The ‘Russian lock’ ….

I bet you have never seen this lock before.

russian lock

If you have you are either a Russian ‘diplomat’, have worked as a high ranked officer on a
Russian nuclear submarine or operated a nuclear plant there. Or you are a member of Toool or Ssdev.

Little is known about the lock, only that it is (was?) in use at the
most critical parts of the Russian government and military. Fact is
this lock is extremely rare. A US DOD lock specialist has been trying for
years to get his hands on one, without success. He only located three
of these locks in the world. Safe technician Paul Crouwel owns one of
these three locks. He will show you on the ins and outs of this very
special lock in an exclusive blackbag video (wmv 77 Mb).

russian lockinside out

The lock has a seal function. It does not take much force to
break the lock open. The design goal was obviously to prevent
unauthorized and surupticious access. The story we heard was that the
lock was in use at Russian embassies. Instead of importing heavy safes
from Russia they just bought a decent model on the local market. They
secured the entrance of the original key hole with this lock. So in
order to open the safe you first need to get passed this ‘seal lock’.
To open it you need to dial a combination and use a key. So it can also be
used in a system where two people are needed to open a specific safe.
One person knows the combination and will dial it while the other
person only has access to the key and operates it. The other story we
heard was that is was used in nuclear facilities and submarines. But
we do not know for sure. We do know it is a lock with a strong ‘spy vs
spy’ smell.

If you know more about this specific lock we would love to hear from you!

(* More info is available here )
(** and you might want to read the comments …)

26 Responses to “The ‘Russian lock’ ….”

  1. mike says:

    I don’t know much about them. But what i do know is i want one.

  2. seanrox says:

    Wow Barry. What a great lock and video. You’ve out done yourself once again. Thanks for sharing this great information.

  3. Barry says:

    Seanrox: thanks. Keeping the blog up to date is a lot of work. But so far it has been worth it. I hope I can keep up the quality and quantity.

  4. seanrox says:

    Indeed it’s a lot of work keeping a blog up to date but you don’t need to post daily. People, including myself would rather see quality posts once in a while then a ton of junk post about their cat climbing a tree or something strange like that, plus I’m a dog person 🙂

  5. workstation says:

    I like the way you enter the code. Much easier than the typical American combination lock.

  6. Ronnie says:

    That was a very intertaining video. You guys are on top of it! Thanks

  7. martin says:

    hi barry,that video was great loved the pair,i couldnt find out anything on the russian lock but managed to get hold of a nice example of the rosengrens cnab6 the engineering of this is beautifull,keep up the great work martin.

  8. Now to us it became clear, why mister Vels, us has not started up us on the seminar…
    We think because we projected, and we do these Russian locks.
    And you that, first time see good locks?
    Russian Club of fans of locks

  9. Barry says:

    Russian Club of fans of locks : What are you talking about? I have no clue. Please find someone to translate what you have to say and not use bablefish to get your message across. Are you saying you have seen this lock before? Or even know where to buy them? I would not mind buying one … or two …

  10. Now we can understand why Barry did not allow us to be present on the Seminar. We design and produce these Russian locks and really can show even more that you in Europe didn’t know about.

  11. Barry says:

    Russian lockpick sport group (formerly known as fans of locks): You are bluffing. Just mail me one picture of this lock, or a different key. I do not beleive you at all. You where welcome to visit the championships, just as everyone else. I can not see any logic to your remark ‘now we understand why we were not welcome’. What would be the reason not to allow you entrance at the Dutch Open in regards to this lock? We talk about this Russian lock with great interest and welcome anybody who knows more about it, or about similar locks.  

  12. Russian Club of fans of locks says:

    You are not polite person mister Wels.
    You invited us only to the open seminar. It is not interesting to us to look, how the Chinese cylinders is opend.
    Now about the Russian lock.
    The person, who has sold for you this lock, could appear in Russian prison. Because of all similar locks have number and are confidential.
    These locks are developed in Russia and we shall not show them to you. You are not experienced of Russian locks. If you wish to learn to open such locks, enter the name on Russian seminars.

