LockCon 2023

18 oktober 2023

LockCon; the event where lockpicking enthusiasts gather to share knowledge about picking locks, and where everyone is challenged to participate in a lockpicking or impressioning competition (creating a key with only the lock as a reference point). Since our PRO-LINE padlocks are naturally unpickable and to put them to the test, we sponsored five PRO-LINE padlocks. Our content marketer, Maud, paid a visit and wrote a story about it.

A warm welcome

Upon entering, the pleasant atmosphere is immediately noticeable. Despite everyone still enjoying their lunch, I am warmly welcomed. "The Italians brought something delicious," Chantal, one of the organizers, tells me. Before I'm aware, I have a piece of salami, bread, and a glass of wine in my hands. "Come, let me show you the rest," she continues.

The space is arranged like a cafeteria, with at least four tables fully stocked with locks, keys, and safes. One lock is for sale, while another can be borrowed for a trial.

"One of the most interesting things is for a European to try picking locks from, for example, America," says Chantal.

PRO-LINE

Right after we sent the PRO-LINE padlocks, we received a comprehensive report from Jan-Willem of TooolNL. He had immediately disassembled one of the locks to analyze it.

From Jan-Willem's blog at TooolNL

'Picking these won’t be easy, as the padlock features a Tokoz Pro core with eight disks and a disk blocking system similar to Abloy Protec'.

And indeed, this turned out to be the case. In a conversation with Nils, one of the participants from Germany, the DX PRO-LINE lock came up. He was curious and wanted to give it a try. The first step was to reassemble the lock. However, even that proved to be quite a challenge. Lateron I heard that he eventually managed to put the lock back together.

Opening a lock like the DX PRO-LINE takes a lot of time; you need to get to know the lock. As there is so much to do at LockCon, the PRO-LINE padlocks were given to the top three lockpickers present. They are attempting, from their homes in Finland, the UK, and the Netherlands, to find the right way to open the lock. Unique methods have been tried, but so far, success has not been achieved!

Competition lockpicken

I won't easily forget the sound. It starts with a dead silence... Start! Click, click, click, clack-clack-clack echoes through the entire room, followed by 'OPEN!' '9 seconds,' 'OFFEN' '23 seconds.'

People are shouting in German, English, French, Italian, and possibly more languages as, in nine rounds of five minutes, as many locks as possible must be opened. "People from all over the world come here. I believe the farthest someone is from is Washington," I'm told later.

True enthusiasts of the sport

'Lockpicking is a kind of puzzle that needs to be solved. Most people work in cybersecurity or as locksmiths and engage in lockpicking as a hobby. It's evident that it's really about enthusiasts when I talk to Lars, the Surgeon of safes from Cologne.

Firstly, he has a large collection of lockpicking tools. With enthusiasm, he also talks about his private museum with unique safes and locks. When I'm in the area I should visit to have a look he said, while posing with a smile for the photo.'