If you’re a property owner or landlord and ever have the need to permanently disable the locks on your rental property quickly, look no further than Lock-Kill. The folks at DG3 Locksmithing have come up with an ingenious way to modify a key blank to ensure you can quickly restrict access to a household lock without needing to call out a locksmith to rekey. Provided you still have a way into the dwelling that is. By taking Schlage and Kwikset key blanks and cutting a 90 and 45 degree angle into them, DG3 has effectively created a way to bind the Lock-Kill key in the cylinder. As it’s inserted the 90 degree wall allows each pin to drop into the valley and the 45 degree cut allows that same pin to pull back out until the Lock-Kill key is inserted completely. To further complicate matters, the head of the key has a groove etched into it that makes it easy to snap it off, simply leaving the broken key in the lock with nothing to grip to remove. I’ve had these Lock-Kill keys for some time now but wanted to thoroughly test them to see if there was any way to remove it before I wrote up an article on them.
Picking didn’t work, bumping the lock didn’t work and neither did a broken key extractor. I couldn’t get a pick into the keyway with the Lock-Kill key still in there and with the head of the key broken off, there’s nothing to tap when bumping. The key extractor didn’t work because that pin was still locking the blank in. You could take some needle-nose pliers, grip the broken-off key and tap the cylinder or pliers in an attempt to bump the pins, but I couldn’t get it to work. The only way to gain entry again would be to either have another way in, which hopefully you do if you’re the landlord and you’re using Lock-Kill, or to drill the lock. In the video below I show how gaining access to the pins will allow you to remove Lock-Kill, so if you’re skilled enough to be comfortable removing pins and you have access to take the lock apart, there is a way to remove the device. Lock-Kill is definitely a sure fire way to ruin someone’s day if doors are the only means of entry and this review certainly isn’t meant to highlight that.
If you have a true need to quickly disable a lock for legal reasons, Lock-Kill will do the job well. If you ever encounter Lock-Kill being used for unintended purposes, my hope is that this review will at least give you a heads up on what you’re dealing with. in Schlage and Kwikset blanks. They’re also currently on sale for 1/2 off with free shipping at the time of this write-up.If you have a lot of interior doorknobs with key locks on them, sooner or later you're bound to lose the key or lock them inside the room. Here's what to do to get back in. When one of my interior doors got locked with the keys inside recently, I learned all I ever wanted to know about lock-picking and doorknob assembly. Locksmiths are expensive, so let me share everything I tried and show you how I eventually got the door open. If the doorknob in question is a simple push-button affair, most of the time all you need to do is jab a paperclip in the hole and push on the locking mechanism. If the doorknob just has a slit on the outside handle, a butter knife should do the trick.
Keyed locks are a bit trickier to open but it can be done. The easiest approach is to grab a paperclip and tension wrench. If you don't have a tension wrench handy, a very small hex key (roughly the same diameter as the paperclip) will do in a pinch. Take a hammer and flatten the end of the paperclip as flat as you can get it, then grab your makeshift lock-picking tools and head to the door. eHow explains what to do next: Insert the flattened end of the paperclip above the tension wrench. Push it in until you meet resistance. This is the first pin of the lock. Push up on the pin with the paperclip to try and move it out of the way. When it works, the tension wrench will turn a little further. Hold the wrench in this position, still applying pressure so the pin doesn't drop back down. Take the paperclip out and push it back in again. When you meet the resistance of the next pin, push up on it as well until it moves and the tension wrench turns. Repeat this procedure with the rest of the pins until the lock opens.
Some lever-type doorknobs respond nicely to the credit card treatment and let you pretend you're a secret agent while you get the door open. wikiHow says just slide the card into the crack in the door, right where the lock is. Tilt the card so the side that's closest to you is almost or is touching the doorknob. Push it until you feel it slide in more. Bend the card the opposite way, forcing the lock to go back. Quickly open the door. It is a good idea to lean against the door while doing this, which will help it to pop open. If you want to go all Macgyver on the locked door, grab a vacuum cleaner, dental floss, and a piece of paper. Use the step-by-step guide over at Instructables to show that locked door who's boss. Sometimes, no matter what you do, the lock just won't budge. In that event, it's time to just remove the entire assembly. Slide a butter knife under the collar where the doorknob meets the door and pop the collar loose so you can get at the screws holding the doorknob together.
Once the screws are removed, the doorknob will come apart and you'll be able to easily slide back the mechanism holding the door closed. If all else fails, there's nothing a hammer wont fix. First, give the doorknob itself several good poundings until it's good and dented. This does absolutely nothing to help unlock the door but it's a great way to get back at the lock that's giving you so much trouble. Next, insert the claw end of the hammer underneath the top of the doorknob's collar. Put a stiff piece of cardboard where the hammer meets the door to protect the paint. Cover the knob with a thick towel in case metal parts go flying, then yank the hammer down hard. Do this a couple of times until the screws holding the doorknob together snap. When you go to the hardware store to buy a new locking doorknob, be sure to have some spare keys made while you're there. How to Open a Locked Door With a Paperclip [eHow] How to Open a Door With a Credit Card [wikiHow] How to Open a Locked Door the Macgyver Way [Instructables]