Marduk28 wrote:Sure thing Papa Gleb! I got a long way to go though! haha~
In Taiwan there are a decent amount of Lever Locks in use~ that's what got me thinking about how they might be picked. It's interesting that you never see them in the USA~ I wonder why that is?
How many different style "tension tools" are there for lever locks? I am confused if there is a universal tool or you need a bunch of different kinds for different lock brands.
Why no lever locks in the USA? Americans now regard anything invented before Yale's pin tumbler cylinder lock as self-evidently old-fashioned and insecure. Customers now demand a small key and a lock that is quick and easy [i.e. CHEAP] to install. Never mind security, feel the small size of the key.
In some other parts of the world, there is more interest in secure locks. Lever locks are physically robust, and because they vary in size many different sizes of opening kit are indeed needed to be able to cope with the variety of lever locks which might be encountered in places where lever locks are used. Some lever locks also contain wards, which hinder picking. Some decoder kits are specific to one model of lock. Kit for opening lever locks is also more expensive to buy (or more laborious to make) than the one-size-fits-all tools for pin tumbler locks. A supplier of a type of tool used for opening double-bit italian-style lever locks offers 40 different tools to cope with the variety of such locks in use, for example. If you just choose to drill, it is obvious where to drill a tiny hole in the brass pin tumbler cylinder face. Good luck looking at the keyhole of a lever lock and knowing where to drill — and many modern lever locks have drill-resisting cases, with saw-resisting bolts.
Actually, many keys for lever mortice locks are not much larger than many cylinder keys, especially modern car keys with large plastic heads. Ok, they are a little larger than a 5-pin Kwikfit key. Some lever locks have been engineered to have bits with fairly short steps. In locks using a bolt thrower, for example, a long [high] key bit is not necessary to achieve a long bolt throw.
Finally, if American customers do desire a SECURE lock with a convenient small key, they can buy a
BRAMAH lock. These are physically strong, being difficult to open even with a drill, CANNOT be bumped, and it is very unlikely anyone in North America can pick one, or copy the keys. The Bramah Lock Company can supply locks and keys around the world:
http://www.bramah.co.uk/Yes, it was invented before the Yale lock — Yale took the cylinder locking device concept from the Bramah lock — but being the world's oldest patent lock still in production does not make it old-fashioned. As for being insecure? it is the lock preferred by government inspectors for explosive magazine doors, which in Britain require a government licence.