 "Photo: Shelley Neuman")
Doug Farre receives many calls on Saturday nights from friends who need help picking locks.
"You get calls on those late nights from drunken friends asking for help. They're usually locked out of their cars," said Farre, president of Longhorn Lockpicking Club. "To call a locksmith and all of that would cost anywhere from $50 to $100."
Club treasurer Jonathan Lu said his friends call him to ask for help and that his services are not for sale. Lu said people who know how to pick locks are pretty useful.
The Longhorn Lockpicking Club is a chapter of Locksport International. The Canada-based parent organization was created four years ago and is meant to be a community-centered safe haven for hobbyists interested in the sport of lock picking.
Locksport International chapters exist around the world, with strong presences in Australia, Europe, South America and the U.S. Farre started the UT chapter two years ago and it is the largest in the world, he said.
The UT chapter has more than 110 due-paying members, said Michael Boyle, the club's secretary.
The organization filled a Burdine Hall lecture hall at its last meeting, Lu said.
At general meetings the group usually focuses on a specific lock.
"First we go over a high-security lock: We disassemble it and go through the workings of it - the number of pins it has and why it's difficult to open," Boyle said. "Then we try to get more hands-on. We'll show the people exactly how to do certain things, like how to make a shim out of a soda can for combination locks."
Aside from being engaged in hands-on activities, members are provided added incentives.
"We have small competitions at the end on who can open a lock the fastest or something along those lines," Farre said. "You can win a new lock or a pick set. We've done this every meeting this semester, and it's usually hard to get people to even leave after all of this is done."
At meetings, new members are asked to sign a code of ethics and are reminded of the main Locksport creed: only pick locks you own and that you do not rely on.
"The sport is like solving a puzzle. It's fun," Farre said. "It has also saved all of us a lot of money."
Boyle said his apartment was burglarized four years ago when he was first learning how to pick locks. He said the experience did not keep him from teaching the trade, as he believes those with the patience to learn it would not act in a harmful way.
Because the organization poses a potential threat to campus safety, the UT Police
Department was concerned about the UT chapter, Farre said.
"They were upset when they found out we were active on campus," Farre said. "They said we shouldn't be on campus, but eventually they came around. They started asking us about bike safety, and soon enough we were exchanging tips on lock safety. They realized we were not a malicious organization and that we were actually on the same page as them."
Rhonda Weldon, a campus and employee services spokeswoman, said UTPD does not object to the club and has no other comment.
Farre said lock pickers can also help manufacturers improve their locks.
"Manufacturers usually attend conferences and learn about ways to make their locks better," Farre said. "When a lock picker finds a weakness in a lock, they are supposed to alert the manufacturer first. They usually receive some sort of compensation."
The Longhorn Lockpicking Club will host a meeting this Friday at Spider House Patio Bar and Cafe from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Be the first to comment on this article!