How To Make Your Own Lockpicking SnapGun

A quick guide demonstrating how easy it is to make you own homemade snapgun with only simple tools and a coathanger

[@andrewhanna4997]

I remember the lockpick in Resident Evil 2 was this shape and I always wandered why, now I know. Thanks for this!

[@wanderingcalamity360]

Same.

[@oscarjackson539]

my neighbors have a new giant flat screen tv, i better check it out. hahahaha

[@PocketWomen]

Very cool demonstration mate. That is a nifty piece of kit. I have seen one where they have put some tubing, rubber or metal on the part where your thumb flicks the wire . It gives a bit more surface area for your thumb to flick and makes multiple flicking easier on the thumb. Thanks for this video, cheers

[@HVLogic]

i have seen the same but honestly you shouldn't need it, if the lock wont open after about 20 snaps it isnt going to, or your technique is the problem

[@mikha007]

depends on whether your left or right handed as to which side you make the last bend

[@PocketWomen]

@@mikha007 That is a very good point to make. cheers

[@caitc3837]

Saw the short and came here to see the original, extremely clever. 👌

[@HVLogic]

someone turned my video into a short? bastards haha

[@caitc3837]

@@HVLogic haha no I should clarify, someone made a short where they copied your design. I saw your comment about how it was your creation and thats what led me here lol. Just wanted to credit the original creator 👌

[@HVLogic]

@@caitc3837 ahh ok yeah thats great then

[@PickingPrincipals]

Saw your comment on a video YT served up to me and had to check you out. Nice work.

[@TheButchersbLock]

Awesome video mate, yours came out a heap better than mine when I made it for the mad Aussie challenge. 👍😊🇦🇺

[@HVLogic]

iv had some practice since then. this is my 3rd or 4th one i have made now

[@EdocDab]

Cool tutorial HVLogic👍Simple and effective!

[@HVLogic]

thanks! glad you liked it

[@phpicker1552]

Nice informative video. Thanks for sharing and have a great week!

[@HVLogic]

thanks

[@kriispydud2444]

good tutorial seems easy enough

[@marcd1981]

Thank you for the video, great idea to get or keep lock picking skills fresh, working with your hands as much as possible. I like the comment below about bending the wire in the opposite direction so it doesn't catch on your thumb (or nail) when you snap it. I was also thinking when you are filing or grinding the tip that will go in the lock, just file or grind the tip of the wire where you snap with your thumb until it's smooth.

[@HVLogic]

Yeah its a good idea to file that section smooth, i took the edge off but didn't give it as much as a polish as it really should have. Really i should have made the turns tighter and the whole thing a little bigger and it wouldn't be an issue like the older one i made previously. you could also put a bit of tape or foam over that tip

[@marcd1981]

@@HVLogic All ideas to try, which keeps us practicing. I'm very new to lock picking, looking at training options to become a locksmith. Tough to find in a pandemic, used to have hands on training available.

[@HVLogic]

@@marcd1981 I can recommend the Discord group LPU (Lock Pickers United) there are a few smiths on there and a huge number of pickers who can and will help you out with any questions you may have.

[@marcd1981]

@@HVLogic Thank you, I'll check the group out.

[@marcd1981]

@@HVLogic Hey again HV, I am trying to find LPU on Discord, but the search comes up saying nothing found. I have never used Discord until now, so I might be doing something wrong, but I opened Discord, added a server name for myself, then tried to search for LPU.

[@agentfourteen8574]

thank you.

[@tumblersfalllocksport218]

very nice!

[@DonzLockz]

Thats a good design and works well. Cheap as chips too!👍👍👍

[@locksportviking3019]

Awesome, thanks! I'll be making one as soon as I get home from work👍.

[@HVLogic]

have fun, its a nice easy project

[@Tokyo-go2du]

Awesome.

[@bearsback5099]

Great job my friend.

[@HVLogic]

thanks

[@Ozziljian]

To return the spring in steel (re-temper, or harden) you can reheat your steel up w/ a torch until a magnet will no longer stick to it (critical temp or currie point) and then quench in oil (or water) to regain the stiffness/ bounce back. Which also will even out or will give a gradual temper along your tool. Blue color (clock spring temper) is hard springy and brittle, Amber color is a good hardness but shouldnt break as its for tool ends like chisels. I say all this cuz it seems you liked the long one you made but you didn't have confidence that it would last very long b4 breakage

[@HVLogic]

you are correct re heat treating it would work much better, as would using a higher quality steel in the first place such as bike spoke. Great tip tho

[@Ozziljian]

@@HVLogic Bike spoke... Great idea! I wish I saw your video a few wks ago and made one. 2 weeks ago I had to hammer off my padlock cuz I had forgot the New hiding location for my key (for a rental property's shed). I had it in one location for so long and after having to give the location up over the phone to a tenent I re-hid them else where which I still cant remember, lol It would have been nice to pick it to open it and not destroy it until I found my key (was in hurry to do repairs at the time). oh well thanks again!!!

