great chagrin of our English cousins. Some of the locks picked by Mr. Hobbs were of the most ingenious mechanism, beautifully made, and ponderous in construction; but they were all key locks. Now it may be accepted as a truism that any lock having a keyhole can be picked. It is a question of time, delicate tools and a natural aptitude for the Avork.
Mr. Hobbs, spurred on by his success abroad, spent a great deal of time and money in inventing what he fondly hoped would be an unpickable lock
but, entrance once obtained through the keyhole, it was almost as readily opened as the earlier locks.
Linus Yale, Jr., then discarded all forms of locks in use at that time and invented the first dial lock, which he called the “Double Treasury.” This type was, of course, a tremendous stride in the right direction, but Mr. James Sargent, manufacturer of a competing brand of locks, soon demonstrated that the “Double Treasury” was pickable. Corrections and modifications were made, however, and the dial lock as made today has successfully resisted all efforts to gain entrance through the body of the lock itself.
As better tools became available, more and more intricate locks were made, until the knowledge became widespread that there was little use in putting an expensive, complicated lock on a door that could be forced from the hinges, or by bat
tering in the door itself. Webber & Fields, in one of their famous skits, illustrated this point of view. Determined to gain entrance to a safe, they struggled for some time with complicated tools and explosives, but, without effect. Then Mr. Fields turned the safe around and kicked in the back.
Security in locks today is well understood to be a relative term, and the complicated types of for
mer years have given way to three general kinds of locks, which appear to fill all requirements. The three locks generally used are the “warded,” the “lever tumbler,” and the “pin tumbler.”
In place of the elaborate keys of bygone days, three types of keys suffice today. The round key
with solid cylindrical shank and stem, with a wing bit; the barrel key with a tubular stem, the hole of which slides over a guide pin in the lock; and the flat key which has three variations, marking the development of this handiest, most effective key. The first flat keys were of simple slips of flat metal. Later they were corrugated; and today, the best type is the “paracentric” key which, with its millions of possible variations, makes possible
A FINE SPECIMEN OF ELABORATE FRONT DOOR WARDED LOCK
MADE IN 1868
STURDY EXAMPLE OF A WARDED LOCK MADE AND SOLD IN 1864. NOTE INTRICATE PATTERN OF KEYS AND
SIZE OF BOLT
FRONT DOOR LOCK IN GREAT
VOGUE IN 1869-70
EXAMPLE OF ONE OF THE FIRST TUBULAR CYLINDER LOCKS MANUFACTURED. REPRODUCED FROM A WOOD- CUT IN A CATALOG OF BUILDERS HARDWARE IN 1876
Mr. Hobbs, spurred on by his success abroad, spent a great deal of time and money in inventing what he fondly hoped would be an unpickable lock
but, entrance once obtained through the keyhole, it was almost as readily opened as the earlier locks.
Linus Yale, Jr., then discarded all forms of locks in use at that time and invented the first dial lock, which he called the “Double Treasury.” This type was, of course, a tremendous stride in the right direction, but Mr. James Sargent, manufacturer of a competing brand of locks, soon demonstrated that the “Double Treasury” was pickable. Corrections and modifications were made, however, and the dial lock as made today has successfully resisted all efforts to gain entrance through the body of the lock itself.
As better tools became available, more and more intricate locks were made, until the knowledge became widespread that there was little use in putting an expensive, complicated lock on a door that could be forced from the hinges, or by bat
tering in the door itself. Webber & Fields, in one of their famous skits, illustrated this point of view. Determined to gain entrance to a safe, they struggled for some time with complicated tools and explosives, but, without effect. Then Mr. Fields turned the safe around and kicked in the back.
Security in locks today is well understood to be a relative term, and the complicated types of for
mer years have given way to three general kinds of locks, which appear to fill all requirements. The three locks generally used are the “warded,” the “lever tumbler,” and the “pin tumbler.”
In place of the elaborate keys of bygone days, three types of keys suffice today. The round key
with solid cylindrical shank and stem, with a wing bit; the barrel key with a tubular stem, the hole of which slides over a guide pin in the lock; and the flat key which has three variations, marking the development of this handiest, most effective key. The first flat keys were of simple slips of flat metal. Later they were corrugated; and today, the best type is the “paracentric” key which, with its millions of possible variations, makes possible
A FINE SPECIMEN OF ELABORATE FRONT DOOR WARDED LOCK
MADE IN 1868
STURDY EXAMPLE OF A WARDED LOCK MADE AND SOLD IN 1864. NOTE INTRICATE PATTERN OF KEYS AND
SIZE OF BOLT
FRONT DOOR LOCK IN GREAT
VOGUE IN 1869-70
EXAMPLE OF ONE OF THE FIRST TUBULAR CYLINDER LOCKS MANUFACTURED. REPRODUCED FROM A WOOD- CUT IN A CATALOG OF BUILDERS HARDWARE IN 1876