[Foxcraft]

Can anyone give Pros/Cons of using a Lock Pick set VS Bumping? Yesterday I found an old 16 lockpick set that I'd forgotten I'd had. I'm guessing that if one could get good at using a lock pick, you could open just about any lock?

I remember seeing an episode on Discovery TV "Repo Men" where a guy was able to open any car door with a lockpick set.

[chorbats]

i have a key-chain lock pick that has come in very useful over the years. But the whole bumping thing seems to be alot faster.

[Chucklz]

Bump keys faster than picking? Kwikset, Schlage (obverse keyways) 4 pin master padlocks should all pick rather quickly. Many faster than bumping, if you are a skilled picker. And picking (if done well) damages the lock less than bumping.

[bentpick]

Each lock can be unique....I have some locks (same brand) one picks quicker, the other one bumps quicker. Its best to become proficient in both techniques. Also, you can only bump a pin tumbler lock....other locks, i.e. wafer locks need to be picked or jiggled.

[sambob]

I dont know that they have pros and cons necessarily. If you are looking at them from the point of view of a locksmith, Ive been told bumping perhaps could damage locks over time. But the only application I could see for 'pros and cons' of bumping v. picking, is in doing illegal things. And personally, I think thats a terrible application for these skills.. but whatever.

I think technically speaking though if a lock is bumpable,, then bumping should technically be faster than picking. Once the key is in the lock, you just apply tension, and give it a little hit. If your tension,, your key, and how you hit the key is correct, it will unlock instantly. I just cant imagine someone picking a lock faster than the split second it takes for a bump key to unlock a door. I know theres guys that can pick locks SUPER fast, but still, are you really faster than just hitting a key with a screwdriver handle? :P

[theopratr]

A very simple pick set, used with some skill, can open the vast majority of locks, regardless of manufacturer, keyway or lock type. (Excepting, of course, a few of the higher security versions.) As Chucklz mentions, the speed is comparable, if not faster, than bumping if you are competent and the lock isn't keyed in a way as to making picking difficult.

Bumping is easier to master, and it can pop open locks that are keyed in an inconvenient fashion in a fraction of the time that it may take to pick it. And while a decent set of bump keys (the eleven key set, for example) will open the vast majority of doors, if you don't have a key for the lock, you're stuck.

Additionally, there is that pesky damage factor... but there's really no reason that you would need to bump any lock, in practice, more than once or twice. Thus, no damage would result from bumping assuming that your keys are good and you're well practiced. (Not using your 4 pound sledge as a bump hammer, etc.)

So it's really a trade off between unlimited access and convenience. Personally, I would never leave my house without my pick set, although I usually have the most common bump keys on my key chain. The rest of my "working" bump keys stay in the tool box, and which tool I use first generally depends on the application.

[Kris]

Picking and bumping use different technique to open locks in bumping all pins are forced to touch shear line while in picking you need to make pins go up one by one.