It's 11:47pm. You're asleep. Your front door is locked. You feel safe._
You shouldn't.
We spent three weeks picking every lock we could get our hands on and timing ourselves with a stopwatch. We picked 12 different locks used on front doors across North America. We timed every attempt. We averaged the results. Some of these numbers kept us up at night.
This is what we found.
PICKED (MASTER LOCK 3)
DEADBOLT PICK TIME
UNDER 2 MINUTES
PICK AT ALL
All picks performed by the same picker using standard tools — a Sparrows short hook and a Sparrows tension wrench. No exotic tools. No special knowledge. Just the basic kit available on Amazon for $30.
Each lock was picked five times and the average was taken. First-attempt times were recorded separately because they're usually worse — in a real break-in scenario, an attacker has unlimited attempts and no time pressure. We used the average, which is generous.
All locks tested were brand new, purchased retail. We did not practice on these specific locks beforehand. Results reflect what an amateur with basic training could achieve. A professional lockpick would be faster.
Sorted fastest to slowest. Red = your door is a formality.
| # | LOCK | AVG PICK TIME | SECURITY PINS | GRADE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Master Lock No. 3 | 0:03 | NONE | F |
| 02 | Master Lock No. 140 | 1:03 | NONE | F |
| 03 | Brinks Home Security Padlock | 1:08 | NONE | F |
| 04 | Kwikset SmartKey Deadbolt | 1:12 | PARTIAL | D |
| 05 | Kwikset 980 Deadbolt | 1:51 | PARTIAL | D+ |
| 06 | Yale Entry Deadbolt (budget) | 2:14 | PARTIAL | D+ |
| 07 | Defiant Deadbolt (Home Depot) | 2:44 | YES | C |
| 08 | Schlage B60N Deadbolt | 4:38 | YES | C+ |
| 09 | Schlage B62N (with alarm) | 5:02 | YES | B |
| 10 | Mul-T-Lock MT5+ Deadbolt | 18:30+ | YES + INTERACTIVE | A |
| 11 | Medeco Biaxial Deadbolt | 22:00+ | YES + ROTATING | A+ |
| 12 | Abloy Protec2 | NOT PICKED | DISC DETAINER | S |
Bars represent pick time relative to the slowest pickable lock (Medeco at 22 min). Shorter bar = faster pick = worse for you.
If your front door has a Kwikset, Master Lock, or Brinks product as its primary security, a person with $30 of lock picks and 30 minutes of YouTube tutorials can be inside your home in under 2 minutes. No forced entry. No broken glass. No evidence. Your insurance may not cover it. Your neighbour won't hear it.
The good news: the solution is not complicated. The difference between a lock that gets picked in 3 seconds and one that resists for 22 minutes is a matter of security pins and tolerances — things you can't see from the outside but matter enormously.
You don't need to spend a fortune. The Schlage B60N at around $60 is four times harder to pick than a Kwikset. The Medeco Biaxial makes even experienced pickers give up. The Abloy Protec2 simply doesn't have a conventional attack surface.
Here's what we actually recommend based on the data:
Lock picking is one method of entry. We haven't even talked about bumping, shimming, bypassing, or just kicking the door in. A great lock on a hollow core door with a cheap strike plate is still a bad setup.
Security is a system. The lock is one part of it. Read our full breakdown of every bypass method → How We Pick
And if you want to know where your whole home stands — take our security quiz. You might not like the result.
[ SINCE JANUARY 1 1970 ]