Getting practice locks that have no security pins, for new lockpickers, is not that easy here in the Netherlands. But sometimes, cheap “dollar stores” will have batches of cheap locks that are very easy to pick.

Martin found such a lock in a store in Belgium. The funny thing? The lock had actually picked itself during transport, probably due to vibrations, inside the packaging!

So that’s great news. We now have self-picking locks…

Jos showed up with an interesting lock. It’s a German lock for a cash drawer. Instead of using a key, you need to press several levers to open it. If you press the wrong ones, an alarm goes off (all mechanic!). One lever was not operational. Jord fixed it and made a small movie demonstrating the lock.

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!

At the Toool evening, Maurice from kluisspecialist.nl showed us one of the locks in his collection. It is a really interesting lock. I’ve never seen a lock with such a key before. And it’s old. But that’s about all that we know. Do you know more? Please leave a comment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The keys are in a protective metal holder and they have 5 hollow pins.

The lock is opened by inserting the key fully and the retracting it. The mechanism is such that closing the lock after it has been opened, resets the lock mechanism. On the key you can see a horizontal stripe, this is a metal strip that, when removed, allows the key to be re-keyed.

Here’s a short video of the lock in action:

At the Toool evening, we had a visit of Maurice and Sander from http://www.kluisspecialist.nl/. Having 20 years of experience opening safe locks, Maurice has created a lovely collection of lever locks. All locks have been given a plexiglass shield so you can see the inner working.

Among it are some interesting ones, like one from a church, with letters on the wheel and a nice rekeyable lock.

 

And here’s some more.

Thanks Maurice and Sander!