LOCKSRUSUK

A NEWBIE QUICK BUMPING GUIDE

Bumping is a superb way to open locks, wether you are a fully trained locksmith, love gadgets or you are just learning as a hobby, it is such fun, however before displaying some guides to help you learn to bump there’s a few things that need to be said so people understand a few things not to do when bumping.
1) Never take your bump keys out of your own home if you are a hobbyist, only qualified locksmiths should carry these keys with them.
2) never practice on any locks that are in use, so don’t buy a bump key and start practicing on your own front door, at the end of the day bumping is continuously banging at the lock as a newbie you might well as most do hit the locks and keys too hard, this often breaks the lock so if you have a bump key for a fiver it might cost you sixty pounds to get a new lock fitted, so always practice on a lock not in use.
3) if this is your first bump key purchase, email us for advice on the correct keys for you, so many people try to bump a top security lock and cant, so they give up deflated, we don’t want you to do that so in us helping pick the right key, you will be bumping locks and enjoying it in no time.
4)all the bump keys sold here and everywhere else pretty much are the general key for that brand of lock, that is the key profile most often used for that lock brand, some lock brands have hundreds of key combinations, the keys we sell here will open so many locks, but you are never going to have all the different keyways there’s just so many, if for example you had every evva key, you would have 50 keys for example for one lock, its just not practical to stock so many keys, im sure on most occasions the keys here will do the job you require them too.

4) its also important to remember that bumping doesn’t happen in seconds, like everything in life you need to practice something before you improve, then once you get good at something you need to practice some more, if you think you are going to bump locks within seconds of openening your bump keys, you wont, you really need to practice, but with our help im sure you will get there in no time at all.
to get a good start,watch all of the lock bumping videos, these are well explained and will show you how to line up the washers and key peaks to set the lock just right for bumping,with a little practice you will start to get results, if you do not have a bump hammer,many people use a screwdriver, wooden spoon, file handle or any simular object, as always the more you practice the better you will become.

We are now ready to move on, if you have read everything above and understand it that is, before demonstrating the bumping technique, lets have a look at the lock, this is a rim cylinder lock, you may also be bumping a euro profile lock, the same applies, where you see these dot on the top or bottom of the locks, is the location of where the pins are fitted inside the locks, for a beginner these are a great help.

Next you will need to get your bump key and align it up against the lock pin markings, you want the last peak on the key to be in between the last pin mark and the second to last pin mark, as shown in the picture, you will now see a big gap on the left hand side between the key turning part and the lock itself, I have shaved the collar off to demonstrate this gap a little clearer, you can remove the key by this amount each time then bump with a hammer and remove it this amount or one click of the key to bump the lock, but for me it is much easier to use resetting grommets or washers.

In this space we are now going to add a resetting grommet, or two, if the setting is not exact, for example not touching the key turning point and the lock face, add some thinner resetting washers1mm or 2mm until you get the key set up perfectly for bumping, the better you set the washers up the easier it will be to bump the lock, it really makes a huge difference and speeds up the openening of the lock, you will see from the picture now we have added the grommets we are ready for bumping the lock.
Always check the grommets are set near the lock and the key turner and the end peak of the key still fits between the end and second from end pin markings.

When you start bumping the lock the key will move forward, this hits the end pin and all the other pins at the same time, all the pins jump to the top of the lock, when you get it right all the pins raise to the shear line at the same time and the lock opens, the grommets will reset the key after every strike of the bump hammer, so you hit the key with the hammer, the key goes forward to try to bump the lock pins up, if you didn’t open the lock the pins will drop back down, but the grommet has reset the key, so you can continuously bump the lock until it does open, that why these grommets and washers are so good.

Ok so here in the picture we now see our key set up ready for bumping the lock, we have the grommets spacing the key correctly and ready to reset the key after every bump attempt, now we need to hold the key top and bottom very lightly and I mean lightly, so many people snap keys and struggle bumping from turning the key too hard, you need scarcely any pressure at all to bump the lock, so remember very light top and bottom turning motion, a lot less than turning a key in your house door.

ok now you are ready to bump the lock, so get your bump hammer, if you don’t have a bump hammer many people use a screwdriver, wooden spoon or file handle, although the real bump hammers are much better, so keeping you fingers clear of the key, so you don’t smash your fingers with the hammer, start to tap the back of the key, start off really gently and gradually increase the striking pressure, I tend to strike in raps of three, so three light strikes then gradually increasing, but never hitting with all your might, remember as a beginner you are desperate to open locks ,so loosen that key turning pressure and don’t over hit the lock as many do.

you will see in the original picture of me holding the key in the keyway its sideways on for demonstration purposes and that’s how it would be in a front door if you were penning a front door or if you are practicing in a vice so things are more realistic, but if you are practicing in your hand, you would be holding the lock more like in this picture.

There are varius ways in which you can strike the bump key with your bump hammer or whatever you are using, for best results i find the angle marked in this picture to be the one that gets the best results, so you come in from higher up strike and drop as you move away from the key.

In this method you are going straight on into the lock and just striking basically in a striaght line in and out, this method is one i would say most people seem to use, as it is probobly the most obvious one.

Finally not used as much is this method where the key is struck nearer the top which does work, but I hardly see many people using this technique, I don’t think it’s as efficient as the other two methods listed here.

so there you have the basic bumping technique, the key for you now is to practice, practice and practice some more until you become really good at bumping, when it comes to bumping a lock in a door remember you don’t get to see where the pins are on a lock, so its much more difficult, but with experience in bumping you will soon be able to gauge roughly how many grommets and washers are required to bump a lock, one thing not mentioned which many people use are springs to re set the keys, I personally don’t use them, but many do with great success, of course, many people bump locks with no washers or grommets simply by removing the key by one click and then striking with the bump hammer, then repeating the process, this is in theory the same process as using the grommets and washers only in many ways quicker as its resetting the key by that same one click instantly, but some people are so good they can bump without grommets and washers in seconds, so practice everything in this section, check out the videos and if you should have any questions, just email us for help.