Warded Locks A Word of Caution: Many of the tools required to perform such operations as discussed in this article, are illegal for any person to posses without a locksmith's license. I will show you how to produce all the tools necessary to circumvent many types of locks. I suggest that you do everything possible in trying not to be caught with such. As you will be arrested, and to quote a police officer who I conversed with on this subject: "You will be in a world of shit." Many people have argued with me on the subject of possesion of the tools. TAP even printed an actual law of some state showing that it is ok to have lockpicks if they are not being used. BUT this I believe will not save your ass in court. For all the people who believe that having lock picks is legal let me offer you my challenge. Sit down and think of ONE good reason why someone who is NOT a locksmith to have lockpicks. Think that's easy? Well imagine you're telling it to the judge after you have been caught. Haven't thought of a reason yet have you? That's what I thought! Basically there is only one reason the judge will see. That is that you were using them to commit burglary. End of story. So you have been warned! Now on with the show... Purpose of a Lock: In the authors opinion, the purpose of a lock is not so much as to keep people out of a protected area. But rather to stall, and cause as much wasted time and aggravation as possible to prompt the person to move on to an easier target. Many times the would be crook will be able to look at a lock and know from perhaps an earlier experience how well built it is (or isn't). It is the homeowner's responsibility to insure that he can waste as much of a burglar's time as possible. It is a terrible shame to see a person's grief over lost possessions. Especially if that grief could have been avoided by a few extra dollars spent on a good lock. SECURITY TIP: Most burglaries occur from the hours of 8:00 AM and 3:00 PM [That's right, in broad daylight]. This is when most houses are empty and people are at work and school! Warded Locks SECURITY RATING: Poor Typical design of warded lock key: _ ____ _ | |_| |__| | |___ _| / ___| |_ / | | Handle (Bow) --> / |__ |______________________________/ __| |_____________________________________________ \ \ \ Warded locks are perhaps the most abundantly used locks throughout history. Being many centuries old, they date back well into the Roman and Egyptian eras of time. A warded lock is very simple in construction. Using "wards", or protrusions in the lock itself, to derive its security. Identification of a warded lock is simple. The all to familiar "skeleton" key is of typical style to that of a warded lock. Typical Warded Lock Keyholes (A) ____ (B) ____ ( ) ( ) | | | | | | Case --> \ | | | Warding--> / | |__| |__| Please excuse the text graphics. The warded lock key hole is often stereotyped that you can look through the keyhole into the next room. This stereotype is often true. Notice figure A. The majority of the warded locks around have an unobstructed key way. If you note figure B however, you'll notice the bump on the side of the keyway, this is known as CASE WARDING and is not for security per-se, but rather to keep keys of the wrong shape from entering the keyway. The technique of using warding in the key hole has carried over to modern day locks, in which the keyhole warding keeps keys from different manufacturing companies from entering the wrong type of lock. In reference to "wards." Basically in a warded lock you have several cuts made in the key. These cuts are made to circumvent the wards of the lock, and ultimately open the bolt. If the cuts on the key do not match that of the internal warding, the key is shunted, and therefore cannot turn. This is how the warded lock derives its security. Basically Speaking a warded lock has three active parts: 1) The key 2) The internal lock warding 3) The bolt Using these 3 characteristics we can study how the lock works. Since the person reading this is assumed to be well versed in the use of computers. We'll take a flow chart approach to understanding the warded lock. A) Key is inserted 1) Does the key turn? a) If the key does not turn then the warding is hitting the key. You have used a wrong key! 2) The key turns. This means that the cuts in the key were able to avoid hitting the warding. This means you have used the correct key. 3) Key contacts the bolt. The bolt opens. . QUESTION: How did the term "skeleton key" come about? ANSWER: Skeleton key is just another name for a warded type key that has so many notches cut in it that it will often be nothing more than a "skeleton" frame of a key. The purpose for such is that it has so many notches that it could circumvent many different wards for many locks. This is the warded locks biggest flaw. Circumventing a warded lock: Warded locks are of such simple design, and have such few moving parts that they are often called upon to operate in harsh enviorments. Such as near beaches, and on ships. They can also be found on older style houses, and on many padlocks. They are rarely found on newer buildings and residences. Many times a piece of wire bent in the fashion shown below will open these locks. This is called a "Button Hook" pick, and can be easily made from a stiff coat hanger. Button Hook Pick Made from a stiff coat hanger 90 Degree ____ |||||||||||| Bend -> | || || | || Handle || | || || |__________________________________|||||||||||| ^^ 90 Degree bend Be sure to make several sizes, large and small, this way you are always prepared for any type of warded