Lock Bypass Tools - "Comb Picks"

These Bypass Tools are called, "Comb Picks." They're not really lockpicks at all, they are bypass tools. Both "Bypassing" and "Picking" are "Lock Manipulation" but they are not the same. These tools are called "Comb Picks" because they look like a small comb and I guess "Comb Bypass Tools" didn't sound half as cool as "Comb Picks."

The way "Comb Picks" work is simple. Instead of picking the lock, both the bottom and lower pin of each pin stack are forced into the upper chamber of the shell, compressing the spring that sits over top of the top pin. This allows the plug-cylinder to freely turn.

In regular Lockpicking, the pins are manipulated by pick and wrench in such a manner that the lower pin stays in the plug-cylinder and the upper pin in each stack is trapped in the upper portion of the pin chamber. So, again, with "Comb Pick" bypassing, both pins in each stack are compressed against the spring into the upper chamber and the "Comb Pick" remains in the plug-cylinder and it can freely turn.

The reason "Comb Picks" can work is because many locks are very cheaply made. Now that we have trusted American names of lock manufacturing like Master and American being made in China, well, they don't really care if the lock is easily bypassed by a tool like this. They just want the money. There are millions of locks on the market right now and out in the field that can be bypassed with these tools. Shortcuts to create more profit is the reason this security problem exists.

All they have to do is shorten the upper pin chamber to the point where the lower pin, upper pin and the spring under compression will not all fit into the upper chamber. If they did that, the "Comb Pick" will fail. That's how easy it would be to fix the situation and in fact, when locks were manufactured better, this was less of a problem than it is now.

Furthermore, "Comb Picks" will not work on all locks and due to variations in spacing and depths from different manufacturers, you have to carry a few Comb Picks around to have any real chance of success other than simple luck. They are worth examining, in my opinion, for emergency kits.

Comb Pick YouTube Video One



YouTube has several videos on Comb Picks, check them out. Here is a YouTube Video which shows you how a Comb Pick works using a cutaway lock. The lock is upside down so don't let that confuse you.



Before the authoritarian control freaks start scribbling in their Orwellian Official Informant Notepad™ ...these tools are easily made with a set of automotive feeler gauges and a file.