Locksport: A Hackers Guide to Lockpicking, Impressioning, and Safe Cracking

Locksport is the ultimate guide to lockpicking and the competitive sport of bypassing locking systems. Written by five champion locksporters, this full-colour, hands-on introduction to the art of lockpicking will take you from noob to competition-ready. You'll learn how locks work and what makes them vulnerable, get a guided tour through the tools of the trade, and follow step-by-step instructions and detailed diagrams to learn to rake, pick, and crack. As you better understand the various types of lock mechanisms, you'll become adept at the craft of non-destructive entry, or hacking the lock without damaging it. Along the way, you'll learn: Basic lockpicking - using tools like tension wrenches, hooks, and rakes to pick padlocks and deadbolts, impressioning - the art of creating a working key from a blank by re-creating subtle marks the lock leaves in the metal, and Safe manipulation - the process of systematically dialling numbers and recording your observations to discover the combination. You'll also find resources for locating locksport events near you, contest preparation strategies, and advice for navigating the competition environment. Whether you're a beginning hobbyist looking to level up your skills or an advanced lockpicker eager to start competing, Locksport is the master class to get you there.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Part I: The Basics Chapter 1: The World of Locksport Chapter 2: Types of Locks and Cylinders Chapter 3: Lock Mechanics Chapter 4: High-Security Lock Elements Chapter 5: Lock Maintenance for Locksporters Part II: Pin Tumbler Lockpicking Chapter 6: Pin Tumbler Lockpicking Tools Chapter 7: Pin Tumbler Lockpicking Step-by-Step Chapter 8: Pin Tumbler Lockpicking Competitions Part III: Impressioning Chapter 9: Impressioning Tools Chapter 10: Impressioning Step-by-Step Chapter 11: Impressioning Competitions Part IV: Safe Lock Manipulation Chapter 12: Safe Lock Manipulation Tools Chapter 13: Safe Lock Manipulation Step-by-Step Chapter 14: Safe Lock Manipulation Competitions Part V: Lever Lockpicking Chapter 15: Lever Lockpicking Tools Chapter 16: Lever Lockpicking Step-by-Step Chapter 17: Lever Lockpicking Competitions Part VI: Appendixes Appendix A: Other Locksport Games Appendix B: Where to Get Equipment Index

About the Author :
Jos Weyers is a world-record holder in the field of lock impressioning and a mainstay participant at LockSport events around the world. President of TOOOL in the Netherlands and a key figure at the Hack42 hackerspace in Arnhem. Jos is the mastermind behind the beehive42.org initiative. Some people know him as the Dutch Kilt guy. Featured in the New York Times. Voted #2 in the category "Hackers and Security" of the Nerd101-list of VrijNederland June 2015. Matt Burrough is a devoted locksport hobbyist. His locksport highlights include placing twice in the ShmooCon Lockpick Village competition, second place in the 2019 TOOOL US LockFest safe manipulation competition, and getting first-round opens at every TOOOL NL LockCon since 2016. During the day, Matt is a professional red team operator, and is the author of Pentesting Azure Applications (2018, No Starch Press.) He holds a bachelor's degree in networking, security, and system administration, a master's degree in computer science, and a variety of industry certifications from GIAC (SANS), Microsoft, and Offensive Security. Walter Belgers is a hacker, having worked in IT security for all his life, the majority as a penetration tester and currently as a security officer at Philips. He has an M.Sc. in computing science and has been on the internet since the 1980s. He is an honorary member of TOOOL, the Open Organisation of Lockpickers and NLUUG, the Dutch UNIX Users Group. Walter likes to speak at technical conferences. He has co-invented a microcomputer without microprocessor and turned it into a DIY kit. His hobbies are diverse, but include drifting and rally driving, sailing, reading, travelling and photography. BandEAtoZ is a GSA certified safe technician with years of experience opening safes around the world. He regularly publishes articles of interest in both the locksmithing magazine, Keynotes and in the more specialized periodical, Safe and Vault Technology, reaching safe engineers around the world. He is an active member in the Safe & Vault Technicians Association, the National Safeman's Organization and numerous professional forums. Nigel Tolley was picking locks and subverting security as a schoolboy, long before he had ever heard of locksmiths or locksport. However, this wasn't a career path, and so university called, and a job as an aerospace engineer, with a side line of databases and coding, became his daily reality. He escaped before dying of boredom, but it was close! After quitting the "big corp" world, he spent a year learning absolutely everything he could about locks. This is before the internet was quite as valuable a resource as it is today, and rather a lot of self-teaching and figuring things out happened - and most locksmiths didn't even pick locks. As a locksmith for around 17 years now, he has watched as attitudes have changed, and has now taught thousands of people, including many other locksmiths, to pick locks at various courses, conferences and events. He has lectured and presented at everything from corporate ice breaker events to, of course, the various LockCon. Under assorted NDA he has also consulted with lock manufacturers and designers, and found many an exploit for physical security devices. A dedicated maker of many things, but especially tools.

Review :
"A comprehensive overview of everything there is to know about the emerging hobby known as locksport, Locksport covers not only the mechanics and techniques for picking standard pin tumbler locks, but also more exotic lever locks, opening safes with dial manipulation, and using impressioning to make keys for locks without taking them apart. The authors do a masterful job of teaching these technical skills and guiding newcomers on how to connect with the locksport community at competitions and events. Readers will find that this book saves countless hours hunting down tips and tricks that took the experts years to acquire. Highly recommended!"  —Anthony Thompson, The Lock Sportscast “Locksport is an amazing and varied hobby that can be enjoyed by all. As much as locksport is the pursuit and attainment of lock manipulation skills, more so, locksport is a shared passion; a community of knowledge, collaboration and celebration of achievement. This fantastic book embodies that spirit, with some of the most influential and respected people in the locksport community coming together to share a priceless wealth of information, techniques, and experience with us all.”  —Lock Noob, YouTube.com/locknoob "How to succeed in Locksport 101.  This book provides an excellent path for getting into locksport, how to get into the competition mindset, and how to run your own competitions.  The authors' determination to provide information only relevant to the sport aspect of lockpicking shows. New and seasoned pickers alike will learn something new!" —LockpickingDev "All in all, it's a really great self-contained book for newcomers and beginners, entertaining, detailed, … and doing a tremendous job at making lockpicking competitions look cool yet accessible! It was also a nice motivation booster for me to tackle harder locks." —Julien Voisin, Artificial Truth "The authors, well versed and immersed in the field, [do] a fine job at drawing the reader into this fascinating world of lockpicking, especially by bringing the engaging competition aspect into it. I hope you will enjoy reading (absorbing?) this book as much as I did. My copy has already found its permanent space on my bookshelf. My picks are within reach at all times." —Sven Dietrich, IEEE Cipher "A complete and comprehensive course in lock picking for any and all occasions and types of locks, Locksport: A Hackers Guide to Lockpicking, Impressioning, and Safe Cracking — written by five experienced lock picking experts — is a unique, special, 'user friendly', DIY instruction guide and 'how-to' manual that will prove an unusual and enduringly popular pick." —Wisconsin Bookwatch