Sometimes, the people who visit Toool are there for a specific reason. They are collectors and have in their possession an old apparatus with a locking mechanism but no key. They come so we can try to open the thing without destroying it. As you can read elsewhere on blackbag, we’ve opened quite a few WWII crypto-devices for instance.
Yesterday, somebody visited us with an old time-clock. The lock looks simple indeed, but took considerable time to open, revealing the interesting mechanics on the inside. The owner was happy and so were we!
Wow all those gears just to show the date and time. I am glad you got it right to open it without damaging it.