Bridgeton Pioneer

The Curious Implements of an Unlawful Calling.

To the eye of an honest man no tool is a burglar's tool. Were he to find a most approved kit he would merely think that a mechanic had lost his stock in trade. Drills, punches, bits and ordinary jimmies have each almost a counterpart in open daylight work, and only to the sophisticated would it appear that the bits of steel were implements of crime. To those who know, the two distinctive burglars tools are the sectional jimmy and nippers, the first being a steel bar so arranged that it can be unscrewed into several pieces for convenience in carrying. The other is described by the Philadelphia Times as like a pair of curling tongs, the clutching end being armed with little teeth, and is used for turning keys in doors from the outside. The manufacture of these tools is not, as has been supposed, confined exclusively to any set of men. A burglar desirous of obtaining a kit, will go to a hardware store and purchase drills, brace and bits, punches and wedges, these latter being in a series, from those the thinness of a knife blade to others the thickness of one's hand. This assortment of seemingly innocent tools he takes to a mechanic with instructions to temper them to a certain hardness. To another blacksmith he goes, and, drawing a diagram, has a piece of iron made in accordance. Still another makes him a second part, and finally the thief has a "drag," the most powerful and perhaps the most useful tool, from his standpoint, that can be used in opening a safe. It consists of a long screw, with simple iron braces to be attached by a link to the knob of the door. A hole is bored through the front of the safe by means of a bit, a block is adjusted on the inside, and on this is placed the point of the screw, which is turned by a crank. As the screw revolves it penetrates further and further until the back is reached. Then, as the tremendous pressure continues, something has to give, the front generally being ripped out. This apparatus, in addition to its simplicity and quick work, has the advantage of being noiseless.