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Comment by jgrahamc | Hacker News Reader

Lock picking is a fun thing to learn to do as a hobby. I learnt to do it many years ago from the MIT guide and have a small set of picks that I bought from http://www.southord.com/

I've only ever once actually used this skill on anything other than my own locks. My upstairs neighbor was moving out of his apartment and managed to slam the front door shut with his keys inside and the movers and himself outside. I opened the lock for him after fiddling around for about five minutes helping to get his move moving.

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I had a colleague who got into trouble for picking a lock for a coworker, even though the coworker had the right/permission to access what was locked up -- they'd misplaced the key and the colleague was simply trying to help them keep from losing time to the problem. The colleague had formerly worked as a locksmith.

So... if you have the skills, be careful as to when and where you exercise them. Even if you think there is no issue, if bureaucracy is in the neighborhood, best to keep it in your pocket.

P.S. Unless your name is Feynman -- real or in spirit! ;-)

With a round and a flat file you can turn a rake tine into a pick in 15 minutes. If you can find street-sweeper tines, you can bend them to make good turning wrenches. It is not an efficient use of time compared to buying, but still fun.

Actually, I used to follow the street sweeper around in the city I lived in and pick up the tines that broke off and did make my own lock picks. They are very strong and flexible in a good way.

If you're one of the people who keeps hearing about mythical street sweeper bristles and has never found one in the wild, consider the spring steel from windshield wiper blades.

Someone you know has wipers that should have been been replaced years ago; do something nice for them, and get enough pick-stock to last for years.

Bike spokes are also useful, but a bit more work to flatten/grind and shape. (Great for tension wrenches, though.)

I'll second southord, I got a lockpick kit way back and it's been really great all these years. I only use it to practice on my locks, but it's fantastic.

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