Why Won't My Bump Key Work?

Why Can't I Bump A Lock?

A Trouble Shooters Guide For Bump Keys

We read a lot about bump keys, and a brief "how to", but rarely will you find a discussion about what goes wrong or why you are having trouble bumping. Many of us have seen the video where a 11 year old girl bumps a lock and we feel foolish or embarrassed to ask why we can't do it! So let me give you the main reasons and things to look for.

Is The Key Correct?

First of all lets begin with the key. Is it really a bump key? Did you buy it from ebay? Are you sure it's not a depth cut or 999 key? Many people sell these on ebay as bump keys, and many people think a 999 or depth key is the same as bump key. It is not.

If what you have is a 999 key, you nee to make a slight modification to it before it will work or be a real bump key!

Step One: your 999 key is cut to 9 cuts, it needs to be taken down to about a 10 cut!

Get a file a file and take of a little at a time. This will flatten the tips, so you will need to file them back to points. Now don't worry about going down to a 10, actually you want about a 9-1/2. No more then a few thousands of a inch!

Step Two: Now you need to take a little off the tip of the key and a little bit off the shoulder of the key. Little at a time!
Start of with just may be 2 or 3 passes of the file! Here is even less! And just as critical. It's hard visualizing how much 1/10" is but thats where you need to start, no more then 1/20". That's not a lot!

The reason we take a little of the tip and shoulder is we want to purposely offset the way the key fits in the lock so it can cause a better bump/kinetic effect! You know your good if you place the key in and it has a slight spring back. Push the key in the lock, if it springs back a little, your good!

Step Three: Try bumping a lock now! It may take a little practice to get the timing and technique down, but you should be able to bump a simple lock your first time by your 10th try. If not we need to go over the technique before you start filing some more off the key! If you did every thing correct you should not have to take any more off!

The Technique

Don't let the little 11 year old girl in the video fool you. While it's true bumping is easy to do, you still need to get the hang of it, like riding a bike only much easier.

A lot of beginners forget that you have to hold the key as you bump it! Ouch! Be careful!

The trick is to hold the key and find the correct timing to turn the key after impact. This takes a little practice, but is really not hard. It just seems awkward at first. Also each lock is different, some times you may have to hit the key harder or softer.

Still No Luck?

If after 10 minutes of practicing you still can not bump the lock, you may have to go back and take just a little more of your key. If the key springs out ok, don't worry about the tip or shoulder. Instead make another couple of LIGHT passes with your file, and sharpen the tips again, and then repeat your technique. Practice some more. Try a different lock if you can.

Chances are the culprit will be either your key cuts are not low enough or your technique is off.

To further explain what we are trying to accomplish let me outline our goal.

You want your key to bump all the pins above the sheer line, and at the moment you will be able to turn the cylinder to unlock the lock. Here is what can go wrong.

• Not all the pins are being bumped above the sheer line
• Your timing is off
• the key is poorly made or modified.

I don't want you to think this is rocket science or beyond your capabilities. It's really pretty damn easy! And once you make a couple of keys you get better and faster at it. Then it's just a matter of techniques and mastering the right technique with each lock. Even same brand locks will be different because they are all pinned different and there could be extenuating circumstances like dirt, rust, and wear in the lock.

Conclusion

Worse case scenario, you mess you your first couple of keys. No biggie even if you spent $2-$4 each for 999 keys. It's a good idea when your first starting out to buy some good 999 keys and use them as your masters. Take them to a hardware store and have several copies made of them, and practice on the copies. Never use your masters.

Alternately if your able, buy a good set of bump keys and use them as your masters! And make copies made from them. Just don't take them to a locksmith. Take them to a place like Walmart or any store that also makes key copies. Chances are they will be completely clueless as to what is going on. I took my bump keys to a little hardware store where there was a teenage girl making key copies. I laid down 6 real bump keys I bought and asked for 5 copies each. As she was making the keys all she said was, "these are funny looking keys", all I said was "yup" and smiled.

Now go bump some locks!