The numbers on the front of the practice locks indicate the keying codes, from the front-most pin stack to the rear-most. It is always best to practice with your lock mounted to a door or wood platform, as they are here, or at least fixed in a vice. For most of the picking methods discussed here, in which tumblers are manipulated one by one, a "hook"-style pick is generally used. Three of the picks are of a "hook" design. Two tools -- one for each function -- are used simultaneously when picking a lock. Picks probe and lift the individual pin tumblers through the keyway, while torque tools control the degree and force of plug rotation. In particular note that because the pins are slightly out of alignment, as the plug is turned gently, only the pin stack that is most out of alignment actually prevents further rotation. Right: Side view, with part of the shell and plug cut away to expose the six pin stacks.

Play continues until only the six colours remain on the table. Typical commercial and residential locks have five or six pin stacks (although four and seven aren't unheard of), with from four to ten distinct cut depths used on each. Only, we are psychologically perverted in such a way that some of us would rather have money than real wealth. Story ideas, clips, photos and illustrations are always welcome, but for feature stories BD editors usually rely on their team of professional writers. BD is a monthly, full-color, glossy magazine covering every aspect of billiards worldwide, written by the best professional billiard journalists. Submissions can be mailed to Billiards Digest, 122 S. Michigan Ave. Suite 1506, Chicago IL 60603, or emailed to the editor by clicking here. While pins are usually set by raising the cut from the plug to the shear line, they can also be picked by first oversetting the cut to within the shell and then lowering it to the shear line. Right: With all of the cuts at the shear line, the plug can rotate freely within the shell. In practice, of course, locks aren't perfect: the pin holes in the plug are slightly out of alignment with respect to the shell and the pins and pin holes are each of a slightly different diameter.

In an ideal lock, all of the pin holes in the plug would be in perfect alignment with the corresponding holes in the shell, the centerline of the plug would be exactly parallel to that of the shell, and all of the pins would be exactly the same diameter. Note the border between the plug and shell, which forms the shear line, and the cuts in each pin stack resting within the plug. Around the circumference of the plug is a shell, which is fixed to the door or container. Here the plug has been turned slightly toward the camera, so that the tops of the pins in the plug are visible. It is not clear what some of these picks are intended to actually do. Unfortunately, these designs are less than ideal, and many of the "standard" picks are too large to fit and move comfortably in common lock keyways. Unfortunately, many of the commercially available lock pick kits consist mostly of useless gimmicks. The proper pick and torque tool selection depend on the shape of the keyway, the features of the lock, the picking technique, and the individual preferences of the user.

Other differences between picks, aside from the shape of the tip, are the material, finish, width and thickness of the tang shaft, and the shape and material of the handle. The shape of the tip is the most obvious difference between picking tools, with hooks, half-diamond, ball, double ball, wave, sawtooth and other styles available. Much of lock picking skill depends on testing pins stacks for the purpose of finding which to push up next and assuring that no pins are overset. Repeat until lock turns: - Locate the pin stack that's being pinched at the shear line (it resists slightly when pushed up) - Continue to push that pin stack up until its cut reaches the shear line and the plug turns slightly. The top pin of the most misaligned pin stack becomes "pinched" at the shear line between the plug and the shell. Left: The correct key lifts the pin stacks to align the cuts at the shear line. A key that is bitted to the wrong depth in even one pin position will not operate the lock. Some high security locks, such as those manufactured by Abloy and Abus, use round disk tumblers that are rotated into position by a specially designed key bitted with angled cuts corresponding to each tumbler.

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