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Curufinwe
location:
Columbus OH
Gender: Male
 |  | Making lockpicks/torque wrenches from keychains
< on 3/5/2006 6:21 AM >
|  | | | Hi,
This was recently posted at totse.com. I thought maybe someone would find it useful. Can someone skilled in this area maybe let me/everyone else know if this is legit or if it's bogus?
It is a short textfile very briefly discussing a method for making picks and tension wrenches out of keychains.
http://www.totse.com/en/bad_ideas/locks_and_security/howtomakereall191256.html
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pyro
 
location:
Toronto
Gender: Male
| | Re: Making lockpicks/torque wrenches from keychains
<Reply # 1 on 3/5/2006 7:05 AM >
| | | | I believe there was a video somewhere about making picks and wrenches from hack saw blades. Personally I think the stuff from totse is crap.
"[emo kids] are like homeless people with thier hand out only its pitty they want and not money." -boutdatlonestar |
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DigitalChameleon
| | Re: Making lockpicks/torque wrenches from keychains
<Reply # 2 on 3/5/2006 7:42 AM >
|  | | | Is it possible? Theoretically. A keychain loop is small enough to fit inside most locks, and that's the basic requirement for lock picks. However, straightening out one of those loops is a maddeneing and time consuming at best. As for heating up the metal to aid in shaping it, I wouldn't recommend that. Lock picks need to have a certain springiness to them; heating and cooling metal can make it hard and brittle, which is not ideal.
I make mine out of those little pieces of metal tradesmen use to measure thickness, which is pretty much the same shape as a hacksaw blade, but thinner and thus easier to work with. A few dremel cuts later and I have a pick. I can tell you though, that it is possible to do this with a hand file. It just requires patience.
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j a r e d
| | Re: Making lockpicks/torque wrenches from keychains
<Reply # 3 on 3/8/2006 9:35 PM >
| | | | Use feeler gauges.Thats what I made my 16 piece set from, and they work well. That whole site is crap. and if you do use his idea, when re-hardening the metal, you need to anneal it. Do this by heating it up really bright red, letting it cool naturally, then heat it up until its sort of glowing yellowish. Then you drop the pick into cold water. If you do this right, it should be hardened.
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grit1
 
location:
University Campus - Minneapolis, MN
Gender: Male
Got Shear Line?
| |  | Re: Making lockpicks/torque wrenches from keychains
<Reply # 4 on 3/8/2006 9:46 PM >
| | | | Keychains could be good for an improv situation but there are FAR better things to make lock picking stuff out of.
My favorite these days is the inserts from windshield wiper blades. They're typically the right width, high grade stainless and make great tension tools!
The other thing I noticed recently while staring at my desk at college is that little stainless 6" pocket rulers [machinist rulers] would make really good picks if you ground them right. The material is very hard and resilliant, rust proof and the handle is already shaped correctly for mainstream pick handles. They're a little pricy but if you have some lying around, give em a try! ~G
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Sidler
location:
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Gender: Male
| | Re: Making lockpicks/torque wrenches from keychains
<Reply # 5 on 3/9/2006 8:36 AM >
| | | | My first pick was made with a keyring. I used a small wire keyring (guessing 18 gauge spring steel) that was easier to bend, and I never heated it up, as I didn't want to lose any strength. It worked alright, though it definitely isn't the best you can do. The regular keychain rings are much too thick to use, though would be stronger if you could flatten it out.
Like everybody else suggested, use feeler gauges. These are made with strong spring metal and come in all imaginable thicknesses.
something witty |
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