Lock Picking and Lock Bumping News — ukbumpkeys

Hello all If you're on our mailing list (and you can simply email me at chris@ukbumpkeys.com to join) you'll know that we do many email promotions, either offering free lock picking tools, discounts on existing lock picks, new tools, and similar deals that any lock picker wouldn't want to miss. So if you fancy being on the list and finding out about these amazing deals, either email me at chris@ukbumpkeys.com or use the contact form there on the left. Examples of recent deals have been FREE Sohos with every Wave Rake XS set bought. We did a 10% off all...

The Oliver Diederichsen Interview About 6 years ago, UK Bump Keys organised an impressioning workshop in London. With special guest lock picking world champions Oliver Diederichsen and Jos Weyers, a group of about 30 lock pickers from all around the UK had the pleasure of watching these two men impression locks in less than a minute! We had a great day learning all kinds of tricks, asking questions and sharpening our skills with this sometimes frustrating but always incredible technique. Oli had just released his groundbreaking book on the subject, simply called 'Impressioning' and it was a day to remember...

Impressioning is a lock picking technique where a blank key is wiggled around in the lock to produce tiny marks on the key. After filing down these marks and repeating the wiggle, you end up with a working key. Sound good? I saw Jos open a lock like this in under a minute, lock open, working key in hand. Quite amazing. Recently I caught up with Jos again, and asked im some questions about lock impressioning, being a celebrity, and well, being Jos Weyers. I'd like to thank Jos for taking part in this interview and for being a super...

I hope this finds you well. The new year is well and truly into gear now and all the great ideas you had over the holiday period have retreated back to where they belong and you're back in your reassuringly familiar groove. We make changes when we have to, not when we want to - it makes more sense that way anyway. I'm obviously back to work. Not that I ever stopped. I went on holiday, but with modern communications it would have almost been rude not to work. There I was on a beach in Thailand, my lady friend...

Hello Lock Pickers

One of the most common emails I receive (apart from the endless 'Thank you for a great service and super-dooper, ultra-discount lock pick' ones, of course) is one of the many variations on the 'Will these picks open this lock?', accompanied by a blurry picture of an old rim-cylinder, padlock, bike lock, or tubular lock on an old safe. This email - if you know anything about lock picking is as simple as it is complicated to answer. For instance, were it a 6 pin cylinder, generic keyway, then yes, sure, a set of rakes, a pick gun, a pick set - even Mica - can open that lock. But it depends on a lot of things out of my control. What condition is the lock? Is it full of sand (locksmiths who live in hot countries by the beach - even cold countries near the beach - will know the amount of trouble sand can cause locks), is it full of bent and/or damaged pins where you (or someone) has tried to force it, snap it, drill it, etc. Without knowing the state of the lock I don't really know what will certainly work on it, and I never could. Assuming the lock is in perfect working order, what are your abilities as a lock picker? You may have bumped a couple of locks, you may have had a few lucky rakes (and as much as I love raking, isn't all raking a little bit lucky? That's the beauty of it, surely?). In many walks of life a small amount of success can give us a false sense of our own abilities, and then, faced with a new lock, you think 'I can do that!', I'll just send a photo to the nice people at UK Bump Keys and they'll send me the CORRECT lock smith tools.