Notice Board
The Myths & Truths about Lock Bumping
Lock bumping is nothing new. In fact, it can be traced as far back to 1925.
» IF YOU GOOGLE THE HISTORY OF lock bumping, Wikipedia states incorrectly that“ a US patent first appeared in 1928 by H. R. Simpson called a rapping key”. Many bump key selling pages state this, so straight away we can see that these pages do not really know much about lock bumping and have just copied and pasted information from Wikipedia.
In fact, here is a picture of a“ Tap & Turn” kit in a wooden box with a patent dated July 17th, 1925, made by Baron’ s. This kit included rapping keys for many cylinders which are now obsolete such as H & TV, Etas, Lips & Willen. This was not a tool kit to be carried to the customers’ houses for non-destructive openings, it was more of a bench locksmith’ s tool kit for stripping down cylinders and re-pinning.
Lock bumping is still proving as popular as ever, and many locksmiths can still learn the art within a short period of time, allowing them to open many of the harder cylinders nondestructively and very quickly, making it an essential piece of kit for today’ s locksmiths.
Wikipedia also states that lock bumping works similar to a Newton’ s Cradle( Newton’ s 3rd Law of Motion). His third law states that for every action( force) in nature there is an equal and opposite reaction. Many locksmith bumping selling pages simply state this law without going into depth on what actually occurs. When a bump key is inserted into a lock all of the bottom pins remain in contact with the key, once the key is struck the pins will fly up into the chambers and separate naturally at one critical point enabling the core of the cylinder to turn.
Can a cylinder lock that states it is“ bump proof” or“ anti-bump” still be bumped open?
Basically, the answer would be yes, in the same way that a cylinder that is advertised as“ anti-drill” does not mean it can’ t be drilled. It just makes the job of drilling it open more difficult.
In the same manner, an anti-pick cylinder can still be picked, although it would require a lot more skill, patience and practice than a standard cylinder would take to open.
When purchasing bump keys, it is always a good idea to make duplicates if possible as every bump key will get damaged over time, either by misuse or wear and tear. Bump keys, whether they are copies or original blanks, are still made out of standard brass or steel blanks and unfortunately are not made out of hardened steel as some would think. As bump keys are normally cut to their lowest cuts they can break very easily if not used or hit correctly. When hitting the head of a bump key it has to be hit square on, and many breakages of bump keys is caused by the bump key not being fully into the lock and then being hit sideways rather than head on. A bump key should never ever break off in a lock if used correctly.
Some people say they don’ t like lock bumping because the key gets jammed in the lock or trapped by the pins. Again, this is only due to lack of training and skill; the pins can never trap a bump key in the lock as the cuts are cut to their lowest depths. The only cause for a bump key getting stuck or jammed in the lock is because the tip of the key has been smashed into the back of the lock and burred over. Once again, if the bump key was set up correctly this would never happen. If this does happen make sure the bump key is pulled out squarely and straight; do not wiggle the key because this is when it would break or snap.
Also, when purchasing bump keys, try and always buy them with the shoulders
6
JUNE 2025
locksmithjournal. co. uk