  13. Barry says:

    Dear Russian Club of fans of locks who are also sportgroup and lock
    manufacturer: Why am I not polite? We only invite people for the
    entire weekend we know and trust. A weekend with free alcohol and
    expensive toys/locks all over the place require a basic level of
    trust. And we do not know you at all, so there is no level of trust.
    If you never take the first step to come to one of the open meetings
    you will never be invited to the closed sessions. It is that simple.
    What is not polite about that? Not to mention your request if I could
    file a thick stack of export visa papers for you, making myself
    responsible for your people.

    And still no answer from you to the logic behind your remark ‘now we
    understand why we were not welcome’. Please clarify.

    Looking at your reply on how you think people should be in jail for
    handing out this lock make me fear you just are not the right person
    for joining the weekend anyway. Please do not mistake honesty for not
    being polite, I think we are operating in two different worlds, worlds
    that are not compatible.

  14. Jester says:

    *waits impatiently on a reply from the russian*

    A few more entries like this and i’m calling Tom Clancy to look here for a beginning of his new book 😉

    To the russians:

    Privet, kak dila ?
    Akoodah-teh?

  15. Barry says:

    Jester: I do not think there will be any more replies. My assumption
    is they did not even realize their comments were world readable.
    And BTW, Privet, kak dila ? Akoodah-teh? roughly translates to ‘Hello
    what is up’. I checked because I would not want our Russian friends to
    be offended…

  16. Jester says:

    Barry: I didn’t have the intention to offend our russian friends, I just wanted to “fish” (or should that be phish these days) for a conversation from them.
    The russian in my previous post means: Hiya, how are you ? Where are you from ?
    But I guess you are right, this seems like a dead end….
    Good work on the blog btw !
    Have a good one.

    een oud hacktic ganger

  17. Dear and renowned Mr. Wels, who is famous even in China,

    In Amsterdam, do they sell cannabis freely in every pub, or maybe there are some restrictions to its use?

    Relax, undo your pant belt, and exhale.

    The reason why you refused to invite us to the closed part of the seminar is not that you do not know us, it is because you are lying under ASSA Abloy, praising this moneybag on a regular basis and getting little sops from them.
    The cause of your aversion to Russian professionals who make such Russian locks is that you have found out (we think it was from Mr. Marc Weber) that ASSA Abloy has contacts with the Russian thief mafia and Russian thieves from the Caucasus.
    We have let you know that there is evidence that a trip of an Oleg Samoylov to the Abloy plants in Europe was arranged by Mikko Nissinen, the Moscow representative of Abloy. Mr. Samoylov is a recidivist thief who was imprisoned in Russian prisons 7 times for a total of 17 years.
    http://locksclub.nm.ru/com/new_sam_eng.shtm
    And this criminal and thief now has access to all Abloy and Björkboda Lås Oy Ab technologies more than the distinguished Han Fey.
    We have also let you know that we are appalled by the deceit of ASSA Abloy, who brought the YALE ML 14 and 04 locks to the Russian market and announced that these locks cannot be opened with lockpicks.

    And we asked you and your club to check our tests for the breakdown of this lock by impression or recommend any experts who would be ready to check our conclusions about consumer deceit.
    http://www.locks.su/test/yale_ml04/def/Yale_ML04_def.mpg
    http://www.locks.su/test/yale_ml14/test_29_eng.shtm
    http://www.locks.su/test/yale_ml14/02_10_06/Yale_02_10_06.mpg

    But you said no, and we understand now that it was for conformist reasons. Another friend and business partner of yours, Mr. A. Wendt, did not want to be honest either, as he had earlier issued a fake certificate for this lock.
    And we understand that speaking honestly is hard for you if you eat from the ASSA Abloy
    feedbox.

    And of course you knew, Mr. Wels, that our coming to the seminar will mean that information will be spread out to everybody who attends that the thief world has penetrated ASSA Abloy, that thieves and lock makers are together, and that the tests of the YALE ML 14 locks for tamper resistance by Wendt are fake.

