How to open a lock with a hairpin?

In TV series and films, we constantly see scenes of opening locks of varying complexity with the help of 1-2 hairpins. The actors, who in fact are only pretending to fight with a locked door, spend several minutes or even seconds of screen time doing everything. In reality, using hair clips to open rooms takes much more time. If only because head decorations need to be properly prepared before starting work. So, how do you pick a lock using a hairpin?

How to prepare a hairpin for surgery?

First you have to straighten the pin. Bend it almost all the way, and then manually remove all zigzags and curvatures on one side. Then remove the plastic caps - they are located at the end of the accessory and, during normal use, protect the scalp from damage.

Important! If the pommels are made not of plastic, but of metal, then you will have to either bite them off with some handy tool, or use another pin with more suitable tips.

Straightened up give the working part of the hairpin a special zigzag. To do this, immerse the tip of the previously fully straightened side into the lock and go deeper into it by about 1 cm. Having done this, bend the hairpin a few mm to the left. This will lead to a slight curvature at the tip, we will only have to increase it. To achieve the desired effect, bend the tip about 5-6 cm more to the left.

Carefully remove the pin and begin changing its second side, which acts as a handle. Strong zigzags are not needed on it, remove them, but not completely, otherwise your hand will slip, and then visually divide the sash into 2 equal halves. Pinch the center of the separation with your fingers - the middle where the 2 intended parts meet - and bend the right side, let it go down. There is no need to bend it all the way; it is enough for the different ends of the hairpin to intersect and a “loop” to form between them.

Manipulations with the first hairpin are almost finished, you can move on to preparing the second accessory. To work with it you will need pliers (some people get by with their fingers). They will need to be placed over the hairpin exactly to the middle (we put it on the side of the tips folded together), and then use a tool to bend the captured part down. As a result of the action, a right angle or the letter “G” should be formed with a right angle and sides approximately equal in length.

Important! The second curved pin is called a lever, and the first is called a master key.

Manipulations when opening the lock

It is worth immediately noting that the stated opening method is suitable only for simple locks. Moreover, the lower the qualification of the “burglar”, the simpler the latch mechanism should be (at least in terms of the number of pins raised upward). There is no guarantee that even an experienced burglar can cope with a complex task using 2 paper clips. Still, this is a rather primitive lockpick in its functions and capabilities, requiring a balance between brute force and patience.

Step-by-step instruction:

1. Insert the lever as close as possible to the lowest point of the keyhole and push it as far as possible (slightly twisting and rocking the workpiece will allow you to squeeze in further). The part of the former hairpin that is rounded at the end should go in. The part with diverging tips should not be facing up or to the sides, but down, strictly vertically.
2. Remember which way you turn the key. The inserted lever will need to be turned in the same direction. You won’t be able to make a full revolution using the workpiece, but you will still be able to slightly move the mechanism. At the extreme point reached, the lever will need to be held so that it does not return back. And you will have to do this until the door opens.
3. If during the initial turning of the lever you cannot remember in which direction you usually turn the key to open the lock, then you will have to rely on your hearing. When you twist the hair decoration in the wrong direction, a quiet, uncharacteristic click will be heard.
4. Place the master key on top of the lever. It is not the part with the loop that should fit in (it acts as a handle), but the side with a slight curvature at the very tip. Moreover, the bend should be facing upward.
5. Slowly move the pick forward. There is no need to rush, since now the goal is to count all the bolt pins.The counting is carried out experimentally, that is, by pushing and prying the encountered pins upward. Therefore, the master key should move not just straight, but straight and upward.
6. Having counted all the pins, roughly draw in your head or on a piece of paper the structure of the lock: how many locking pins are there, which of them give in easily, and which are very tight. Determine which pin moved the worst.
7. If some of the pins still won't give in to the pressure of the pin, then most likely you are moving incorrectly or applying too much force.. Take out the master key and try to penetrate the keyhole again, but do not push so hard, but try to swing and twist the master key more often. If this does not help, then remove the lever and slightly flatten the part that fits into the latch hole. Then repeat the opening manipulation from the very first step.
8. Use your pick to return to the pin that moved the worst and is located closer to the entrance hole. Grab it and try to lift it up. Do this until the pin lifts all the way and a characteristic click is heard, indicating that the movable latch is in place. There will also be another signal: the lever inserted into the well will rotate a little forward, and all because the obstacle preventing its progress has been removed.
9. Repeat the previous procedure with all other tight pins. At the same time, after each successful step, do not forget to try the lever. As a result, after lifting the last pin, the lock will open.

Tips for a novice hacker

Useful notes and recommendations:

Brute force can't solve anything. The master key works only due to the plasticity of the material from which the pin is made.You need to allow the metal to take the desired shape and this requires patience and slowly moving the decoration inside the castle. If you rely on strength, then a thin and flexible accessory will not only not be able to adapt to the location of the protrusions in the closing mechanism, but will most likely break and get stuck or activate the anti-burglary system (press on the teeth, pressure on which in some locks leads to blocking).

You can't open a door that you have nothing to do with on paper.. Even if you tried to open the premises at someone’s request, your actions are still regarded as a criminal offense, punishable by a real prison sentence. Assistance in entry will be punished even more seriously if the person you approached cannot prove his rights to specific real estate with the help of documents or initially tried to get into the property that was seized.