Lock Picking

Keys are the easy way in. Think about it. Just insert the key, turn it, and whatever is behind the door becomes accessible. Yet in life it is rarely that easy. Some keys we have thanks to our history, others we do not. That does not mean we cannot access those things.

Lock picking is generally considered theft; it is practised to access things that are locked up without the corresponding key. Nevertheless, it requires skill. To lock pick one must use all senses, bar taste. First, to observe the lock and understand how it is built and how it works. Second, smell, yes indeed, further details can be gathered through smell, such as how the lock is oiled. Touch is probably the most crucial as the fingers do most of the picking work, by feeling and responding to the pressure of the pins and springs within the lock. As the picking advances ears can become a useful indicator to combine with touch in order to understand what is happening inside. Overall to pick a lock one must coordinate and process multiple sources of information in order to grasp and eventually release the locking mechanism.

Before being able to pick a lock effectively one must train. Like many things you cannot just attack the lock directly unless you intend to break it. Time must be invested in learning and apprehending locks and moreover the given lock. It is a subtle art.

Locking is only denying access to the lazy and the impatient. Once a mental image of the lock and its elements is created, it becomes a lot easier to release the lock and gain access to things previously kept away.

First published: http://www.palmarium-magazine.com/w8.html