Unlimited Lock Cylinder Shims

Buy new stuff and get free lock shims!

Almost everything purchased from a physical store these days has a magnetic anti theft device attached, or more often recently, inside the packaging where it is harder to remove while in-store!  Regardless of type, color, or placement, there is always at least one thin metal strip free floating inside each.

Recovering the shims

Tilt the security device on it's end, then tap it on the table a few times to shake any free floating bits to the bottom of the container.  They are rarely clear on the back but it made for nice pictures!

I use scissors to cut open the container, but try to get as close to the top as possible; static can prevent the strips from moving even when shaken.

Make certain to cut low enough to fully open the top of the container.

Turning it over and shaking is usually enough to drop out the 1 to 3 strips inside.  There will often be a strip or two, that is stuck inside the container... leave it/them, it's not worth the effort to remove unharmed, there is always another security device.

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These shims are incredibly thin at one and a half thousandths of an inch (0.0015")(0.038mm), making them great for cylinder shims but less good for decoding as they are too floppy for my taste.

Saving every single security device from everything I normally buy would provide literally hundreds of these in no time!