Project 365 (61/365): Lockpicking

.:61/365: Lockpicking:.

Any escapologist worth his salt should know even just one form of lockpicking, as it is an invaluable skill that will allow you to pull off pretty much any kind of escape involving locks so long as you are properly armed to pick the locks.

The art of lockpicking is often a misunderstood one, as most people assume only people who are up to no good would bother to learn it. In reality, they couldn’t be more mistaken. Lockpicking is prevalent as a way of testing the limits of security of any particular lock, and just like there are “good” hackers in the world of computers, there are similarly “good” lockpickers who use their skills to better evaluate the quality of a lock facing them.

Furthermore, if you are stuck in an emergency situation that involves locks, a lockpick would certainly be a better option than outright destroying a lock, or anything worse, for that matter.

I’m not going to teach you how to pick locks, but needless to say, there are a lot of books out there that will. Consider the video above as merely a teaser, because in all honesty, even if you did know how to lockpick a pair of handcuffs, that’s only the first step of the escape, as you will certainly need to liberate yourself from a lot more afterwards.

This may be a short feature, but there’s so much more that can be done with knowledge on lockpicking. From handcuffs to shackles to cages to jail cells, the possibilities are limitless, and it makes for a more gritty and immersive performance for the escapologist if he would have to utilize genuine lockpicking in his act, as it’s always quite an adventure to match wits with these restraints.