The featured image of this post was taken an hour into our class today at PCMS, picture via their FB page

Why do we, The Open Organisation of Lockpickers, focus so much on “OPEN!” in all of its forms? In one form, when someone opens a lock we encourage them to yell “OPEN!” as a way to let everyone around them know that they’ve done it, and opened a lock. In the another form, we stress “open” when it applies to the knowledge of locks and lockpicking that’s in the heads of us lockpicking enthusiasts. We feel like this knowledge shouldn’t be restricted to those of us in the community, and should spread it to all who have the interest. The second meaning is what today’s post is all about.

Normally, on the first Saturday of every month we have our monthly chapter meeting. A steady handful of people, some new, come learn lockpicking while those of us who know how sit around and pop locks.

Today was a slightly different format, one we did last year at MakeIt Labs in Nashua, NH: we held a free workshop, open to all who wanted to attend. We had 20 adults and 5 kids sign up in advance, willing to drive to our piece of the world and learn lockpicking. There were people in their 60s and kids in their single digits, and everything in between. There were people who had never picked a lock before, and people who had picked plenty.

It was such a great experience, bringing such a diverse crowd to a space that has been so great to us since our inception as a chapter (Port City Makerspace). Maybe some of the people who came today will become members of the Makerspace. Maybe some of them come to our next meeting (and many more after that), and earn a their black/red shirt. Maybe they just take the skill they learned today and never come back (let’s hope not!).

Either way, today we helped plant the spark. That spark to see a lock from the outside and figure out what’s inside using a few simple tools. To take a puzzle that we all see every day and make it open because we manipulated it to. To challenge yourself to do something you never thought possible. To earn the right to yell “OPEN!” This is the same spark that inspired Alfred C. Hobbs to open the Chubb Detector lock at the Great Exhibition of 1851, and the leaders of the current locksport community to defeat almost every lock put in front of them.

If you can’t make it to one of our meetings (our next is on 12/7, from 2-4 PM at Port City Makerspace) because of distance, I hope you can make it to one close to you. Check out the TOOOL.US Meetings page and find a chapter near you. If there isn’t one, and you want to be a part of the locksport community, look into starting your own TOOOL chapter. Locksport is a truly fascinating hobby, one that is very easy to get involved in. Bring your kids, bring your grandkids, bring your friends, bring your coworkers. Pick locks, do something cool.

Some of our gear from today:

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