[@luizcavalcante2723]

Muito bom vou fazer, parabéns pela criatividade. BRASIL

[@HVLogic]

que bom que gostou do vídeo

[@iyeetsecurity922]

Would it be beneficial to make the spring smaller/tighter to produce move of a snap? Or does the higher amount of force not matter?

[@HVLogic]

Made like that they already produce enough snap and it becomes more about making sure you get tension and the angle of the tip correct. If you wanted an even better working one it would be better to use a stiffer steel than coat hanger. something like music wire or a bicycle spoke should work well but will both be somewhat harder to bend into shape.

[@iyeetsecurity922]

@@HVLogic I went ahead and made one today. The hangers I've got are a tad thinner because they've got that rubberish coating on them. I made it with a 1" spring and it's 4 3/4" long with the tip being 1" long after having made it the length of a 6 pin key. The hook is about 1 3/4" tall. It actually works pretty good! It even popped open a Master Lock M5 in 8 snaps. I just posted a video of it if you're interested and would like to let me know what you think. The only thing I'm going to do differently next time is add a few layers of shrink wrap to the spot you push with your thumb to make it more comfortable on my thumb. Thanks a lot for your video! It obviously inspired me to tinker my own out as well!

[@kurtilingus]

Good thinking re: heat shrink on the thumb contact area, I know I would've thought the same thing in the exact same order as you did after I had already made the 1st one, so thanks for putting the idea in my head beforehand & potentially saving me the compulsion to make a 2nd if the 1st is a-ok! :) @@iyeetsecurity922

[@danareed1656]

just a suggestion but cant you make the catch bend to the other side so your thumb dont land right on it when you push it down or maybe bend it out word toward the blade just a little , just some ideas! im glad it just got ur nail and didnt cut you! im going to have to try this looks pretty easy to do the only thing im not sure of is the thinning of the blade part iv got some of the tools that will work but iv never done any thing like that as of yet. great job!

[@HVLogic]

on the bigger one i made its not really a problem, and if you are right handed not left like me it will be perfect just like that. even just a flat file works great for shaping the tip, a bench grinder is just faster

[@danareed1656]

@@HVLogic ok thank you

[@EdocDab]

Just what I was thinking. Then your thumb moves opposite of the pointy end 👌

[@bitovik142]

Интересно, спасибо

[@Jcewazhere]

Bend the catching bit the opposite direction and your thumb won't catch at all, assuming you always use the same hand to snap it.

[@evilarchconservative2952]

Well that was easy.

[@HVLogic]

very

[@garythesnail1015]

I made this without watching the video, just off the Thumbnail

[@Neo_The_One_]

You should sell these. I'm lazy. I'd buy one.

[@HVLogic]

you can buy a proper one on the internet very easy as it is

[@njs2021able]

I just found out that I have a rare sort of disease today and this video has taken my mind off of the terrible news. My dixie wrecked

[@IsaacHashman]

Is this your design? Also did you see the video where LPL copies this?... I'm pretty sure he was inspired by this video, haha! If it's your design, then no doubt he got the idea from you. If that's the case, it's pretty disappointing and unfortunate he didn't give you proper credit

[@HVLogic]

oh no its not my idea at all, but im one of the only people to make a good video in english on it. i copied the design of a Spanish guy who must have filmed it on a potato. I sure did see a bit of an uptick in views after LPLs video tho

[@noahway13]

It appears u are pushing bottom down instead of pulling top(striker) up. Maybe it because u Aussies are upside down.

[@noahway13]

On second glance, I thought u would want it to strike pins like an ax. I guess u are placing striker on pins, and letting bottom hit stationary striker. ?

[@HVLogic]

@@noahway13 thats correct. you want to hit all the pins perfectly at the same time. if you have it on an angle it wont work as reliably. they dont need a huge amount of force to bounce the pins up, just enough to overcome the springs. will also work fine with the lock "upside down"