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Hello Good Folks of KP,

I found these three different models of French-made Thirard dimple locks on eBay.
Can anyone give me more information about their designs?


Thirard Federal Interactive Dimple Lock Dual Euro with 4 keys and keycard
This model's magnetic and looks to have very deep cuts in the key - can anyone shed more light?

Thirard Trafic 6 Dimple 6 pin Lock Dual Euro with 5 keys and key card
6-pins

Thirard Trafic 12 Dual Euro Lock Dimple with 5 keys and key card
12-pin nightmare!


So far my main talent with dimple locks consists of getting my pick good and stuck

If you get a chance have a look as I don't see a lot of French locks for sale on this side of the so-called 'pond'.

Have a great night everyone.
Sean


Edit - fixed dead link

Not sure about the second and third locks, but have one of the Thirard Federal locks. It does have a magnet installed in the key (actual pin location of the magnet varies) and is a PIP (pin-in-pin) design like the MTL.

Gordon

Yes, all three of these are cool locks. I have them in my collection:



4 telescopic pin-in-pin + 1 magnetic pin. As Gordon mentions, it's The Federal is from the FTH 'Optimum' range. 'FTH Thirard' is the market leader in France (Vachette is second probably). Their domestic products are split into three ranges: 'Classique', 'Confort' and 'Optimum'. The 'Classique' range being the cheapest and the 'Optimum' being the most expensive. All three you've shown here are from the 'Optimum' range.

Here's the magnetic in the key I've got:



FTH Thirard - Series Trafic 12. A 12 pin dimple with the usual anti-everything.



FTH Thirard - Series Trafic 6.



I've not yet tried picking in the Federal, but the the 12 and 6 are done. Use a dimple flag or half-diamond to get good contact with the tips of the pins, and with the right tension, you're good to go. As you can see, they have roomy keyways.

You can see some other cool French locks in the link in my sig.

what skill level would you say is needed to pick these? They look like a lot of fun may order me one

Hey, is that a magnet in your pocket or are you just happy to see me.

Thank-you kindly for the info - now I'm wondering can it be picked? Or would you need to have a magnet? Have you picked yours?

Vive la France!
Sean

Yes, it can. Epoxy a very small rare earth magnet to a straight pick to deal with the magnetic pin when it seems the others are not binding. (In other words, when the magnetic pin is binding). Other than that, just like MTL.

Gordon

EDIT: Also, the pick can be flipped around to expose the magnetic pin to the opposite pole.

Andy,

Great info - thank-you!!!

I should have guessed you would be a good source for information regarding French locks. Wow, they must be dandy locks if you have all three in your collection [whistles]! Damn, those photos are superb - is your day-job as a photographer in the French adult film industry - it would explain alot

It's clear to me that I need to set aside some more star-gazing-time browsing your collection once again.

À bientôt mes copains.
Sean

WARNING!!! Do NOT look through Andy's collection unless you have some serious money to spend. Just about every lock there will end up on your 'I-need-one-of-those' list. His pictures are pure lock p0rn!!!

Gordon

AHHH!!! I LOOKED, I LOOKED!
OMG -I just spent all our savings after looking at Andy's collection - my wife's gonna kick my ass!!!

Gordon - LOL

Looky, Looky, but no touchy

Unless of course ..... you wanna slide on over here with some beauties to trade

the federal just looks like an avocet abs rebadged which i have dedicated pick

Hi Houdini,

Could you tell me more about this? Perhaps a pic of the tool? Would love to hear more.

Thanks a bunch,
Sean

Yes Houdini, I would like to hear more too! Sounds great.

Regarding the ABS, the latest version (MK III) has trap pins and that magnetic pin (well, the pin is just a bit of metal, any magnet can 'pick' it, either N or S facing) can be anywhere.

I pick them by putting and leaving a tiny magnet under the correct pin then pick the remaining 8 (4 x 2) pins.

It can get tricky when the magnetic pin is the deepest one in the lock. You have to be careful not to get the magnet stuck against the back of the cam instead of where the pin is. When it is like this I use a key that has the magnet on its deepest pin but with the rest of the key removed - so it looks like an 'L' shape a bit. That goes in and then you just pick in the space left by the chopped-up key.

The trap pins can be horrible unless you know what to do with them. The simplest way on the ABS is to simply push them back down...however, you need to find the pin that is binding (there are 3 trap pin on both sides of the plug) and it will give you massive counter-rotation, like a Yale mushroom pin! Set the 3 trap pins and turn the plug till they engage again...repeat x 3 = open lock.

Hi,

I'm grave digging this thread just to add some precisions: Both the Avocet ABS and the FTH/Thirard Federal are OEM manufactured by Federal Lock in taiwan ( see http://www.federallock.com.tw/index.php?lang=en )

The Avocet one is the top of the line whereas the FTH one is only the 5UC3100 model, which to my knowledge lacks the trap pins and the more advanced anti-destruction protections.

Keep also in mind that FTH (stands for Ferdinand Thirard) is a bit akin to your national Master Lock. It might be the market leader (although I'm not sure, perhaps in volume at least?) but it's clearly one of our worst brands in terms of quality and especially picking resistance. Many of their models are now outsourced from Asia and it's the locks you can find in DIY/tools supermarkets and the like. There are clearly better models to get from my country.