lock! This type of pick will circumvent much of the warding in the lock itself. When inspecting a warded lock, you should be able to see the bolt that the key hits to disengage the lock. You must make sure that the top bend of the pick hits this bolt! Note here that if you don't have a coat hanger handy, that sometimes (assuming the keyway is large enough) you can stick your little finger into the lock to throw the bolt! SECURITY TIP: Replace all warded locks that are entrusted with the security of important places and valuables. These locks offer very little security and are easily defeated! Warded Padlocks Simple in design, and inexpensive to produce. Warded padlocks have found there way into many American homes, lockers, and bicycles. The most typical of which is Master Lock company's warded padlock. They range in size from a tiny 1/2 inch, to a full 3 inches. These locks are easily identified by the following characteristics: 1) The key hole is rather large, and you can usually see the bottom of the key way when held under a light 2) The key is shaped much like a toy key. It has square notches cut on both sides of the key, and the notches are symmetrical to each other (The notches match on both sides of the key). These locks are easy to defeat. In order to defeat this lock you must understand how it works. Let us start with the key. _____ _ _ _ _ / \ | |_| |__| |_| |__/ | ( _ __ _ __ | |_| |_| |_| |_| \ | ^ ^^ ^ \_____/ Cuts made to circumvent warding. _____ _ _ _ _ / \ | |_| |_| |___| |/ | ( _ _ ___ | |_| |_| |_| |_|\ | ^ ^ ^^^ \_____/ Cuts made to circumvent warding. Reflecting back on warded lock operation principles. You may recall the fact that the cuts in the warded type key are only there to either circumvent a ward, or hit the warding indicating that the wrong key has been used. You also may recall that the key must physically hit the bolt in order to disengage it. Look at the two keys again, do you notice a pattern? If you look closely you'll notice that the keys are different. EXCEPT for the bottom two protrusions! Using this fact we come to ask this question... If only the bottom protrusion(s) matter, what would happen if I were to leave it there, and cut off the rest? ANSWER: What would happen is that you'd have a pass key capable of opening any warded type padlock out on the market! As stated earlier, the wards will only stop the key if they are struck by a part of the key. If you remove the part of the key that has potential to strike the warding, you would have created a key that the lock thinks is correct! Hence, we move to our bench grinder with a typical warded padlock key, and perform the following modifications... Construction of a Warded Padlock Pass Key _____ _ _ / \ This key will open the | |_| |_________/ | larger of Master Lock's ( _ _________ | warded type padlocks. |_| |_| \ | ^^^^^^^^ \_____/ The other protrusions do NOT matter, only leave the last two on the key. _____ _ / \ | |____________/ | This one will open all the ( ____________ | rest! |_| \ | ^^^^^^^^^^^^ \_____/ Grind all of the protrusions off except for the last one! Master Lock's larger padlocks use "Multi-Spring Security" (As stated on the front of the package). What this basically means is that the key must throw two bolts instead of one. This is easy to get around as you have just seen. The second key should be able to handle all the rest of the locks! You have now produced a skeleton key of your own. As stated above, since the protrusions are gone, the lock cannot stop the key! NOTE: In the beginning of this section I mentioned CASE WARDING. In which the key hole will only let a certain type of key enter it. Master Lock and others use this technique to keep out other keys. To circumvent this, it is necessary to grind down the sides of your pass keys so they are relatively smooth, but not thin enough that it will break in the lock. BULLSHIT TIP: Many kids in school think that these locks are really secure. They are guided to think this way because the key cannot be copied on a regular key machine. This is because these locks are so cheap that replacement is often cheaper than making a new key. Basically speaking, they are "disposable" locks! WARNING: I don't suggest letting anyone know you have these keys. I keep them on my key ring for emergencies. But I don't tell anyone what they are for. Remember tools like this are ILLEGAL FOR YOU TO POSSESS UNLESS YOU ARE A LOCKSMITH! Impressioning: Making a key for a warded lock Sometimes you don't want to just pick open a warded lock. Usually you'll want a key if you need to open it again. Or perhaps you lost your key for a warded lock. Making a key for a warded lock is simple. You need only four things. 1) Warded lock key blanks 2) Files 3) Matches, candle, or lighter 4) PATIENCE! Again we refer to the warded lock operating principles. The wards hit the key to stop it correct? Using this fact you follow this procedure: 1) Hold key over the candle, match, or what-have-you until a thick layer of carbon builds on all the sides of the blade. 2) Insert key into the keyway and turn in the direction to throw the bolt. 3) Remove the key and look at the places where the carbon has been removed. 4) GRADUALLY start filing these spots only taking off a little at a time. 5) Repeat steps 1-4 until you notice that the carbon is no longer being displaced. It is essential that you start taking off less and less with the file as you go deeper into the key blank. Be sure that you file all the places that have had the carbon removed. Eventually you will end up with a key that will work the lock!