Shaw Manor · Evidence Locker No. 7

The Locksmith’s Briefcase

The curator’s lock-picking kit, packed in a silver aluminum case. Spin the dials, pop the latches, and read the evidence tags.

Case locked · Combination withheld

Every Shaw Manor exhibit gets its own room. This one lives in the study closet: a silver Zero briefcase holding the curator’s lock-picking gear, from pick sets and a pick gun to padlocks, skeleton keys and a set of handcuffs. Labels come only from what is printed on the gear or plain to see. The combination on the case has been blurred out, and the manor isn’t saying.

The Briefcase

Closed, it’s just a handsome aluminum case with a ZERO badge and three little combination dials. Open it to see what’s packed inside.

A closed silver aluminum briefcase with ribbed lid, a ZERO badge at the front center and a grooved handle; the combination dials beside the handle are blurred out The same briefcase open, packed with lock-picking gear: a blue pick gun, black handcuffs, padlocks and rusty skeleton keys on a green cloth bag, a black SouthOrd EXS-14 pick wallet, blue RFID key fobs and a blank card in a bag, a small cardboard RFID reader box, long steel bypass tools, bagged cylinder lock picks in several sizes, green-handled shims marked Tool Master and a black DerbyCon 6.0 key tag clipped in the lid

The case is locked. Press the brass button to open it.

    Other Angles

    Two more looks into the open case: straight down from above, and with the lid pocket showing its reading material.

    Looking straight down into the open briefcase: blue RFID fobs and a blank card in a bag, steel bypass tools with a ruler scale, a see-through practice padlock in its box, a brass Safe Pin Tumblers padlock and rusty skeleton keys on a green bag, a SouthOrd EXS-14 pick wallet, handcuffs, a blue pick gun and three bagged cylinder lock picks in different sizes
    From Above
    THE WALLET READS: SOUTHORD EXS-14

    Everything in its place, seen straight down. The long steel tools have a ruler scale stamped along them, and the green-handled shims along the hinge are marked Tool Master.

    The open briefcase seen from above with its lid standing up; an Easy Pickings lockpicking manual sits in the lid pocket above the packed tools
    Lid Up, Manual In
    THE LID BADGE READS: ZERO

    The whole case at once, lid up. The organizer pockets in the lid hold the DerbyCon key tag and a paperback manual.

    Required Reading

    Close-up of a white booklet in the lid pocket with big red letters reading EASY PICKINGS, subtitled A self teaching manual in the technique of lockpicking, with a silhouette of a person at work on a lock
    Featured volume · lid pocket

    Easy Pickings

    THE COVER READS: A SELF TEACHING MANUAL IN THE TECHNIQUE OF LOCKPICKING

    Big red letters, a silhouette bent over a lock, and a subtitle that gets right to the point. It rides in the lid pocket, so the instructions travel with the tools.

    From the Archive

    An older photo of the curator’s gear, laid out on a wooden desk years ago, before the briefcase.

    Older lock-picking gear on a wooden desk: a blue pick gun, a ring of brass bump keys, an open black leather pick wallet, a white and gray Brockhage tool, a green bank coin bag holding a brass Safe Pin Tumblers padlock, handcuffs and several Master padlocks, a red screwdriver and a SOG multitool
    The Old Kit
    THE TOOL READS: BROCKHAGE · THE PADLOCKS READ: SAFE PIN TUMBLERS · Master

    The earlier gear, all laid out on one desk. A blue pick gun, a Safe Pin Tumblers padlock and a pair of handcuffs appear in both this photo and the briefcase.

    spot what’s in both photos
    • A blue pick gun
    • A ring of brass bump keys
    • An open black leather pick wallet, full of picks and tension wrenches
    • A white-and-gray tool marked BROCKHAGE
    • A brass padlock reading SAFE PIN TUMBLERS
    • Black handcuffs
    • Laminated padlocks, two marked Master
    • A green bank coin bag printed PIKEVILLE KENTUCKY and FRIENDLY BANK
    • A red-handled screwdriver
    • A multitool marked SOG

    House Rules & Hearsay

    The Locksmith’s Oath

    The house rules for this room, before anyone touches a pick:

    1. Only pick locks you own, or ones you have the owner’s say-so to open.
    2. Never pick a lock that’s in use and that you rely on.
    3. Handcuffs go on the practice bench, never on a guest.
    4. Leave every lock the way you found it, only wiser.

    Whispers from the Study Closet

    Manor lore · unverified
    • Nobody remembers the combination. The briefcase claims it changes on its own every full moon.
    • The skeleton keys are rusted, but the butler swears one of them still opens a door no one can find.
    • Leave the see-through practice padlock alone overnight and it’s locked again by morning.
    • The figure on the Easy Pickings cover has turned one more page every time we look.

    None of the above is true, probably. The real stories behind this kit haven’t been filed yet.