Ways To Open a Locked Door With Your Knife

Everyday life is full of exciting moments—maybe not in the way you want. This is especially true when you find yourself staring at a door that won’t open. While this isn’t a common occurrence, knowing how to open a locked door without keys can be a skill that’s both fascinating and practical. Plus, it’ll save you from needing to call a locksmith.

While there are many ways to open a locked door on your own, we’ll explore the ins and outs of using your trusty knife to open a locked door. That way, those who regularly carry one can rest easy knowing that you have a tool that’ll get that pesky door open.

The Lever Method: Your Knife Is a Door’s Best Friend

To begin the lever method, you’ll first need to assess the type of lock you’re dealing with. If it’s a spring bolt lock, you’re in luck. This is the one with a bolt that you can move in the opening direction by applying force to it with your knife. If it’s a deadbolt, this method won’t work.

To use your knife as a lever to open the door, take a long, sturdy blade and insert it between the door and the door frame. The blade should come into contact with the latch and provide enough force to push it back into the door. Once the tip of the knife presses against the latch, apply a bit of pressure, and with a swift motion, you should be able to pop the door open.

Picking the Lock: A Precision-Based Approach

If you’re looking to sharpen your lock-picking skills, you can do so with a knife. You’ll need a thin one to make this work. Fortunately, some Bradford kitchen knives will be the perfect fit for a keyhole. The aim here is to simulate the action of the key within the lock by using the knife to manipulate the levers or pins directly. This method will also work on deadbolts.

Start by inserting the knife into the keyway—the opening where the key would typically go. Then, jiggle and move the knife up and down while applying slight torque, the same amount you’d use if you were using the tension wrench of a real pick set. Push your knife in the direction you want the lock to turn. Even though knives aren’t the best tool for this job, with some practice and a little bit of luck, you might be able to catch the pins at the shear line and manipulate them to open the lock.

Crafting a DIY Pick: The Resourceful Solution

If your knife isn’t going to cut it in its current form, you can reshape it to make it better for picking locks. Obviously, you’ll want to plan this out before you get locked out, but luckily, you can easily make the knife’s blade resemble a typical lock pick. First, find a blade that you don’t use often that’s long and thin. You’ll want a healthy balance between flexibility and stiffness. A blade that’s too flimsy won’t hold up to the pressure of the lock, and a blade that’s too stiff won’t be able to navigate the curves inside the lock.

Once you have your desired knife, use a grindstone, file, or even sandpaper to begin working one edge of the blade. You’ll want to create a small hook that will function in place of the tip of a lock pick. This hook will interact with the pins inside the lock. If you do this with the spine of your blade, it’ll still be possible to use the knife for normal functions afterward. Once you’ve shaped the hook, ensure that the rest of the blade is smooth to avoid snags inside the lock. Sanding with fine-grit sandpaper can help with this. You’ll use the knife in the same way you did in the previous method.

Safety at the Forefront: Staying out of Trouble

Now that you know the main ways to open a locked door with a knife, you should consider both the legal and personal safety ramifications of doing this. Before you ever think about picking a lock, you need to understand the laws in your area regarding the use and possession of lock-picking materials. In many places, owning lock pick sets without a valid reason can be illegal. Even if there aren’t any specific laws about this process, lock-picking is often legally viewed as a gray area. So keep the law in mind and only practice picking locks when you have permission.

Once you know the laws, you need to take personal safety into account. Slips, broken blades, or fractures can turn an innocuous door-opening attempt into a hazardous ordeal. Always be careful when working with makeshift tools, and ensure that your work area is secure and free from hazards. If possible, use gloves to ensure you have a firm grip on your knife, and be aware of any potential backfire that could cause injury.

Leveraging Everyday Items: Alternatives to Knife Lock Picking

While our focus has been on using knives to open doors, they’re not the only tool that you can use to do the job. There are a few other household items that can assist with the unlocking process. While their effectiveness may vary, these tools are good to know if the knife methods above don’t work.

Paper Clips and Bobby Pins

If you didn’t already know, you can easily bend paper clips and bobby pins into makeshift lock-picking tools. Paper clips can serve as tension wrenches with a bit of manipulation, while you can turn a bobby pin into a simple hook pick. They both require less effort to shape than a knife, making them quick and convenient choices in a pinch, but they won’t be as strong.

Credit Cards and Flexible Scrapers

While not effective against deadbolts, credit cards and flexible scrapers can be effective at manipulating spring bolt locks. As you would with a knife, the goal is to slide the card or scraper between the latch and the strike plate and wiggle it around. Just make sure you use a card that you’re not afraid to possibly break.