no need to establish intent, simply having them on your person is a criminal offence punishable by up to three years imprisonment. Indeed, unless a locksmith is acting under judicial authority, even a professional intent on helping property owners enter their property after losing their keys is exposed to this law.
    If you do decide to do so, for example in attending the London Hackerspace sessions on the subject, it becomes important not to have the classic spring-steel plate versions. For instance, a broach might have a second purpose – and then the prosecution would have to prove intent, as the law distinguishes between items made or adapted for burglary (no proof needed) and any other item of any sort, where a proof of intent is required. For example, merely carrying a crowbar is perfectly legal, as it can be used for opening packing cases. That it can also be used for forcing open doors and windows is irrelevant, unless there is proof that the bearer intended to use it for such purposes.
    The question in this case might be whether the pick is actually part of the broach or not. Equally, a Court might be somewhat sexist in allowing that a female wear such a broach when a man might not have such latitude – women widely wear hairpins which may also be a very effective rake, too. A more intelligent form for men might be to have them as collar-stiffeners, for example, albeit that it might be wise to use identical picks on each side, presumably double-sided, rake profile one side and pick on the other edge. Perhaps a tiepin might double as a torsion bar…

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My interests include writing, electronics, RPGs, scifi, hackers & hackerspaces, 3D printing, building sets & toys. @johnbaichtal nerdage.net

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