While a screwdriver is pretty worthless as a lock pick, it can be used as a turning tool! This being said, you will need a screwdriver that is small enough so that you still have room to fit a lock pick into the keyway. It will also need to be a flathead profile.
Using household items like paper clips or toothbrushes, you can easily defeat 70-80% of the padlocks out in the world. The teacher is Kevin Reeve of OnPoint Tactical. Kevin has trained and consulted for the FBI, Secret Service, SWAT, and elite military units like Marine Force Recon, SEAL Team 6, etc.
Generally, all you'll need to pick a lock are some picks (long, thin metal pieces with curved ends of different shapes for different types of locks) and a tension wrench. You can use paperclips as picks in a pinch, and a tension wrench can be any tool used to create tension, including a flathead screwdriver.
Of course, people breaking into your home aren't likely to have keys, but the fact that the locks are so standardized makes them very easy to pick or bump. Once you learn how to pick a lock, you can pick pretty much any standard lock you come across.
The most bare-bones basic setup is just two tools, a tension wrench, and a feeler pick. You use the tension wrench to apply tension to the lock, and then the pick to set each individual lock pin while maintaining tension.
Hold the tension wrench twisted in the correct direction and insert the rake into the lock where the teeth of the keys would go. Push and pull the rake out of the lock, twisting it and working by feel. Twist the tension wrench in the correct direction, and the lock should spring open!
Pound the lock over and over again using quick, short strikes. Eventually, you'll disengage enough of the pins to “bump” the lock open. You can also use the handle of a screwdriver or another hard, blunt item if you don't happen to have a hammer handy.
In the world of lock manufacturers, the name Abloy holds an exalted reputation. Their series of Abloy Protect 2 locks are near unpickable due to two key factors. The locks have advanced manipulation resistance, making them impossible to be picked.
Without the key, a creature proficient with thieves' tools can pick this lock with a successful DC 15 Dexterity check. Your DM may decide that better locks are available for higher prices. In general, you can use Thieves' Tools without proficiency, however, you cannot pick a lock without it.
Because knives are fairly bulky objects whose only point of precision is at the tip of their shank, they struggle in providing the accurate lifting action that is needed to pick locks. That is if they can fit in the keyhole at all. However, this doesn't mean that knives are completely worthless tools for picking locks.
Stick the flat end of the pin into the top of the lock and bend it. Stick the pin in about 1 centimetre (0.39 in), then fold the rest the bobby pin until it's flush against the face of the doorknob. This will bend the tip at an angle. You'll use the bent end of the pin to disengage the pins in the lock.
For pin tumbler locks, including deadbolts and entry doors, make a pick set out of 2 bobby pins or paper clips. Stick them into the lock and wiggle them until the lock opens. Use an unbent paper clip or a hairpin for locks on privacy door knobs.
It can take anywhere from 7 seconds to 45 minutes for a locksmith to pick open a lock. Generally a locksmith should be able to unlock most doors in about 10 minutes. Of course this is effected by the type of lock.
Myth 2 | Lock picking is instantaneous
This is rarely the case. Even on very low-security locks, it could take 10 to 15 seconds to open the lock. For more complicated locks, it is more likely to take minutes. But all of this takes skill and success is not a given simply by virtue of using lock picks.
Some pin-tumbler locks have modified pins that make picking more difficult. In the most common variation, the upper pins have a mushroom-shaped head. This odd shape causes the plug to shift early, before you have actually pushed the top pin all the way up. This makes it more difficult to put the pins in position.