Door Lock

The door to the front closet has been stuck since before Christmas when I wedged the portable air conditioner into its confines.  This stuffing compressed the coats in the direction of the inner button on the doorknob, the one that locks it from the freaking inside.  Why on earth should anyone be able to lock a door from the inside, unless we are letting grandma hide in there when company comes?

I imagine it performs as a release, in case one of the kids got locked inside.  The problem is, the seasons are changing and I would rather like a raincoat to wear on milder days, besides having access to other things stored in there.  The hinges have been removed.  I have fiddled with a credit card at the bolt.  A steak knife.  Paperclips in the lock.  A bobby pin.  Oh, you know there is no key, but any sundry key laying about has been tried.  There is a tiny release hole in the ring the base of the knob, but it doesn't line up with anything else but a blank wall of brass.

This is a great solid wood door, and an also lovely old brass knob.  I have thought about drilling/sawing a tiny mini door for my hand to reach in and release the lock.  Online do-it-yourselfers suggest drilling out the core of the lock.  I am reluctant to do mayhem in either capacity and resist permanent damage to either, they are so nice.  The hole in the door could easily be patched, or I could just pick up an old door from Habitat for Humanity.  Perhaps there are lockpicking kits available, I am sure a smith would have this thing open in a nonce.  It's only an inner door on a closet, not Fort Knox.

There are very very few mechanical locks on doors that can't be gotten through.  I once bought a $300 tumbler that was allegedly used in the White House; I'll tell you why another time.  It was near useless within three days.  I haven't given up, but drilling a hole through the door is starting to appeal as a quick and repairable way to do this.  I really don't thing the door is coming off, even though the hinge pins are removed.  It is if grandma is on the inside, holding the damn thing shut.

Well, on to the Philosophy of Creativity paper that has been started.  Perhaps creative thinking will allow a suitable solution to appear, an answer towards a stuck situation.  I search.