Mortice lock

[chrisjc33]

can anyone ID this lock?
it's easy to pick and has spacers but would be nice to put a name to the face

[haribo]

Hazzard a guess a Wallsall 55?? Although they are normally black

[Shrub]

Yes i would go with a A55 as well thats in red for some reason, maybe a hardware store re-coloured one.

Everything else is identacal.

[pinky]

your all correct about the lock guys, but in red its an Abus, it is the walsall lock but badged as an abus lock, also as a york in red.

[chrisjc33]

martin wins all my respect and well done to the runners up
it is an abus i found the face plate in a cold dark corner of my van
thank's for the replys.

[greyman]

My wife would scream at me if I put a big dirty mortice lock on a nice clean lace tablecloth like that!

[NKT]

I have to wonder why it is only ever the faceplate that is marked with anything at all? A makers' name on the bolt or inside would be far more use to us all than a plate which could have come off 100 other locks.

The manufacturers just don't consider us poor souls who spend our days beating up their locks with things that are not keys!

[pinky]

ah but an easy lock to id at the end of the day, only 2 current locks have a h/p that runs straight across top of curtain, era and walsall / abus, era now has 2 dimples but has always had a dull dirty looking curtain, the walsall abus has always had that nice shiny curtain that doesnt dull.

the walsall lock currently comes in black, as walsall , wks and es and in red as abus and york.
the non bs version comes in an array of colours and names

[boris73]

Hello, could some one tell me which pick to use for this lock because i have been told you can only really pick this lock using a CB curtain pick, and they are very hard to get and are expensive so i dont want to buy one of those picks. Thank you

[pinky]

well , you could use the safe ventures decoder, at a modest £550 plus vat, picks it in under a minute, or the cb 5g pick at £122.50 plus vat, or the francis triple pick at £195 plus vat, or even the rb tool at £140 plus vat.

or you could try making a curtain pick out of a wire and a key blank, you could try 2 sized L shape wires, but that will be an almighty struggle for even a seasoned picker.

in short , other than having the key, the cb pick is the cheap way of defeating these locks.

[boris73]

Wow, thats the cheap way, i think i will leave picking mortice locks then, two questions why are mortice locks so difficult to pick, and why are the picks so expensive.

[pinky]

the decoders and picks are expensive because the locks are hard to pick, the anti picks make them tricky, they are hard to pick because they are insurance approved BS3621 locks, the cream if you like.

you say expensive, but when you look at the fact it takes between 2 and 10 openings to pay for the pick or decoder, its not that dear, as you have the tool for life.ie , a cb pick may be about £140, but 3 openings and its paid for, ive used my pick hundreds of times, a chubb decoder may be £300 but 7 openings and its paid for, again ive used it hundreds of times.

if the locks were easy, and the picks cheap, everyone would be able to pick them and security would be a waste of time.

[boris73]

LOL true. Also im only a hobbiest, i dont pick locks for other people only myself, so there is no way it would pay for itself.

[illusion]

I suggest you follow Pinky's advice on using a keyablank that is cut to allow a wire to be inserted comfortably.

Try a lock that doesn't have a curtain, like a 3 lever lock for insatnce. It's pretty easy, but it's a start and you can make the tools for next to nothing.

Foe further reference, read my guide regarding lever locks, stickied in the 'Locks' section.

Cheers,

Ben