This isn't just another "how to pick a lock" type thing. This is an over-the-top detailed account of everything I've learned over a period of 2 years, obsessively picking locks. In that time I've spent an hour on average picking, every day, whether it be a pile of new locks or the same old crap I've picked 100 times before. Doesn't mean I can pick every lock, I'm not a miracle worker... once in a while I even run into an average one which gives me the finger. That's life. But as for the massive and ever-growing pile I have picked, those aren't accidents, so grab yourself a coffee and start learning. I'm writing this because there are a lot of people out there with 30 different books on picking, who can't open jack shit or still rely mostly on luck. It's not that books don't explain things properly, cos they do, and with enough practice that's genuinely all you need. But I was new once, and I know what it's like to want more and more information. More detail. And that's something that all the other stuff out there is sorely lacking... it all explains the same principles, in just about enough detail that you'll understand the basics and be able to figure it out on your own. Which you will, eventually. Everyone develops their own technique, but you have to start somewhere, and besides the theory there isn't much out there on specific technique. I for one would've loved this shit back in the day, so here it is. Detail overkill. If you wanna learn how to pick locks, and this isn't detailed enough for you, then... I just don't fucking know. As well as the really meaty stuff, I'll be covering a bunch of common topics/questions which I've noticed crop up on the forums a lot, so pretty much anything you'd wanna know as a newbie will be covered here. If you have any questions about pin tumbler locks after reading through all of this, as in genuine ones and not stupid ones, then I'll add it somewhere. DISCLAIMER MOTHER FUCKER In case you hadn't noticed, I swear a bit. If you don't like swearing, you're not gonna learn how to pick locks. Not only because I swear so much, but because this hobby will make you swear too. Now for the serious bit. This is all straight out of my own head, and from my own personal experience picking literally hundreds of different locks. Nothing is copied and pasted, and there's no stupid bullshit I just assumed was right and decided to write down, it's all cold hard fact. I don't have any paper credentials whatsoever, I'm not a locksmith or an engineer. But you don't need to be. Just be thankful I'm not some kid who watched a guy pick his piece of shit deadbolt with a paperclip on youtube and thought it was awesome so I'd write my own tutorial. It's taken me a couple of hours each evening for just over a week to get everything written down the way I want it, and all the pictures/diagrams are my own as well so I'd appreciate it if you didn't steal the fucking thing and put your own name on it. I didn't bother putting little copyright things on any of the pics cos it's not copyright and that'd be stupid. I'm not gonna be an internet tough guy and make threats, just don't do it... if you wanna share, just link it and give credit where it's due. I really don't give a shit as long as you're not making anything off it. I've done my best here to make this worth your time instead of re-wording the basic theory and technique like everyone else seems to. As far as the principles go, I pretty much had to... even at that, I've put a lot of time into explaining everything in as detailed and clear a manner as possible.