What is Lock Picking?
Lock picking is the art of physically bypassing the pins inside the lock cylinder in order to unlock the lock without having the key for it. Lock picking is a skill that is obtained through many hours of practice and training. You can easily find lock picking tools at an online retail store such as Amazon, but keep in mind that without knowledge those tools are useless. You should be careful when picking a lock because you can damage the pins or break the picking tool inside the lock cylinder which will require extraction. Depending on the skill of the locksmith and the type of lock it can take anywhere from 10 seconds to 10 minutes to pick open a lock. A professional locksmith will not damage your lock during the process of picking so you can continue using the same locks. There will not be any downgrade to the security of your lock once it has been picked opened so don’t worry if your lock was unlocked through picking. Any lock can be picked with the proper tools and knowledge including residential locks, commercial locks, padlocks, bike locks, etc. Make sure you are hiring a professional locksmith to do the picking in emergency lockout situations in order to assure that no damage is done to your lock.

What is Lock Drilling?
Lock drilling is a process of unlocking a lock by drilling it through the lock cylinder. The drill will go through the pins and destroy the inside set up so there are no pins left to keep it locked. When the drilling process is finished you can easily turn the door knob and open the door. You can drill the lock yourself by watching a YouTube video, but be careful because if you drill the lock in the wrong spot the lock will become extremely difficult to get the lock off the door. Make sure to use the right drill bit in order to successfully drill out the lock cylinder. We highly suggest a professional locksmith to do the drilling because once the drilling is complete you will need a new lock installed. The chances are the new lock will need to be re-keyed to your existing keys so you don’t end up with bunch of keys in your pocket. Keep in mind that drilling a lock is the last resort in getting your door unlocked and the most common reason for drilling a lock is when the pins inside the lock cylinder has been damaged already. A professional locksmith will not drill out the lock right away and they will try to pick the lock first, but if picking fails then drilling it out is the only option left. Lock drilling will break the lock so you will not be able to continue using the same lock.

Overall we can say that both picking a lock and drilling a lock are two different ways of unlocking your door. However one way results in you being able to continue using your lock just like before because there will be no damage done to your door lock. Lock drilling will get the door unlocked, but your lock will be broken and can no longer be used. We suggest you to call a professional locksmith for lockout situations in order to avoid any extra damage to your property.