Most of us who don’t pick locks for a living have wondered a few times how they do it. Having attended some fun conferences last year that gave us a chance to try it (and fail we might add) we’re still curious about how the burglar can do it so quickly and effectively so we did a little research.

Learning more about how your lock can be breached is one way to learn more about the options and features that you want in your door locks. It will give you the insight to make a better choice in home security and door locks for your own place.

The Lock Jimmy. A burglar puts a pry bar or another hard tool in between your door frame and your door. It is located close to where the bolt is located so that less pressure is needed to pop it out. The bar or tool is simply moved backward and forward, exerting more pressure until the lock pops out of the hole, or the striker plate on your door. Your door lock should have 3/4 to one inch of the bolt that passes the end of the door. That will be enough to make them work for what they may get if they break in. Shorter bolts don’t hold well.

Sawing The Lock When a bolt is made from softer metals such as brass or other pretty things, they saw quite easily. Something as simple as a single saw blade can open your door and let your stuff be fair game to whoever gets inside. Get a solid steel bolt. Choosing one that’s made of hardened or tempered metal makes a big difference in how easy or difficult it is to get a saw blade through it.

Picking the Lock- To be honest this one is the one that happens the least often and after trying it ourselves using some remarkable state of the art lock picks, we understand why. It’s simply not that easy to pick a lock. It takes an expert five or ten minutes to accomplish, but it does still happen so we’ve included it here. Get yourself a lock that is harder to pick. They do have locks called “pick proof”. We’re not sure they actually are, but it should at least deter them right?