I'm making a #LearnLockpickingWithAlice zine for Fedi, and to hand out at an upcoming conference where I've been asked to host a lockpicking village.
It's intended to answer "what should I know about lockpicking (and Alice) in the first 5 minutes?". Then I can explain concepts, teach techniques, and run hands-on demos from there.
If Fedi is excited about this, I'll likely do more in-depth ones on specific aspects of lockpicking and related skills, like: improvised tools, decoding combo locks, slipping latches, etc.
I'll make the finished versions available on my Codeberg page for free.
1 Alice Watson's Itty-Bitty Intro to Lockpicking
2 Picks
Slim teardrop-tip short hook for small keyways, sturdy gem-tip medium hook for bullying, a w-rake for luck, and several turning tools. I've opened 10x more locks with those three picks than all others combined.
Sketches: each of the 3 pick profiles, and a double-ended wiper-insert turning tool
Sketches: a key and keyway for each of the 4 lock types, a wafer, and the inside of a pin-tumbler lock
4 Pins Types
A pin-stack consists of a spring, driver, and a key pin. Driver pins have different shapes, key pins have different lengths (bitting).
Standard: plain cylinder
Spool: like a thread spool, causes false-sets
Serrated: like standard pins, but clickier
There are many others, but they're much rarer.
Sketches: each of the 3 pins
5 Techniques
Torsion: rotates core, use just enough force to balance a few coins on your fingertip
Single-pin picking: find binding pin, set it, repeat
Raking: generate random bitting guesses—try rising, falling, flat, and rocking motions
Clear: good for first 10 minutes, terrible feedback
Laminated Master: good until trivial
Master 140: has spools, good until trivial
Sketches: each of the 3 padlocks
7 Bypasses
Keys (TSA007, CH751): they just work
Combs: open some locks as fast as the key
Shims: good for cheap padlocks
Sketches: TSA007 & CH751 keys, comb, padlock and door shims
8 About Alice
Alice is a love-lock enthusiast, professional lockpicker, and lockpicking instructor who has been in the sport for nearly a decade. In that time, Alice has taught at several security conferences, hosted workshops, become a brand ambassador for Red Team Tools, and opened many thousands of locks.
Sketches: Alice's profile pic, heart-shaped love lock