The ol Credit Card eh?

[Cazimere]

Well i believe this is the place for this so i shall start. U guys seen that mysterious ol man just wippin out the ol handy dandy credit card and amazingly using it on a closed  door to swipe the lock and pop it open.

Well it does work. i recently got bored 1 day from a horrible day of school when i pulled out when of those prepaid credit cards. i took my keys(just incase) and locked my door. i pulled up a chair and inserted the card where the sliding metal part meets that hole(if i had a name for it, i wouldve named it) well anyway i used my instinct for the first time of tryin this by just moving it up and down in a diagnol position trying to slide it between the door. i put pressure on the door pushing it outward and eventually pop goes the weasle it opened i repeadily did this act of bordness,but it only determines on the lock on the door. i hope i didnt bore u

[linear]

dead bolt lock.

[rbcp]

In high school, I could open up almost any door in the school like that, but I usually used a butter knife instead.

When I lived in L.A. that's how I got in our house every day since I never got my own key.  I used my old check cashing card.

[Cazimere]

ah nice. i have heard of this "butter knife" technique but it never came to mind to use it. Well now there are ways for locks to lessen the way of being opened like that by acutally flipping the position of that lock. so you would hafta come in with a reverse type of approach

[I-baLL]

I used to do this in high school to play pranks on the music teacher.

A homeless guy I once knew used 2 Metrocards ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metrocard ) to do this as Metrocards are flexible. Having 2 of them side by side provided the sturdiness needed to do this.

[Jo Nathen]

One day I got bored and found out bending a hanger the right way can also pop a lock open.....yes pure bordem.

[MelloKira]

I just tried the credit card trick on my door and there's this stupid strip of wood down the edge that prevents me from accessing the crack I need to slide the card it. Epic fail.

[Tachyon]

I just tried the credit card trick on my door and there's this stupid strip of wood down the edge that prevents me from accessing the crack I need to slide the card it. Epic fail.

Win on the part of the door-maker.

[Hebbie Hauler]

Doorknob shimming will work only when the strike plate is not installed correctly. The small slide on the back of the doorknob's throw (bolt) is setback by the strike plate while door is closed, keeping the throw from being shimmed.

[vixen]

i used to use a credit card, or something similar, to get into a friends house... she was with me at all times of course! but it works!

[Lestan Gregor]

The building I live in is supposed to be "secure", with door people and shit.
But at 1 am last night, i got locked out of the building....the door guy decided he was going to take a shit or something....so i used a credit card to open the "secure" locked door.

i kinda felt like McGyver.

[Krash69]

The problem with the door marker is easily overcome with a more flexible card like a laminated card instead of a credit card cause it will bend around that but get worn out after a few doors and you got to use a different side or a new card. At least that's how i always did it 

[KeepOnTruckin]

If teh door opens away from you, i.e. the doorjam is between you and the latch, start your card at teh crack between teh door and the floor and then push door away from you as you slide it up. Helps to have a flexible card here as mentioned.

[lipschitz]

I always enjoyed a cut piece of one of those cheapo three ring binders. Flexible enough for most angles and still rigid enough to open it.

[Hebbie Hauler]

3x5 inch stainless steel shims

Haven't looked online but local metal/machine shops have them pretty cheap.