Whether you are an experienced picker or brand new to the hobby, Open Locksport is an opportunity to meet other people in the area who are interested in picking locks for fun. Many regular attendees are interested in other security related topics as well, such as the intersection of cyber and physical security.
We welcome both members and non-members to attend Open Locksport any first Thursday of the month at 7:00 PM. We do ask that you RSVP to this event.
Whether you are brand new to picking or an experienced picker, stop by to learn hands-on from our frequent attendees or to share your knowledge while we explore locks and tools provided by TC Maker.
If you are someone who likes to read ahead, or are just generally looking for resources to learn more, here are some great places to start:
Resources
Text-based
A Locksport Primer http://www.locksport.com/home/index.php
This link leads to a PDF hosted by Locksport International that goes over some of the basics of locksport, locks and lock picking in a friendly comic book format.
TOOOL Learning Resources https://www.toool.us/resources.php
The Open Organization of Lockpickers is the most active locksport organization in the world, and maintains many well-developed resources in text and graphical form (slides) to learn the basics and beyond.
Lockpicking - by Deviant Ollam https://deviating.net/lockpicking/slides.html
Collection of slides and notes about many lock and lockpicking topics, some duplicated from Toool with some new material for those who want to go deeper.
Video
Learn Lock Picking: EVERYTHING you Need to Know! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTZddvAws9M
By Lock Noob, a prolific YouTube creator with hundreds of useful videos.
DEF CON 23 - Lock Picking Village - Preston Thomas - Intro to Lockpicking 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fU7-r83Nx3Y
Published by DEFCON, the massive hacking conference. A bit of a rough recording of a lock picking village intro, but sufficiently clear and quite succinct. Runtime 27 min.
[1424] Lock Picking… An Inside Perspective
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_sy3dLwHkc
By LockPickingLawyer, another prolific YouTube creator with massive amounts of lock picking content. This video shows some picking techniques in great resolution and detail utilizing a cutaway lock.
Bosnianbill – a retired prolific creator with 1800+ videos on topics at all skill levels https://www.youtube.com/@bosnianbill/videos
Where to buy lock picking tools, and what to buy
Best places to get a cost-effective and serviceable beginner’s set of tools?
Covert Instruments (LockPickingLawyer’s online store) https://covertinstruments.com/collections/lockpicks/products/genesis-lock-pick
Toool’s Equipment Page https://www.toool.us/equipment/Necessary-Nine-Pickset-p365089401
Red Team Tools (Deviant Ollam’s online store) https://www.redteamtools.com/essential-lock-pick-set/
Lockpick Extreme https://lockpickextreme.com/product/12-piece-lockpick-set/
All of these sets are similar in capability in price, ranging from $19 - $30 (before shipping) with the Covert Instruments offering edging out the others because of how they have narrowed the short-end of their double-ended turning tools.
When purchasing lock picks for the first time, it is important to realize that more shapes (profiles) don’t necessarily correlate to more capability. Keeping with the basics improves your versatility as a picker as well as keeps your costs to a minimum.
If you are interested in looking at more advanced sets, here are some manufacturers to check out:
Peterson https://www.thinkpeterson.com
Sparrows https://www.sparrowslockpicks.com
Multipick https://shop.multipick.com/en/index
Southern Specialties https://lockpicktools.com
SouthOrd https://www.southord.com
Additional online communities you might be interested in
The old-school forums that started the hobby in the early 2000’s are still alive and brimming with knowledge:
Keypicking https://keypicking.com
Lock Picking 101 Forum https://www.lockpicking101.com
Most day-to-day conversation has migrated to Reddit, mainly r/lockpicking https://www.reddit.com/r/lockpicking/
Lockpickers United Discord https://discord.gg/lockpicking