lock blockers

[Rickthepick]

Has anyone come across the mini mortise keyhole blockers. Id imageine theyre easy enough to pick but what stops someone grabbing it and just bending it off?

they dont look very strong

http://walkerlocksmiths.co.uk/toolsmort ... locker.htm

[raimundo]

I haven't seen that one, the price is in GBP so its obvious where its from and mortise lock means lever tumbler lock.
my experince is that such small cylinders whenever encountered are actually very easy picking, if you have appropriately sized picks and tensor.

A more common lock blocker used by some landlords to encourage rent payment is a thing that works like a broken key in the lock.
An old key is cut down (talking pin tumbler lock here) so that only a bit of the lower shoulder remains of the bow of the key, and along the bitting of the key, the slopes of the cuts that cam pins up on the pullout are cut to keep the key from pulling out, It may be only one of the slopes is cut down, or it could be two or three, catching behind thier pins and to remove this, one has to lift the pins up with a tool that comes over the top of this in the keyway or it could be a shim device that goes alongside the pins,
If you see one of these don't try the usual broken key removers, because this key is different, the bitting is cut to catch behind the pins solidly, unlike the usual broken key which will have at least some of the cam slope still working.

[Rickthepick]

im a locksmith from the UK i know what a mortise lock is

im just thinking if im a tenant and someone blocks my keyhole like that, whats stopping me just whacking it with my hand, snapping it and poking it out.

[MacGyver101]

From its design, I would guess that it's meant to be inserted from inside the door, in order to keep other people from coming in, rather than from the outside as a secondary locking mechanism.

[mhole]

IIRC the ones I've seen only stick out about 5-6mm from the lock case, so would be nearly flush with the door when in situ. I'm sure a determined individual could grab them with side cutters or pliers and break them, but they'd deter a lot of people. Bear in mind that a turned curtain will stump 99% of the public, who consider any obstruction of the keyhole an insurmountable barrier!

[mh]

From its design, I would guess that it's meant to be inserted from inside the door, in order to keep other people from coming in, rather than from the outside as a secondary locking mechanism.

Then you could just leave the key in the lock, right? Maybe fix it with a wire to the handle so that it can't be turned and pushed out.

I think these keyhole blockers are indeed meant to be inserted from the outside.

Of course, no one mounts a mortise lock flush with the outer door surface, so there will be some wood and some metal hardware around the keyhole blocker.

They exist for a long time, I have an old one with a 3 tumbler Bramah mechanism in my collection.

Cheers
mh

[raimundo]

Do you have any photos up on any website, thats the first time Ive heard of your lock collection, and that bramah blocker seems very esoteric.

[mh]

This is my Bramah keyway blocker:



Between the rotating part (left) and the fixed part (right) you can see one of the three tumblers, and you can also see the corresponding cut in the key. The tumblers are spring loaded so that they push right (towards the key).
Decoding is somewhat trivial, because when no ke is inserted, the tumblers already have correct relative positions - each one of them just needs to be pushed in 2mm by the key.
But well, so what...

The text on the key is German:
"HEIMWACHT" is apparently the brand, "Heim" means "home" and "Wacht" means something like "watch";
"BRAMAH" is obvious, and
"SPERRER" translates to "blocker".

So it's a Bramah Blocker, made by the Homewatch company...

Cheers
mh

[LocksmithArmy]

Wow that is nice... one day Im gonna get a bramah... but till then ill drool over yours lol

[Rickthepick]

thats nice, i assumed it was a relatively new idea

[lockinabox]

Oh... I read the title and thought this thread was about something else.

[LocksmithArmy]

Lock Blockers...

[raimundo]

Now I see, its not for blocking a bramah, it just has bramah type tumblers in a tiny levermortise blocker. For the extremely paranoid or those who passed out too many copies of thier key.

[WOT]

Strength needed depends on the application.

Power companies simply need something that can't put together to secure its meter against tampering. Not something strong enough.

A home might need something strong enough to resist kick-in attacks while a major warehouse might need something strong enough to withstand being backed into by a forklift.

[rphillips52]

For the record, Samson Mordan invented the 'lock protector' - what we now call a 'lock blocker' - about 1830. He originally used a bramah-type key mechanism with 6 sliders (he had previously worked for Bramah and made good copies), though they are most often made these days with a pin tumbler mechanism.
At the same time, Charles Aubin invented another version, locked into the keyhole with a padlock, mainly for use on the inside. Travellers in hotels did not always trust the locks. Aubin also invented the idea of an expanding wedge under the door; Rudhall later added provision to fit a pistol cap, so that pushing on the door would fire the cap as an alarm signal.