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- Sanctuary ----------------< The Lockpicking Series >--------------------- S
- Sanctuar --------------------------------------------------------------- Sa
- Sanctua ------------------------< Chapter 3 >-------------------------- San
- Sanctu --------------------------------------------------------------- Sanc
- Sanct -------------------< Written by Havok Halcyon >---------------- Sanct
- Sanc --------------------------------------------------------------- Sanctu
- San --------------< From the HELLFIRE Bulletin Board System >------ Sanctua
- Sa --------------------------------------------------------------- Sanctuar
- S ----------------------< And the City of Sanctuary >------------ Sanctuary
-
-
- HELLFIRE BBS - 908-495-3926
- ------------
-
- Sanctuary is always looking for new writers, dist. sites, and couriers
-
- E-Mail either:
-
- Red - Sysop of Hellfire, World Head Quarters of Sanctuary, or
- Havok Halcyon - Chief Editor and Co-Founder of Sanctuary
-
- if you are interested in becoming any of the above. Both people can be
- reached on Hellfire BBS.
-
-
- <:><:><:><:><:><:><:><:><:><:><:><:><:><:><:><:><:><:><:><:><:><:><:><:><:>
- -=> FUTILE AND POINTLESS DISCLAIMER <=-
- -=> <=-
- -=> Yes, I've included yet another WONDERFUL disclaimer in <=-
- -=> this new phile. Even though I think these things are <=-
- -=> quite futile and pointless (see title), I have chosen <=-
- -=> to put one in because I'm going to assume (like other <=-
- -=> writers) that they serve SOME purpose. Even though by <=-
- -=> the g'ments actions, it would appear that I am wrong. <=-
- -=> So here goes.... Don't pick..uh..locks..yea, locks.. <=-
- -=> Breaking and entering is VERY illegal, so don't do it <=-
- -=> because you will risk years in prison and heavy fines <=-
- -=> if you attempt it and are CAUGHT. The info contained <=-
- -=> herein is for informational purposes ONLY so that you <=-
- -=> can all better yourselves and become well rounded and <=-
- -=> intelligent. NOT, I repeat, NOT so that you can have <=-
- -=> the ability to break into things and steal stuff. OK? <=-
- -=> <=-
- <:><:><:><:><:><:><:><:><:><:><:><:><:><:><:><:><:><:><:><:><:><:><:><:><:>
-
- PLEASE, feel free to distribute this phile all over the continental United
- States as well as the rest of the world (If you're in that international
- kinda mood). ...
-
-
- Intro
- -----
-
- Within this brand new, (or real old phile, depending on when you
- get/read it) we're gonna discuss part 5, Lever Tumbler Locks. Part 6,
- which will involve Pin Tumbler Locks, like the locks used in car doors, was
- supposed to be here, but was pushed back slightly due to schedule changes.
- It WILL be in the next phile of the series however..
-
- Since I won't be compiling any other works into this chapter, it will
- be a bit smaller than the previous philes, but hopefully just as good. If
- you missed the first two, they can be had from Hellfire, as well as any
- other SANctuary philes. We'll start off with a little introduction to
- Lever Locks... A word of warning. If you haven't read the first two
- philes, I would recommend you reading them before this one, or at least
- reading them sometime in the near future. I have written these philes in a
- way so that people who have already read my older philes, do not have to
- deal with re-reading things they already know.
-
-
- ----------
- - PART 5 - Lever Tumbler Locks
- ----------
-
- The next type of lock we will be covering in this series is going to
- be the lever lock. Even though it is not seen too often, we wouldn't want
- you to be dumbfounded the few times you do run into it. Technically, this
- was the next lock developed after the warded lock, it was in fact made to
- replace the warded lock, so you can assume that they are fairly alike.
-
- Uses
- ----
-
- A place where you WILL see this lock would be safety deposit boxes.
- But, since it is incredibly hard to pick when it is being used as a lock on
- a safety deposit box, most locksmith's use a "nose puller" to open the
- lock. This involves screwing a sheet metal screw into the key way of the
- box and pulling the door off the box. Some places where you will also find
- lever locks would be older office equipment, chests, cabinets, luggage
- locks, etc. Some early mortise locks are lever locks also.
-
- Keyway
- ------
-
- Lever locks have a unique look to them. They are a slot cut into the
- face of a metal cylinder with a matching slot on the collar or the lock
- cylinder.
-
-
- ---------
- - -
- - -
- - [] [] <--- sometimes additional slots are cut
- - [] - in the collar
- - [] <--- Keyway
- ----[]---
-
- Figure 1: Lever Lock Keyway View
-
-
- This cylinder or barrel or thimble or nose rises above the mounting
- surface, usually. It is unusual in the way that the face is free to rotate
- even when the key is not inserted. The key, once inside the cylinder,
- usually moves the boltwork directly, just like warded locks.
-
- The Keys
- --------
-
- The keys that are used to open these locks are often called flat keys.
- Why? Because that is exactly what they are. They are flat stamped keys
- with no side warding cuts whatsoever. The one cut they have, called the
- throat cut, is near the bow of the key. The key has varying rectangular
- depths near the tip that move the retainers to their varied height in the
- lock.
-
- Time for Operation
- ------------------
-
- As stated before, lever locks are much like disc tumbler locks. So,
- as in disc locks, the disc is the varying heights mechanisms while in lever
- locks it is the lever mechanism. Here the lever is moved to varying
- heights against a spring by a key, and then the bolt stump is free to be
- pushed through the aligned slots in the interior of levers from one cutout
- area to another.
