Blogs and Keys

Through inexpensive tools and a little practice, lock bumping can be done by anyone

Deadbolts. Chains. Security systems. It seems people will go to any length to keep their home and their belongings safe. But even when the homeowners get smart, so do the crooks. For every lock out there, someone has figured out a way to open it. In some cases, getting in involves lock bumping.

On many locks found on residences, a pin tumbler lock mechanism is in use. Inside the lock there are a series of cylinders known as pins. When a key with cuts corresponding to these pins’ shapes and positions is inserted into the lock’s keyway, the pins are pushed back by a series of small springs and the lock is opened. From inexpensive to very pricey locks, pin tumbler locks all work on this same principle and have been in use since the ancient Egyptians developed the concept in 2000 BC.

Several thousand years younger than the lock itself, lock bumping is a type of lock picking which involves what’s known as a lock bumping key. Much like a skeleton key, a bump key can fit into any pin tumbler lock. Bump keys are created by filing down a key blank to about one millimeter. The “bump” is then done by inserting the bump key into the lock and tapping the key with something such as a screwdriver until the lock’s pin stacks have been jolted enough to free the lock. The technique requires far less skill than traditional lock picking and can be mastered with some practice.

Scary as it may seem, lock bumping can be employed by practically anyone. A relatively new phenomenon, bumping has been seen in use by criminals in the US and Europe since 2002. Documents and several videos available on the Internet detail specifically how to bump a lock and can be instantly accessed by anyone with a computer. Bump keys first appeared in the early 1920′s when the idea was patented as a new method of lock picking. Currently, bump keys can be purchased online for a variety of lock types for as little as $3.00.

Because of the recent surge in the popularity of lock bumping, manufacturers are making strides to make their locks “bump proof”. Locks such as the Schlage Primus have sidebars that, when not aligned properly, keep bump keys from moving the lock’s mechanism. The Primus also involves pins filed to a specific angle that allow only their accompanying keys to open. Similarly, Medeco also makes a deadbolt for residences that is considered to be bump proof. Electronic locks or those that open using a key pad or don’t require a key are also bump proof just by their very nature.

More low-tech methods of preventing lock bumping include spraying the lock with WD-40. In theory, the lubricant, normally used on squeaky door hinges, make the pins inside the lock slippery. The pins then move more freely and may not make the lock entirely bump proof, but will take longer to open with a bump key. The thought is then that the criminal becomes impatient or tired of trying the lock and moves on.

A very long time ago it was discovered that pin tumbler locks — the kind you have on the exterior doors of your home — can be defeated using a technique called “bumping.” This is in reality a form of lock picking, but not one practiced by professionals as there are other picking procedures that are more reliable, though they require skill to use.

Now that the Internet makes it so easy to share information, this technique has found new popularity. Amateur videos are springing up all over the Web in which hobbyists and would-be locksmiths demonstrate how this is done. Since the practice requires little skill and no specialized tools, it is fairly quick to master to one degree or another. Unfortunately there are those who make use of this kind of information in uncivil ways.

Locksmiths, as mentioned, rarely use this technique but this was not always the case. Before the advent of commercially available lock picking tools (available, that is, to professional Locksmiths), bumping was one of the common ways to open residential locks when keys were lost or damaged. In those days Locksmiths carried around special mallets called “bump hammers”, and these are now showing up in non-professional catalogs and supply sites thanks to the online videos to which I made reference.

So how can you protect yourself from “bump attack”, which is my term for burglary performed through the use of bump keys? Here are a few simple and inexpensive steps that will make it much harder for a burglar with bump keys:

1- Make sure each of your exterior doors are protected with two keyed locks, one being a deadbolt lock. Bumping open one lock can take quite a while, so it makes sense that if you have two on your door a burglar hoping to use this technique will pass you up for a house with fewer locks to bump open.

2- It is well worth the money to replace your older deadbolts, which are almost certainly 5-pinned locks, with newer 6-pinned locks such as those offered by Kwikset under the Titan brand. Six pinned locks are much more difficult to bump open than are five pinned locks.

3- It’s always a good idea to use exterior lighting with motion sensors, especially at entrances that have no other nighttime lighting. This step will protect you from much more than just bump attack!

4- Useyour deadbolts! It always amazes me how many times I see unused deadbolts on homes and businesses. It takes something like .5 seconds to turn the thumb piece or use the key to lock a deadbolt, and that’s time that might well save you from a world of hurt someday.

Hopefully these few simple ideas will prevent at least one “bump attack”, which are indeed on the rise nationwide, from occurring. Maybe that someone will be “you.”

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