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How to open and decode a W.A. Harrison Insurance lock

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LockButcher

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Posts: 94

Joined: Sat Feb 14, 2015 11:03 am

Location: Iowa

Post Thu Mar 10, 2016 11:20 pm

How to open and decode a W.A. Harrison Insurance lock

IMG_20160302_085651.jpg


This is one of the coolest padlocks I've ever had the pleasure of playing with to date. It doesn't look like much. As a matter of fact it came in a "junk drawer" lot off of eBay. It looked like a cheap luggage lock I'd probably scrap but it turned out to be one of my favorites! If you've already seen the video on my yt channel you can probably skip this post haha!

First off if you notice there are no numbers on the wheels.... I figured they just rubbed off because it was a heavily used cheap padlock but after further investigation there was absolutely no residue from any numbers on the wheels. Even the cheapest locks will have some trace of the old paint but this one was clean as a whistle. So that got me interested. No numbers? So how the heck do you put in the combo?...

First thing I had to do was open it. So first I tried pushing in on the pin on the side and spinning the wheels to see if the gates of the wheels would get caught on the tabs of the bolt. Although I did find definite stopping points on each of the wheels it still wouldn't open. Then I tried to stick a knife down the sides of the wheels. Which I should mention was extremely difficult because of how well made the lock is. I finally had to use a .010 feeler gauge that I cut down to a knife shape to get in the sides of the wheels. Couldn't feel a gate on either side of either of the wheels. So I almost gave up but I was playing with the button on the side and realized it seems to engage the shackle more than release it when I pushed in. So you must pull out on it. So I pulled out on the pin and spun the wheels and just like a pin tumbler lock when I felt the pin come out slightly I new that I set the wheel and then I tried the next one and if it spun freely I'd go to the next one and if the gate set the pin would come out a little more until the gates of all four wheels were set and the pin pulled out of the lock about a quarter inch and the shackle freed up and I could pull it out. So now I had the lock open and still had no clue what the combination is.... No numbers, remember? Haha

My first thought was to stamp numbers into the gaps if the wheels so I'd have something to go off of. But that felt like cheating because they designed this lock to be opened without using numbers. I won't go over all the wacky ideas I had to create some sort of system so that I could open the lock consistently but there was a lot of time spent cracking the combo over and over again because non of them worked. Haha. For some reason it eventually dawned on me while I was looking at the spring loaded ball bearings that the lock had in it to keep the wheels from spinning freely and give them a nice crisp click. Each wheel had a definite stopping point on it when I tried to crack it but it wasn't the gate lining up. So I opened the lock again and counted back to the stopping point of each wheel and I should mention the stopping point of each wheel didn't hit in the same direction giving it an up/down kind of combo which I thought was even cooler. So I finally got the combination. It was just amazing to me that they designed this lock to have not only open if you had the right combo but you would also have to know how to enter the combo. Anyways it was a really cool lock and I hope this post helps anyone with one of these be able to open theirs and obtain the combination.
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femurat

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Joined: Mon Mar 14, 2011 3:47 pm

Location: Italy

Post Fri Mar 11, 2016 3:02 am

Re: How to open and decode a W.A. Harrison Insurance lock

Very interesting lock. Now I want to play with it!

Given your username, I expect you cut the lock in half and show us the mechanism :hammering:
Or maybe find a patent showing how it works...

Cheers :)
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Oldfast

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OldddffAASSTT the Spin Master Extraordinaire and American Lock Slayer
OldddffAASSTT the Spin Master Extraordinaire and American Lock Slayer

Posts: 4412

Joined: Thu Mar 31, 2011 9:16 am

Location: Michigan

Post Fri Mar 11, 2016 10:25 am

Re: How to open and decode a W.A. Harrison Insurance lock

Very interesting lock! But....

I am thoroughly confused. lol

I think I'll go watch the video.
" Enjoy the journey AS MUCH as the destination."
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RJ Robert James

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Joined: Mon Nov 30, 2015 11:41 pm

Location: New York

Post Fri Mar 11, 2016 10:43 am

Re: How to open and decode a W.A. Harrison Insurance lock

The movie was better :smile:
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spuds

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Joined: Sun Jun 14, 2015 11:04 am

Location: New Jersey

Post Fri Mar 11, 2016 3:30 pm

Re: How to open and decode a W.A. Harrison Insurance lock

WoW cool lock !!!
Even Duct tape can't fix stupid But it can muffle the sound ! ;-)
Jim
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LockButcher

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Posts: 94

Joined: Sat Feb 14, 2015 11:03 am

Location: Iowa

Post Fri Mar 11, 2016 4:46 pm

Re: How to open and decode a W.A. Harrison Insurance lock

femurat wrote:Very interesting lock. Now I want to play with it!

Given your username, I expect you cut the lock in half and show us the mechanism :hammering:
Or maybe find a patent showing how it works...

Cheers :)

Oh believe me I looked everywhere for the patent and couldn't find it. Haha. I can't believe this numberless idea didnt take off better. I was told that they may have done it so you can open it in the dark....
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bitbuster

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Posts: 918

Joined: Tue Aug 17, 2010 2:03 pm

Location: NW Wis

Post Fri Mar 11, 2016 5:23 pm

Re: How to open and decode a W.A. Harrison Insurance lock

Scroll down to letter 'I'.
http://www.vintagecombinationlocks.com/
'Gunter glieben glauten globen' Def Leppard, Rock of Ages, 1983
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Oldfast

User avatar

OldddffAASSTT the Spin Master Extraordinaire and American Lock Slayer
OldddffAASSTT the Spin Master Extraordinaire and American Lock Slayer

Posts: 4412

Joined: Thu Mar 31, 2011 9:16 am

Location: Michigan

Post Fri Mar 11, 2016 7:50 pm

Re: How to open and decode a W.A. Harrison Insurance lock

Ok. So I'm a dumbass sometimes, lol.
Great vid - entirely cleared up my confusion.

I have to agree with you - this really is a fantastic little combination lock!
I'm so glad you took the time to put together a write-up & video to share it.

Thanks!
" Enjoy the journey AS MUCH as the destination."
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HT4

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Active Member

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Joined: Mon Jun 22, 2015 8:12 pm

Location: Maryland

Post Sun Mar 13, 2016 1:32 am

Re: How to open and decode a W.A. Harrison Insurance lock

I saw the video... very cool.
Check out my "LockPickingLawyer" YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm9K6rby98W8JigLoZOh6FQ/videos

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