-
- In a lever lock, the key engages the bolt just as it would disks in
- disc lock. But in a lever lock, the key elevates the tumblers by rotation
- not my being shoved into a lock like a disc tumbler (figures 2 &3).
-
-
- __
- | |__
- | |__
- _______________| |
- ________________________|
-
- Figure 2: Key Blade (end of key) of a Lever Lock Key
- __________________________________
- | |
- | __________ |<---(as you turn key, this entire lever
- |___________| + |___________| moves up.)
-
- Figure 3: Lever in a lever lock.
-
-
- Notice the shape of the key end. By the way, with this type of lock,
- the key end will always consist of rectangular cuts and no wedge profiles.
- You would insert the key into the lock on its side so that it lies flat.
- The small area marked with a plus (figure 3. The plus means nothing, it is
- only a marker.) is where the key would be inserted into. (The lever,
- figure 3, is inside the lock.) As you turn the key, you would lift up the
- lever bar just as you would be lifting up a disk.
-
-
- The cylinder itself holds the key at the proper height in relationship
- to the levers and rotates the key on an axis. The tumblers will come in
- stacks of two, three, all the way up to fifteen. Each tumbler having a
- common pivot point and an individual spring. So when the key reaches is
- TDC (top dead center) it lifts each tumbler to its correct height based on
- the levels and depths of each key bitting as well as the levels of the
- gates (the area cutout on the bottom of the lever). If you have been
- following closely, you should be able to realize that this type of lock is
- much the same as a disc but uses retangular cuts and levers instead of
- wedge cuts and discs.
-
- One small note to remember is that all lever locks of simple design
- are dead locks.
-
- For picking a lever lock, a new type of technique is used,
- individually lifting each tumbler to its proper height. The tension
- wrenches for these locks are different from the ones used to pick disk
- tumbler locks, (figure 4) and have slight size differences. In lever locks
- that are most common use that type of tension wrench.
-
-
- ______________________________
- |
- |
- A
- |
- |____
-
- Figure 4: Lever Lock Tension Wrench
-
-
- The part of the wrench marked "A" is the part that changes. It's
- length may differ from wrench to wrench depending upon the lock it is meant
- to pick. The "A" dimension is the correct size if the wrench corresponds
- to the length of the key from cylinder cut to tip. If the "A" dimension is
- any longer than that, you will not get proper pick manipulation. You can
- usually buy a set somehow which generally will have four or five different
- sizes. You CAN try making your own, but I don't recommend it. If you
- absolutely must make your own, try bending one from .040 music wire and
- then grinding each side flat. As for lifters, your normal set that works
- disc and pin tumblers will also work for levers.
-
- The basic idea behind lever tumbler picking is to apply unlocking
- tension on the bolt, which makes the stump bear against the inner edge of
- the locked position cutout. After you have tension, a lockpicker will use
- a lifter pick to raise each individual gate until it is lined up with the
- stump. The one to begin picking with is the gate in the back of the lock.
- When the gate and stump and gate align, the stump and gate will make
- contact, and the gate will catch on the stump. As long as tension is not
- released, the tumbler will be held in an unlocked position, even if the
- lifting pressure is removed. The feel of the two contacting should be
- quite noticeable, you might even hear it. You might also notice the
- tension wrench jump slightly when this occurs. You could feel a little
- lessening of resistance, which will come back right away if you over lift.
-
- WARNING: do not over lift any tumbler, because this will mean that you
- will have to start over. This is a very common, and pain in the butt
- mistake. Some locks even have a little thing inside of them that detects
- over lifting, and will permanently lock the lock if triggered.
-
- After you have lifted the first tumbler, the one furthest back,
- proceed to the next one, going from back to front. You may notice a slight
- lessening in tension here, or may not. The feel of the tumblers entering
- their gates will feel less and less as you go. After all the tumblers are
- lined up, the bolt moves, unlocking the lock.
-
- Here is something that you should watch out for. In some locks, they
- make the cuts in the tumblers at extreme degrees. Meaning that in one
- tumbler they will cut it as deep as possible, while in the next, they will
- cut it as shallow as possible. This, by the way, is not possible with disk
- or pin tumbler locks. This is very good security because it becomes very
- difficult to lift one tumbler high enough without touching or causing
- misalignment with the other tumbler. So, one thing to expect with some
- lever tumbler locks is a high-low-high-low-high etc. combination on good
- locks.
-
- Another thing is to always remember that over lifting is fatal. The
- only way to get the over-lifted tumbler back down is to release tension,
- which will probably cause all other tumblers to drop as well. Also, if a
- tumbler drops down right after you finish lifting it, go immediately back
- to it. And don't forget to go from back to front, since they usually bind
- strongest in back, getting weaker as you get closer to the front.
-
- In a closing note for lever locks, let me just add that often you will
- come to what appears to be a small lever lock which is in actuality, merely
- a warded lock with a spring retainer that must be lifted before the bolt
- can be moved. Now while the amount of lifting you do to a retainer is not
- critical, for a lever lock it would be.
-
- ---------- ----------
-
- This concludes the chapter on lever locks. If you are somewhat
- unclear, don't worry 'cause chances are low that you will see a lever lock.
- This section was added so that you can have a complete working knowledge of
- lockpicking if you are ever called upon to use it.
-
- So that ends this chapter of lockpicking. Next will be chaper 4, pin
- tumbler locks. And possibly more, depending upon how lazy I am.. So I
- sign off saying...
-
- <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
- <><><><><><> Maturity is Flushing the Toilet When You Are Done. <><><><><>
- <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
-
- Have I used that before? (oh, and thanks Gary..In
- case you ever read this)
-
- Downloaded From P-80 Systems 304-744-2253
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