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It'd be an interesting skill to have, but as I understand it, it is a skill and requires some finesse and experience... Apparently a snap gun / shaker takes all the finesse out of it?

cb1000rider wrote:It'd be an interesting skill to have, but as I understand it, it is a skill and requires some finesse and experience... Apparently a snap gun / shaker takes all the finesse out of it?

It depends on the lock. Simple locks can be defeated easily with a snap gun but tougher locks are usually better suited to picks since you can get a better feel of what is going on inside. Plus if you have picks you can show off your inner spy should a legal situation arise to use them. I've been looking at a set ever since me and my camping partner locked ourselves out of our KOA cabin (could literally see the key right through the window). Frighteningly enough my NRA card saved the day but had it not we would have been out in the cold for a while.

The Annoyed Man wrote:

tomtexan wrote:

KD5NRH wrote: Another key is cheaper and easier to use, FYI.

Good answer!

Of course it is. But if it likely to be either on my keychain or in the house, and I lose my keys, then I'm back at square one. I'm thinking more along the lines of "what if I had no access to a key?"

Honestly, this isn't a huge concern for me. I was just curious, and I thought it could be a handy little thing that I might never actually need, but would be really glad to have when I did need it.

I use to be "That Guy" that opened car doors for the ladies when they locked keys inside, and for the men, well when they begged enough.... Yes I discriminated based on gender,,, So sue me

While I still have several car door opening devices and can open most any brand car.. I choose not to these days... Pop A Lock and many towing companies offer the service and it's pretty darn cheap..and the liability concerns this day and age are much more than they were in my younger years.

I'd still do it if it were a true emergency .....dog, baby in the car...something, or a known trustworthy friend or acquaintance.. other than that, you're getting a recommendation to Pop A Lock. .. Use of my phone if needed, and perhaps the AV or shade of sitting in my vehicle while you wait.

The Annoyed Man wrote:

tomtexan wrote:

KD5NRH wrote: Another key is cheaper and easier to use, FYI.

Good answer!

Of course it is. But if it likely to be either on my keychain or in the house, and I lose my keys, then I'm back at square one. I'm thinking more along the lines of "what if I had no access to a key?"

What would be the point of getting another key and keeping it with the original? Put it wherever you'd put the lockpick set.

KD5NRH wrote:

The Annoyed Man wrote:

tomtexan wrote:

KD5NRH wrote: Another key is cheaper and easier to use, FYI.

Good answer!

Of course it is. But if it likely to be either on my keychain or in the house, and I lose my keys, then I'm back at square one. I'm thinking more along the lines of "what if I had no access to a key?"

What would be the point of getting another key and keeping it with the original? Put it wherever you'd put the lockpick set.

The lockpick set - if I buy one - would remain with me in my EDC bag.......along with other things that i don't necessarily use daily, but DO use occasionally, such as a camera, a 15X monocular, an extra pair of reading glasses, a pocket notepad, a pen, a journal book, a bottle of water, a multitool, a plastic bag, beef jerky, small first aid kit...... a lot of miscellaneous stuff like that. My EDC bag goes wherever I go and stays in my car unless I need something that's in it. I suppose I could put a key in my EDC bag, but I have a lot of other keys too. Duplicating all of them might cost as much as the lockpick set. OTH, I wouldn't have to learn to use the lockpicks.

Anyway, it's not that big of a deal. Like I said at the top, I was just curious.

The Annoyed Man wrote:I suppose I could put a key in my EDC bag, but I have a lot of other keys too. Duplicating all of them might cost as much as the lockpick set. OTH, I wouldn't have to learn to use the lockpicks.

Do all the keys go to different places significantly distant from each other? I keep spare keys to anything in or near the house inside the house, and spare keys to other things in the trunk of the car. (The release cable is broken, so even if I leave a door unlocked, a thief would still need a key to open the trunk or quite a bit of extra time to remove the rear seat and crawl in that way.) This way my carry set of backups really only needs two keys, since I can get to all the others with those two.

KD5NRH wrote:

The Annoyed Man wrote:I suppose I could put a key in my EDC bag, but I have a lot of other keys too. Duplicating all of them might cost as much as the lockpick set. OTH, I wouldn't have to learn to use the lockpicks.

Do all the keys go to different places significantly distant from each other? I keep spare keys to anything in or near the house inside the house, and spare keys to other things in the trunk of the car. (The release cable is broken, so even if I leave a door unlocked, a thief would still need a key to open the trunk or quite a bit of extra time to remove the rear seat and crawl in that way.) This way my carry set of backups really only needs two keys, since I can get to all the others with those two.

In addition to car key, I have two different house-keys (I need to get all entrances rekeyed to one key), a key (and alarm code) to half of my church's building, a key to the office and storage areas at Dallas Pistol Club, a key to the gate at Parker County Sportsman Club, keys to two different padlocks, and a key to my little underseat gun lockbox.

Of those, the only key I have a duplicate for is my car, and I keep that at home on a hook. My wife has her house keys, but I have no duplicates for anything else. I can duplicate my wife's house keys if needed, and I can probably get duplicate keys from my church and the two gun clubs if I had to, and padlocks are cheap.....if I have to cut one off and replace it, it's not that big of a deal. The pick set just seemed like a good backup plan.....kind of like having an extra pair of reading glasses in my EDC bag, even though I already have a set in my shirt pocket.

KD5NRH wrote:

The Annoyed Man wrote:I'm just curious.... does Texas have laws like this? I have no need or desire to break into places where I have no business, but I can see how it might be useful to have such a thing in my glovebox or EDC kit just in case I lose my house keys or they are stolen or something.

Another key is cheaper and easier to use, FYI.

If you must use a pick, this is a lot faster on most residential doors than those little pocket sets:
http://www.cometsupply.com/mp/JACKSON+P ... aQodziAAtQ" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Faster, maybe (depends on skill), but neither quieter, nor with less damage.