I discovered recently Teicocil is a portuguese brand. It stands for TEIxeira, COsta & SILva, Ltd, the 3 owners.
It's a cheap brand, as their locks don't have that much quality. But it's portuguese, so as a patriot, I'm always looking for something to honor my "brothers in arms"!
I finally found it
Here's the lock:
It's a 10 pin dimple lock. 2 rows of 5 pins, one on top and other on bottom of the keyway.
The front side has only 4 pins, as it's the side of the lock that stays inside the house, hence no need for much security. When I picked that side, the plug started to rotate, but no operation of the bolt. That made me soo happy! First lock I saw with this system. So let's study it!
I found that I need a deeper wrench, because there are actually two moving parts in the plug. The plug itself, and at the back of it, there's the piece that operates the bolt. So in order to rotate it with the key, the plug needs to rotate too. So an unprepared attacker would use a small tention wrench and have no results.
But then I thought: "If I have a thin T shaped wire, I could operate the back piece directly and bypass the whole lock!".
So let's disassemble everything and look at it.
I was, oce again, surprised
On the inside part, it's true that would work. But that's irrelevant because you would never have to pick your way into a house FROM THE INSIDE. So no lack of security here. But on the keyway on the other side (the one used to ENTER the house) the system is different. Here are pics:
It has this small post:
With the key inserted it pops out:
It then connects with the piece that operates the bolt directly:
Which is in direct contact with that back piece on the other keyway. So they can rotate independantly if the key is only inserted on one side, blocking if both keys are in the lock:
(Fun fact: this system reminds me of a lever lock bolt)
So, the small post. I started to disassemble it (front plate off):
(This rounded piece is what connects the small post to the plug. So you cannot physicaly rotate it independantly. Ever. So it makes that bypass IMPOSSIBLE! SUCCESS!)
By removing it, the post is removed:
(You can see the pins from the back of the lock now.)
(The spring is to make it return to inside the lock and disconect from the bolt when the key is removed)
So in order to pick this lock, you would need a deep tension wrench to make that post stick out and connect with the bolt, or you would just rotate the plug and not open the lock.
There is a problem however. The post is directly behind the pins, so even with a deep wrench, it would not push it. You would need something wide enough to push it, but thin enough to not get in the way of your pick. Maybe a smal L shapped wrench that enters the keyway and fills the whole back of the lock, leaving you space to move your picks arround. Don't know if I was clear, but I'm sure you'll figure it out
Besides the anti-pick features, the outer part of the lock (don't know it's name) can rotate freely. What makes it REALLY hard to grab and... make a destructive entry... (you know what I'm talking about!)
I have 3 points I'd like to stick out. It has no anti-drill protection, It has no security pins. It's poorly made, as there's one piece that has already a little bit of rust (the lock is brand new). But we can't be perfect. It's very cheap (a little over 30€) and for that price, it's the best lock I've seen brand new (remember, it's a full lock, not just a cylinder). So I now recomend this one to whoever wants something (a little bit) secure and really cheap. Of course it's not the best stuff, but the quality/price relation is unbeatable (at least here in Portgual).
So yes, I'm getting a little bit happier with portuguese brands. Maybe in 100 years we will compete with the old Mul-T-Lock locks
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