Hans Conkel - How to open locks with improvised tools : practical, non-destructive ways of getting back into just about everything when you lose your keys

Disclaimer

Read the following disclaimer before reading or using any of the information in this book. If you do not accept the terms of the disclaimer, do not use the information contained herein.

You are responsible for your own actions. The author, publisher, and distributors assume no liability for the use or misuse of the information in the book, and do not encourage or condone illegal behavior. Some of the methods described may result in damaged hardware or possible injury, due to the nature of the techniques. If you decide to practice or employ a technique described in the book, you do so at your own risk.

Great pains have been taken to ensure that the information in this book is accurate, practical, and useful. However, the author, publisher, and distributors can accept no liability for damage, loss, or injury caused by errors in, or omissions from, the information given.

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, the author, publisher, and distributors expressly disclaim all warranties and conditions, whether express or implied, and do not warrant that the material will meet the reader's requirements. In no event shall the author's, publisher's, or distributors' liability for any damages hereunder exceed the amounts received for the book in connection with this agreement.

H OW T O O PEN L OCKS W ITH I MPROVISED T OOLS:

PRACTICAL, NON-DESTRUCTIVE WAYS OF GETTING BACK INTO JUST ABOUT

EVERYTHING WHEN YOU LOSE YOUR KEYS

By H ans C onkel

formerly published as:

L OCK B YPASS M ETHODS

All Rights Reserved
Copyright 1998, 2001 Level Four Publications, Inc.

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

For information address:

ISBN 978-0-9666087-1-7

9 8

How to Open Locks with Improvised Tools

Practical, non-destructive ways of getting back into just about everything when you lose your keys

By Hans Conkel

TABLE OF CONTENTS

EFFECTIVE EMERGENCY LOCK PICKS

An excellent emergency pick can be made from a bobby pin and a couple of pieces of tape. Carefully unbend a bobby pin so that it lies flat. Remove the plastic tip from the straighter end. The tricky part is bending the tip of the tool into the shape of a rake pick. Put the tip of the bobby pin sideways into a keyhole where it fits snugly, and bent it to the left or right. When you bend the tip, the metal will try to twist and bend in its more natural direction, so be careful. Once the tip is bent, put some tape on the handle end so you have good control over the tip. Used carefully, this pick will last a long time.

Some pen caps have metal pocket clips, and these make passable tension wrenches in an emergency.

WARNING

Misuse of this information is illegal. Do not break into other people's property. It is wrong, it will make them upset, and it will make you a criminal. If you are caught, you are likely to go to jail, pay fines and restitution, and have a miserable time while making other people miserable.

Bypassing locks and picking locks are fun things to do. If you really enjoy doing it, you can make a living out of it. People will pay you to get into their cars when they've locked their keys in, or into their houses or cabinets or tool boxes when they've locked themselves out. It would be difficult for a thief to make as much money as a successful locksmith, who saves the day instead of ruining it for others. Keep in mind that the ability to be good at what you do will be dependent upon education at least as much as experience. Operating within a trade, you have access to information restricted from the general public and consistent calls to work on real problems to solve. This leads to a much more thorough and practical body of knowledge covering a broader range of applications.

If you like opening cars, you could apprentice with a locksmith, get a job as a lot attendant at a car sales lot, or be a tow truck driver. Police, firemen, paramedics, mechanics, and even some taxi drivers have tools and bypass locks when necessary. Universities usually have their own locksmiths that may use students for part-time work-study programs, and security guards at shopping malls usually perform lockout services for people who ask. Working legally does not have drawbacks. Working illegally does.

Changing a person's mind regarding ethical considerations is hard to do, but from a simply practical standpoint, misusing knowledge to the detriment of others does not gain a person as much as an ethical action. Worrying about being caught and jailed is a greater bother than following the proper legal channels to provide a service using similar techniques for the public. Being caught for a criminal act will usually make you unemployable for the legitimate use of these same skills. This will put a cap on your ability, education, and relative worth in the field.

The theft of property is also the theft of time. We are all given time at the same rate, to spend as we decide. Nobody can get time back, which makes how we spend it precious and important. A stolen stereo is only a commodity to the person who takes it, but it might mean the loss of several days spent working (possibly at a horrible job) to the person who bought it. If the person decides to replace it, that means another investment of time lost, not only for the replacement cost, but in lieu of what that money was previously destined for rent, food, child support, etc. This is why crime is so expensive to endure it usually entails a loss of a significant portion of a victim's life. Murdering a few weeks of a person's life is not an admirable or acceptable act. Few people would be willing to toil for absolutely nothing if they were given the choice between that and taking the time off to educate themselves, have a vacation, or make a difference to others.

How people affect each other is a fair indicator of their worth as human beings. A theft or destruction of property that effectively cancels a week or so for a victim shows a criminal's emptiness and inconsideration.

Remember to look at what is effective. Whether you are on one side or another of an issue or a locked door, sticking merely to one side will not improve your understanding or your ability to function. Holding to a position regardless of the interests involved or other perspectives almost always has consequences outside of the narrow vision held and defended. Those consequences are eloquent testimony against a closed-minded person's right to exercise his will, and they demonstrate his irresponsibility. Regarding the multitudes of evils that willful inconsideration has produced pollution, warfare, neglect, inefficiency and waste, destruction and failure it makes very little sense to act with willful disregard to other positions. Acting with care toward what can happen and who will be affected, meeting possibilities and consequences responsibly and honorably, is the most intelligent way to use knowledge. Acting merely in self interest without regard to consequences is stupid, destructive, and wrong, though often profitable in a low and narrow fashion. It is intensely unlikely that selfishness justified by uninspired necessity will save the world or even let it go around much longer. Though human beings have always behaved this way, thus separating themselves from their potential, and probably always will, appeals should be made to the contrary. The attention and care you use to perform the procedures outlined in this book should make clear to you a parallel necessity to preserve the social framework we live in. It doesn't do much good to mess it up.