TOOOL holds meetings which are open to all members and guests who accompany members. Each local chapter schedules their own meeting times and places. By staying in touch with your local contact or by participating on the TOOOL Discord you can keep yourself apprised of what’s happening.
If you are curious about the laws concerning lock picks and lock picking in the United States, we’ve put up this helpful page summarizing the research our legal team did concerning laws from each state.
Starting a TOOOL Chapter
If you are interested in picking but discover that there are no TOOOL chapters local to you—why not start your own? It’s very simple and with the right degree of dedication and energy, you have the power to make it happen! New TOOOL chapters go through distinct phases as they develop:
It’s just you and possibly an interested friend or two.
Get in touch with TOOOL to let us know that you’re out there and to give us an idea of where you are located. There might be a TOOOL chapter (or a branch of one of our sister sport picking organizations) near you already. If there is not, however, we’ll work with you to give you the best possible resources to learn more and point you in the direction to meet other potential pickers.
If you are hoping to grow your local circle of lock picking pals we strongly recommend that you try to contact your local DEFCON Group, seek out a 2600 Meeting, or check out any nearby Hacker Spaces as those gatherings are likely to have some other people who would be interested in lock picking.
You have established a circle of friends who want to learn to pick.
By spreading the word among friends, neighbors, and co-workers you have developed a circle of people who would like to meet regularly and discuss locks and physical security while trying their hand at picking. You’ve started reading various guides out on the internet and have hosted some evenings where you watch videos, perhaps recordings of lock picking presentations at security conferences.
You started meeting with other pickers!
If you have enough interest, start meeting out in the wild!
Find a venue and determine a time and date to meet monthly. Our mission and by-laws require meetings to be free and open to the public—maker/hacker spaces, libraries, and other community gathering spots are popular meeting places.
We encourage you to call your prospective chapter “TOOOL [Your City]” and use our logo.
Send us an email to let us know you’re getting started!
We are happy to share with you a variety of resources that can help grow your local scene and get people more into picking.
It should be noted that before things can proceed much further the TOOOL will need to know the names of those who are involved in a developing chapter. We are committed to being fully above-board and fostering an air of openness as opposed to an “underground” mentality.
You become an official TOOOL chapter.
With your meeting in good standing and your members actively involved, it will be our pleasure to declare your meeting an official TOOOL chapter!
Official chapters have access to special equipment pricing, internal resources for running meetings and events, and other exclusive opportunities.
If you face any issues, the leadership team will be there to make running your chapter efficient, fun, and rewarding. Don’t hesitate to reach out! You’ll have our direct contact info.
Your chapter grows and flourishes.
Running a TOOOL chapter is both challenging and rewarding. The effort spent organizing volunteers, maintaining equipment, and keeping your teaching skills on point pays dividends in access, opportunity, and the joy of seeing someone’s first open!
As your meetings continue and you interact regularly with the TOOOL leadership and communicate with the rest of the TOOOL members you will naturally be invited to participate in national meetings, exclusive gatherings, and sportpicking events that take place around the world. You will have the ability to host larger community teaching events and, if you choose, make TOOOL branded equipment available to others in ways that can help bolster your chapter’s operating budget.
So what are you waiting for‽ Email us at info@toool.us if you wish to start your own meeting and get more involved with TOOOL and the whole sport picking scene!