I found a website selling old Soviet stuff – Sovietski – among the many items is a KGB lockpicking kit! Before I purchase it, is it legal to own one for personal use? Do I need a special liscense? How about if I open a locksmithing job on the side? I live in Johnstown, Pennsylvania in case the region matters.
Get the Shovel!!! It’s much more fun to play with, plus you can kill rabid dogs with it!!!
There’s nothing illegal about a lockpicking kit. It’s what you do with it.
IANAL.
not so fast. in some jurisdictions, mere possesion of such a device, can be a felony, if you’re not a professional locksmith etc. Remember Ted Bundy? IIRC, his first arrest was for the possession of burglary tools, which included a lock picking kit.
Best bet, on OP, is to NOT ask folks on a web site, who may or may not have the info you request, but to let your fingers do the walking and use that archaic device called a telephone , and call your state’s Attorney General office, city officials to find out the law in YOUR locality. see, if ** we ** say it’s legal, and you get popped for it, the judge won’t be impressed when you say “but the folks at the SDMB * said * it was ok!”…
no sarcasm intended, btw
The advise about calling your local State Attorney or Police Department is the best. I can only tell you it is fine and legal here, as long as you do not try to break into anything with them. You would be charged with possession of burglary tools if you were first arrested for burglary while you had your picks with you, and they had probable cause to believe you used your lock picks to commit the crime. Other than that, you are allowed to have them.
Again, I can only speak for the Laws of the State of Florida and the Ordinances of the City of Tampa, and a few neighboring areas.
Being that Sovietski is a Russian company, well, it’s probably legal there…
I wanted the scale model of Nicholas II’s yacht, the <i>Standart</i>. Too bad it’s several thousand dollars…
Yes, get the shovel! I picked one up while I was in Russia last year. I great tool for around the yard. Well balanced for throwing and very sturdy!
Of course, I do own a few sets of lockpicks. I am a locksmith 
here in alabama owning a set is a class 3 felony IIRC.
Osip
According to this, you would have to have intent on committing a crime with the tools. And the police would have to prove intent. That is similar to how it is here.
You can make your own very easily. Just do a search on the subject, you’re bound to find something. (It’s scary how insecure our locks actually are. Ah, that’s a thread for another day…)
A classic source of factual information about the actual process of lockpicking is the MIT Guide to Lock Picking. The alt.locksmithing FAQ mentions that in Washington, D.C., New York State, and Illinois lock picks are illegal to possess, while they’re unclear about some other places (California, New Jersey, Maryland.) As wring said, if you’re worried about it it’s best to call local law enforcement.
About 8 years ago at a store in North Hollywood called ‘Survival Books’ (not sure if they still exist or have a website) so I naturally would assume they must be legal in California. That said, before you get a hard-on to buy these things, let me be the first to tell you that lock picking is extremely difficult to learn.
I bought a book on the subject, read it cover to cover, and have yet to be able to open a single lock. The pick set I have is an honest-to-God professional set but I just don’t have ‘the touch’ required to do it. They also sold two pick ‘guns’ one of which is for tubular locks so you could presumably open bike locks, pay phones, and vending machines, but they were both in the multi-hundred dollar range versus my pick set which I recall was about $60-$70.
Even if lock-picks are illegal in your home state, I personally would be surprised if you couldn’t find a US vendor who would ship to you. Alternatively, find someone like me who is frustrated trying to learn lockpicking and is selling his old set on eBay…hmmm…that gives me an idea…