MIT Guide to Lock Picking

by Ted the Tool

Notes from the MIT Roof and Tunnel Hacking community were made widely available in 1991 as The MIT Guide to Lock Picking.

Can be freely downloaded here:
people [dot] csail [dot] mit [dot] edu/custo/MITLockGuide.pdf
(Goodreads does not allow direct links).

Genres: Nonfiction

48 pages, ebook

First published September 1, 1991

Reviews

[Walt · Rating 2 out of 5]

This seems like a netbook/blog post that somehow managed to get published. I would not recommend this book for anyone who knows nothing about lock picking and is looking for their first how-to guide. There are better books and YouTube videos out there for that. This book is probably most valuable to someone who has some basic knowledge and is now looking for some tips to get better. The author primarily discusses what works for him. As one might expect being written by someone from MIT the book is good on theory. The two appendixes are all but useless. In the first he spends most of the time discussing how to make your own lock picks from the bristles of a street cleaner. I'm guessing this is not something most people have ready access to. I personally haven't seen one of these since the 80's and even if I had I doubt the dude driving it would stop long enough for me to cut half a dozen bristles off of his machine. The second on legal issues basically reprints the law is MA and states that I would guess most other states are the same (yeah, no). Its short so its worth the read if this is something your interested in.

[J_BlueFlower · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a strange little book. It is so full of typing errors that I would guess the author never read it.

I had my first encounter with the Internet in 1992. Before everything. The Internet was a limited number of computers connected by a network, such that you could access the content of the public directories of another computer by FTP - if you knew the name or number to call. Beside newsgroups there where two things: The anarchist's cookbook and the MIT Guide to Lock Picking. The anarchist's cookbook sounded a bit too dangerous, so I did not look at that, but I was so fascinated by the MIT Guide to Lock Picking - especially the diagram of the mushroom pin.

If you go to the Wiki page for Lockspot
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locksport
It is prominently mentioned in the history section.

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

really short, probably a good introduction, has some good illustrations

[Phle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good introduction to lock picking and written in an informal, easy to follow style. Also includes some ghetto ways to make picks if you're strapped for cash.

[Herman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, informal intro to lock picking. Packed with useful practical advice and well-illustrated diagrams to help you form the correct mental models of what is going on inside the lock.