[cal_gecko]

what is a legal/legitimate use for a bumpkey besides opening a lock that you're not supposed to be opening (otherwise, you'd have the proper key for it)? I am genuinely curious.

[BLK]

As a locksmith, I open doors for people that lock their keys inside their houses or businesses.

As a locksportster, I beat locks that are otherwise hard to open. http://www.locksport.com/home/index.php

Some emergency responders use them to limit damage to doors or windows in making entry to buildings.

Assuming that the only reason anyone would have a bump key is to commit a crime is a bad assumption.

Out of curiosity, do you have any bump keys? If you do, why do you have them? Do you have any valid reason for having bump keys?

[cal_gecko]

I do not have any bumpkeys. Obviously there's been a lot of news coverage about them recently, and someone pointed out this forum to me while ranting about thieves, burglars and bumpkeys .. so the first assumption that I (as well as a lot of other people who had never heard of bumpkeys before) made was that this was a forum for burglars/theives to talk about how they're breaking into people's homes with the keys they're making.

[Customer Support]

wow is all i can say.

It's very obvious with statements like: "was a forum for burglars/theives to talk about how they're breaking into people's homes with the keys they're making."
you have obviously NOT taken 2 seconds to browse this forum and see what we are all about. I don't really know what else to say.

I'm a bit shocked, and at a loss of words (perhaps it's because I've been up for 26 hours working ? )
:roll:

[cal_gecko]

I've spent a fair amount of time browsing around, and can't find anywhere on the site where it explains the purpose of a bumpkey (for legitimate/legal activities), and/or discouraging people from using them for illegal activities.

[theopratr]

I scold someone about every three days telling them that they are an idiot for looking for information to conduct illegal activities on this forum, and their user accounts are generally either disabled or deleted.

People, it seems, generally do as much research as you have into the nature of what goes on here, and post something regarding "how to open a door on like, a restaurant". You can rest assured that they receive no help from any of us.

My lock picks, by the way, are completely legal in most states for anyone to carry, and I can reliably open just about any lock in only slightly longer than it would take me to bump it. Does this make me a thief?

[BLK]

cal_gecko said:

I've spent a fair amount of time browsing around, and can't find anywhere on the site where it explains the purpose of a bumpkey (for legitimate/legal activities), and/or discouraging people from using them for illegal activities.

Did you read my post above? Have someone read it to you. I am not an artist so I can't draw you a picture.

[Kristic]

I own a gun, but I haven't ever shot anyone.
I own a computer, but I haven't hacked a website
I own a lighter, but I haven't burnt down a house
I own some laundry detergent, but I haven't poisoned anything
I own a knife, but I haven't stabbed anyone
I own bumpkeys, but I haven't broken into a house


I think I've proven my point

[cal_gecko]

Quote

I own a gun, but I haven't ever shot anyone.
I own a computer, but I haven't hacked a website
I own a lighter, but I haven't burnt down a house
I own some laundry detergent, but I haven't poisoned anything
I own a knife, but I haven't stabbed anyone
I own bumpkeys, but I haven't broken into a house


I think I've proven my point

are you a locksmith?

[jsmith102]

There are plenty of valid legal uses of bump keys.
My main purpose for ordering is that I work at a truck stop where keys change hands all the time and some times are not always kept up with (primarily in the paid showers), then end up missing (which I did not become aware of until recently). Apparently maintenance would either always call the locksmith (with a $45 minimum charge) or wrench the knob off it's an emergency or on what they deemed an unimportant door. Then they'd have to get a new knob and for some reason always ordered heavy duty knobs *and* got them through the locksmith, so the amount of money we were wasting on locks and all that jazz was ridiculous. They also make rekeying a knob with a missing key a lot easier seeing as you can remove the plug from the cylinder without any other tools.

[Bump123]

cal_gecko said:

I've spent a fair amount of time browsing around, and can't find anywhere on the site where it explains the purpose of a bumpkey (for legitimate/legal activities), and/or discouraging people from using them for illegal activities.

Here I will give you a legitimate response. MY reasons for owning bump keys, is that i own a couple of apartment complexes, and It is my legal right to own keys to everyones apartment, and do monthly inspections, (states that right in the lease THEY signed.)

Now some people still feel the need to change the locks on me. Even when they leave. At over 50 apartments, it can get quite expensive to call a locksmith, once a month..

[HARDWARE]

I have them due to the news coverage I saw them either on cnn or fox news. I wanted to get some before some idiot in the government said we cant have something. I have no used for them.

[theopratr]

IMHO, the beauty of bump keys is that they are impossible to restrict unless both keys and files are banned. Unlike my chemistry hobby, my locksmithing hobby seems to be quite safe from bans, restrictions and oversight. :)

[BLK]

theopratr said:

IMHO, the beauty of bump keys is that they are impossible to restrict unless both keys and files are banned. Unlike my chemistry hobby, my locksmithing hobby seems to be quite safe from bans, restrictions and oversight. :)

But, bump keys can be banned and possession of them can be made illegal. Remember, this is America and ANYTHING can be made illegal by the kind folks in government that want more than anything to help us protect us from ourselves.

[MontrealHomegrown]

lolz, why did you sign up to this forum if all you want to do is call the members a bunch of criminals.. I am a criminal i guess you could say.. i smoke the reef :smoker: and get drunk in public sometimes, (neither of theise thing s do I ever feel guilty about) but Ive never done anything illegal using a bump key. I want to master the art of lock picking but only because I find it to be challanging and a good hobby. So like the admins said why dont you start adding some constructive topics to the forum instead of making stupid claims ,.

[MontrealHomegrown]

hey "BLK" Ive never heared of locksporting, do you have competitions with cash prizes or somthing.. sounds pretty interesting. After a while you must run outta challenging locks no?.

[skip 2 my lou]

We are all just a number with the man's foot on our neck. What happened to the constructive support?

[skip 2 my lou]

Locks are there to keep honest people honest. If I wanted to gain entry to a place, it wouldn't matter if they had locks, bars on the windows, alarm system, video cameras, etc... These things are levels of security, do they keep people out....no! If a person wants to break into a place the chances are very slim that he will order bump keys, wait a month for them to come in, decende on the place like a falcon in the night. This doesn't make sense. 90% of all businesses can be broken into with your foot or a brick. Bump keys are a usefull tool and a hobbie. Maybe the liberal (ambulance chasing) media has once again focused on something that doesn't matter. This doesn't make bump keys an evil tool for criminals.

[MontrealHomegrown]

yeah I agree, its fairly simple to order a lockpick set and you can probably get into more locks with a good pickset than a set of bumpkeys (please correct me if Im wrong). You dont see the media posting news stories about how people can pick ur locks. Its just their "theme of the day", I wonder if criminals use picks more or bump keys? Either way cracking locks will always be a fun hobby and a damn good challenge, so even if the government desides to ban them Ill continue on. Im sure Im not the only one ;)

[theopratr]

Proper criminals don't want to screw around with lockpicks or bump keys... bricks, bolt cutters, crowbars and sledge hammers are guaranteed to work in less time than either bumping or picking.