Learn the art of lock picking at this monthly meetup in Houston

A group of Houston lock picking enthusiasts meets up once a month at the Stag’s Head Pub off Portsmouth to eat, drink, and pick locks for fun. Dennis Maldonado with Houston Locksport organizes the monthly meet-ups. “Some people will join us to learn lock picking for first time, as we are constantly teaching, and others who are experienced just come to pick locks, have a drink or some food, and hang out,” says Maldonado. less A group of Houston lock picking enthusiasts meets up once a month at the Stag’s Head Pub off Portsmouth to eat, drink, and pick locks for fun. Dennis Maldonado with Houston Locksport organizes the monthly ... more Photo: Houston Locksport Photo: Houston Locksport Image 1 of / 18 Caption Close Learn the art of lock picking at this monthly meetup in Houston 1 / 18 Back to Gallery

Once a month a group of amateur lock pickers get together at Houston bar to pick locks. It might sound like an odd or even criminal hobby, but for the members of the group it’s a way to exercise problem solving skills.

Dennis Maldonado with Houston Locksport organizes the monthly meet-ups at the Stag’s Head Pub just off Portsmouth across the street from Cactus Music. Members bring lock picking tools and a variety of dead bolts, bike locks, combo locks, and padlocks and get to work while hanging out with fellow pickers.

Many in the group, according to Maldonado, work in the information security where the locks being picked are actually virtual and the stakes are somewhat higher. The group has just over 50 members with their numbers growing monthly.

Lock picking is legal if the picker owns the lock or has permission to do so.

Pickers can find almost any tool they would need to pick a lock at Amazon and on other online retailers. Some sets cost more than others. Online tutorials are legion, but Maldonado says that lock picking in a group can lead to learning new tricks and tips from seasoned pickers.

“Some people will join us to learn lock-picking for first time, as we are constantly teaching, and others who are experienced just come to pick locks, have a drink or some food, and hang out,” says Maldonado.

For Maldonado each lock presents a specific challenge, something to overcome.

“I try to understand how a specific lock works and then try to bypass it in a way that it is not intended. I also enjoy the challenge in it with different types, styles, and difficulty in locks,” he says. It’s an interesting hobby that could pay off if you ever have your own lock to pick in a pinch, he adds.

Maldonado says that the most common lock found in use is usually a pin tumbler lock.

"Pin tumbler locks are locks that use a number of pins that match up with a key to spin the lock open, usually four to six pins," he says.

Some brands and models are harder than others for the group to pick, while some seem to be surprisingly easy to master (pun intended).

"Many Master Locks are fairly simple to pick and thus great for learning on. Other more expensive Master Locks may be harder to pick due to more precise manufacturing of that lock or by employing a higher number of pins," Maldonado says.

Some companies add in security pins to discourage easy picking.

"American Lock brand locks are known to have many security pins, thus are usually harder to pick. Other more complex locks like Medeco or Mul-T-Locks use other techniques to discourage picking such as sidebars, angled cuts, sideway pins just to name a few," he says.

Breaking a lock after 20 minutes of tinkering also sends a surge of accomplishment through a picker’s body.

Another member of the group, who declined to be identified for employment reasons, says that physical security is often overlooked in the information security sector.

“A perfect firewall that protects you 100 percent from any network attack, though no such product actually exists, is useless if the attacker can just walk in, pick the locks to your facility or server room, and walk out with the server hardware,” the member writes in an email.

The group’s next meeting is set for March 4. Grab a pint, a pick, a lock, and get to picking.