The only REAL paperclip lockpick!

Tired of your old bendy paperclip "lockpicks". Well here's an easy way to make paperclip lockpicks...that wont bend!

*You shouldn't be a meanie and go rob people, blah blah blah..

(don't you hate it when people put those dumb disclaimers?!?)

Step 1: Gather your junk!

All you need to get started is:

-a paperclip

-a gas torch

-a glass of cool water (important)

-a box of matches

-a pair of pliers

-a pair of wire cutters

Comments

[Electorials]

Hello,

I tried this and it never works for me :/

If I finally get the nice and tough blue-ish metal, then it's okay for the tip of the lockpick, but after that it goes from blue to yellow and then back to the original metal color. At the position of the yellow part, it's super flexible and bends with the smallest force applied to it.

So it actually gets a lot worse than it would be before trying to harden the metal.

I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong here. I think I need to heat up the whole lockpick instead of just the tip so that there is no 'part that wasn't heated enough' which makes it softer. Is that right?

And I'm doing this with a lighter which I modified to have a large flame.
Could this also be the problem? That it still isn't hot enough?
The paperclip turns red hot; just a little yellowish but not like Really bright.

I don't have a blowtorch; but I do have a gas furnace. Will that be ok to give a try? Or is there anything else I can use?

Are there also paperclips which just won't work? Because I'm thinking some work better than others when doing exactly the same.

PS: Great instructable!

Hope you can help me. Greetings,

Electorials

[Biscuitus]

Hardly anyone does water quenching anymore, most do air tempering. In this particular case you can probably get away with it. It won't turn the paperclip into glass, it would probably still take a good amount of force or very sharp movements to break it off and even if it did break, it's easily removable, but that's why you have practice locks, neh? For what it's used for, this process is fine.

Here's an example of air tempering:
Heat A2 tool steel to 1750 degrees for one hour and fifteen minutes to one and a half hours. Remove from oven let cool for eight hours minimum. Heat the part to 600 degrees for thirty minutes then allow to cool. That will give you a Rockwell hardness of about 52 to 60 (that's hard enough that you can't file the metal, you have to use either a honing stone or carbide). If you want to figure out what kind of metal you're using, there are tons of charts that will tell you the exact temp and time you need to get a certain hardness.

[Great Wight Ninja]

I presume that would mean you would need a forge or something similar to keep the metal at temperature for those lengthy time periods. Is there a good way to air temper using more general purpose heating sources (like a torch) or is it simply a matter where "if it's worth doing right, it's worth the investment."

If that's the case, water quenching seems like it may still be good for the casual "blacksmith" (and I even use that in quotes loosely), who just wants to dabble once or twice with it and move on to the next kind of project.

[Biscuitus]

The gas fired forges I've seen here would do okay, so long as there wasn't a huge temperature fluctuation but most use an electric oven designed for that purpose.

For all intents and purposes, especially for small pieces like this one, yes, water quenching is fine. I was more adding specific information about the process. I've used water quenching for horseshoes almost exclusively and have never had a problem.

Though now that I think about it, you could probably whip up a temporary gas forge with firebricks, some black pipe, a mixing valve and some of those propane torch sized oxy acetylene tanks if you put your mind to it.

[4445]

but putting hot metal in water makes it brittle

[chicks dig me]

yes and putting it in hot or warm salt water and cool it down slowly makes it juuuuust right. depending.

[Delo97]

Yay 4 Che!

[chicks dig me]

yay

[kimro]

yes it dose make it brittle if you get it to hot and quench it to soon. its a balancing act if its to hard it will break in the lock and if its to soft it will bend in the lock (btw)"the katana and other swords in it's family have 2 different grades of steel in the blade a hard steel to keep an edge and a soft steel so the sward wont break on impact"

[Janjakko]

putting something really hot into the cold water will set the molecules. If done properly the metal usually turns a solid color, but if done improperly, it will change into a spectrum of colors.

[coolboy45]

not always sometimes it does sometimes it doesn't

[SirNoodlehe]

so what do I need the weird stain for?

[dll932]

You wanna play Secret Agent, that's fine, but if you get caught in the wrong place at the wrong time...those will be considered burglar's tools...and you get to hire the lawyer to prove they weren't. After you get out on bond, that is.

[Scissorman]

Too true. In the UK it is known as 'going equipped'. Without being in the guild of locksmiths, you're probably best of using these in the safety of you're own home.

[TwistedButSane]

 Would this work just as well with a gas stove top?

[PlatypusBiscuit]

I tried it with my stove, and the first time it got softer, but I did it a second time and it worked.

[ninja-sam]

the stove doesnt work to well.... there is a technique call tempering. it heats the metal and leave to cool, and then it will get softer, you need speed to do it wiht the stove..

[schumacher magic]

it works better if you use a bobby pin and you dont have to do all that reheating

[kingmickey]

 The tempering process all depends on the temperature of the steel right before quenching.  When I do my chisels, I get it red hot, pull it out of the forge, then quickly grind off the black carbon with a grinder.  A rainbow of faint colours will appear, and they will change colour as it starts to cool.  When the tip of the chisel is just starting to get to the yellow end of the spectrum, that's the exact time to drop it in my quenching oil.  Never tried a thin paperclip...

[Anarx]

instead of using just water mix salt, dawn dish soap, and jet dray the ratios i have are for a 5 gallon bucket so i'm not sure on this for small ammounts. just add good amounts of all of it.

this will provide a much better hardening then just using water. this actually adds a bit a of carbon to the steel.

this will probably make it more brittle so be careful not to break your pick off in the lock.

[Don,t try this at home]

Do that about 2 times the heat it up again and let it cool so it will be hard and wont brake.

[punkhead58]

On the contrary, multiple temperings (in uncontrolled conditions) will make the steel very brittle and it will crack inside the lock. That is very bad.

[nutsandbolts_64]

here's my idea: temper, quench, temper, quench, temper, let air cool.

[beehard44]

Careful on this. i tried 1 temper-cool cycle, hard! when i did another one i expected it to be harder, but it is more bendy than a regular ppclip

[nutsandbolts_64]

weird, i wonder if the laws of chemistry, thermodynamics or even court-type law apply? 

[nutsandbolts_64]

pun intended

[Don,t try this at home]

True but you need to know when to stop not like i do it 20 times so that probably wont happen

[fallenspirit123]

but then it will be very brittle or too soft

[Don,t try this at home]

Mine works fine it doesn't bend.

[fallenspirit123]

hmm, well Ill try it then

[soilman89]

 dos it really work

[ge7243]

A nice and to-the-point instructable. I just now tried this with a smaller butane jet lighter (~2.50 USD from Walmart) and I'm rather pleased with the results. But of course I won't know for sure until I give it a try I guess. :D

[chicks dig me]

yes, i hate those disclqaimers. its not like youre telling me to rob somebody, and im not a meanie. you should in no way be lyable for any of anybody ealses mistakes

[Fast tutorials]

Where to get tension wrench`?

[Bongmaster]

any tips on making a tension wrench? :)

[foxtrot4697]

ummm.... nice pic

[Bongmaster]

heh :3

[foxtrot4697]

lolz

[corey_caffeine]

*resists /b/tard instincts*

[pyrotech]

another instructable is soon to follow