    This is the main reason why you prevented our coming.
    It is called cowardice.
    And what you say about the visas is just ridiculous. We told you of recommendations by Silka, Cisa, and Motura, and we could have provided a dozen more recommendations of famous producers including A. Wendt themselves.

    But you did not want us to come, and you decided to do it this way.
    You are wrong, and you should be ashamed to tell lies to all the world.

    After your childish delight about the “Russian” lock it was clear that your knowledge level is bumping cylinders from China, in which you are an expert. It is no accident that your free speech about the tamper resistance of locks is based on a system: maximum criticism of locks made by companies outside the ASSA Abloy concern and maximum praise of your main sponsor.

    Now to your warning and threats that we are not the people you like.
    On your web site, you have published photos of a lock that was stolen from the Russian security service, which had been known as the KGB.
    Every such lock has a number, which you also published on your photo on the web.
    It means that someone from KGB is already checking how you got hold of this secret lock.
    This means that you and your friends have exposed the person who sold you the lock to criminal liability and possible real punishment for stealing this secret lock.
    To put it simply, this is called stupidity and betrayal of your partners.
    You have decided that we are to blame for someone who you bought the lock from and who we do not know being punished severely thanks to you and your stupidity, Mr. Wels.
    We gave you our opinion and warned you that such photos are dangerous for the real owner of the lock.
    In response to this warning, you poured a bucket of shit on us.
    You are not the one to change Russian laws, and what is good for Jupiter will not do for an ox.
    You can publish any photos you like on your site, and they do not involve us personally, but if you have a molecule of intellect, we would advise you not to shout so loudly about nuclear bomb locks and not to show their design to everybody.
    It all looks like helping terrorists.
    Thank you, Mr. Wels, for your very existence.
    If you did not exist, it would be worthwhile to invent you.
    Say hello to your ASSA Abloy friends and let them increase their sponsorship contributions.
    It looks like you are suffering from an illness called “I am the only one who is right and who can make judgment about everything”.
    You should work for the Russian KGB – your decision making methods would suit them perfectly.
    It is not democratic, and it does not mean freedom of opinion – more like an Asian dictator.
    Your coming on the internet with your opinions does not mean that nobody has a contrary opinion.
    The merit of democracy is that you cannot not decide on your own who and where will get truthful information about locks.
    Forgive us for being rude, but you are too arrogant and asking for a not-so-polite reply.
    We have attended your seminars anyway and have our own opinion about your and your seminars.
    The beer you serve people should not be so warm, and it would be great if you put some cannabis on the table for a better perception of your ideas and yourself.
    We wish you to lose some weight, as it is sad to see how you cannot put your sneakers on because of your belly.
    You should eat less in the evening and stop drinking beer and smoking.
    If your club is a public organization, it is a long time you should be reelected.
    It looks like from a good sportsman locksmith you have turned into a good bureaucrat who wants good money.
    We are sure it is not just our opinion.

    With friendly professional greetings to the Saint Lock Roman Pope, Mr. Wels

    The Russian Lock Club

  18. Russian Club of fans of locks says:

    Look at the grandfather of your \

  19. Russian Club of fans of locks says:

    Look at the grandfather of your Russian lock:http://locksclub.nm.ru/foto/tatar/index.shtm

  20. Frank says:

    I guess they told you. Mr. Russian fellow that is a very interesting lock you have. I would have to say you won that round.

  21. S.COWLISHAW says:

    Hello,I have a similar lock to the Russian one you show,only it operates in a peculiar manner with two very intricate keys and combo.The keys work in unison together,one key is inserted into the front of the lock cylinder,the other is inserted into the righthand side of the lock.Now you can \

  22. Barry says:

    A follow up is found here: http://blackbag.toool.nl/?p=81

  23. […] all these people had things to tell and … locks to show. As you might know I am a big fan of ‘the rare russian lock’, and was in the blessed circumstance to have held three different models of these masterpieces in […]

  24. Andronikos says:

    Hello, i am interested for your tools for decoding motuura combinations.
    Are you going to take part in Elf 2010 in Istanbul?
    I will be there.

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