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Lock Bumping Keys

March 23, 2009 on 12:39 am | In Uncategorized | No Comments bump key bump keys key bumping lock bumping lock bumping keys lockbumping

According to the Internet and network news, our homes and personal security are now threatened by a new menace—“ lock bumping keys.” Unlike master keys that are fabricated by locksmiths to fit a series of locks, lock bumping keys can be made and used by criminals with little or no training. A lock bumping key is a normal key filed down so that it can slide into any keyhole it fits. Most household locks are held fast by pins that pass between the body of the lock and the cylinder that turns the bolt. Each pin is actually two stacked sections held down by a spring. The sheer, where the sections meet, varies in height along the three or more pins in a lock. To work, a key must lift each pin so that all their sheers and the sheer between the cylinder and the lock meet. This allows the cylinder to turn freely in the lock and withdraw or extend a bolt. Unlike a “pick” that involves teasing each pin to its sheer level and requires training and practice to use, a lock bumping key is supposed to accomplish the same thing by hammering a ground-down key and twisting open the lock during the brief instant the tops of all the pins fly up.

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