A Very Cheap Lock Pick

How about some paper clips and a small flathead screwdriver? How about using piano wire to fashion a cheap lock pick? Have an old clock lying around? Take out the spring and use it to make a pick. It is possible for knowledgeable practitioners of locksmithing to make their own locksmith tools.

An ingenious lock picker can use many sources of spring steel to grind a cheap lock pick. Plumbers' snakes contain spring steel, as do hacksaw blades and street sweeper bristles. Bicycle spokes might be a little easier to find than bristles!

Now What?

A beginner might be able to come up with spring steel, but what to do with it? Even if the beginner had a machine for grinding a cheap lock pick, how would such a novice know what shape to give the pick? How thick should it be? How long? If it's a "pick," shouldn't there be something on the end of it to pick with?

On the other hand, a skilled locksmith would know very well the shapes and the names of the picks to create: half diamond, full diamond, half round, full round. A person who knows the craft might like the rake tip pick to get a better feel for each pin. Many locksmiths like the snake tip for scrubbing or picking and for opening five pin household locks.