Lock Picking - in Popular Culture

In Popular Culture

When lock picking is shown in films and television shows, the tension wrench is almost always omitted. Picking a pin and tumbler lock without tension is impossible unless the lock was nonfunctional to begin with, as the pins only prevent the tumbler from being rotated.

In some modern dramas (such as Fox's 24) in which realistic depiction of events is favored, the pick-and-wrench technique is fully shown; albeit often executed in a second or two, which does not accurately reflect the luck involved with raking an unfamiliar lock.

Harry Caul rakes a lock open in The Conversation (1974), and the used tools are clearly visible.

Although there do exist raking tools in which a single element may be used to open a lock (such as automobile tryout keys), these are rarely used in media depictions, and almost as rarely used in real life. The broad width of these picks allows for the necessary application of torque, just as an external source of torque is not required when using a standard key.

In the video game Splinter Cell: Double Agent the player is able to pick locks using a tension wrench and a hook pick. This is a fairly realistic depiction of how actual lock picking is performed. Alternatively, in the game The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, players pick pin and tumbler locks with varying difficulties; but only the pick is shown. In the Fallout series and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, a pick (a bobby pin in the Fallout series) is shown with a tension tool: a screwdriver and a dagger, respectively.

Also, in the Thief videogame series, one of the main character's most important tools is a pair of lock picks; which the player, as Garrett the master thief, uses extensively throughout the various missions to open locks. In the first 2 games, the mechanism is simple; with the player alternating between one lock pick and the other until the locks open; while in the third both lock picks are used at the same time in rotating and alternating positions to progressively pick and open the lock mechanism.