Western Bell Telephone Lock....

by **The Wanderer** » 20 Jun 2005 8:40

I'm not sure if this article would be appropriate here at LP101 since the only reason I can think of for needing this information is to steal.
I thought the article was really well done and informative. (It's Matt Blaze after all.) Wish I had a lock like this on the doors of my house. If you ever got locked out you'd almost have to kick out a window. Hehe :twisted:

. Anyway....Here's the thread:

http://www.crypto.com/photos/misc/wecolock/

by **MrB** » 20 Jun 2005 9:27

That's a really good description of the workings of a lever lock. For everyone in North America who's curious about lever locks, Matt Blaze's dissection of one should make everything clear. He observes it is almost unpickable, and looking at the design it's hard to disagree. It contains a feature that I have often thought about, which is to lock the levers in position before the fence reaches them. This thwarts a traditional picking attack where you would feel for the position of the gates by manipulation of the levers while applying tension.

by **raimundo** » 20 Jun 2005 9:33

but can you block the tooth thing from coming forward and engaging the tooth on the lever? or interpose something between the levers and the toothy thing, ? Yeah, I know, the space is really tight and its nowhere near the tip of the keyway. Im just thinking about it.

by **rakemaster** » 20 Jun 2005 10:57

That looks like one SERIOUS lock. EBAY search in progress.
I dont even know where to begin to pick it but I guess I've got to see
it in person.

Hey, theres a link in a quote at the end of that web page to a movie. I dont understand the connection. Anyone explain?

Rakemaster

by **n2oah** » 20 Jun 2005 11:27

Wow. Just Wow. Although I haven't much experience with lever locks, that looks impossible to pick. If you look at the key for the 29B, it has a huge drop that would be difficult to get past.

Matt Blaze wrote:Although still in use by many former Bell System and independent telephone companies, working 29B and 30C locks are readily available on the used and surplus markets, typically costing $5 to $15 each in small quantities.

ONLY $5?!?!?

by **MrB** » 20 Jun 2005 11:37

That huge drop on the 29B key is actually to go round a ward in the lock. It's mentioned in the article.

by **GateTwelve** » 20 Jun 2005 15:09

Oh good god...
That's all I have to say...
Oh...good...god

by **capt.dunc** » 21 Jun 2005 7:54

i like the idea of a dividing ward within the lever pack, i've thought this to be good idea for a while. the thing that really makes this lock great is the toothed section in the top right. the only thing i can see at the moment is that it looks like the levers have marginally different contact points on their bases (fig 7) it may be possible to take a plasticine impress and get an idea of the bitting ie high low high, but other than that

by **helix** » 21 Jun 2005 14:05

by **HeadHunterCEO** » 21 Jun 2005 18:37

That was an excellent read and another quality matt blaze breakdown

by **TOWCH** » 23 Jun 2005 9:18

I just had a thought today that had never occured to me. If either the toothed piece or it's springs were magnetic, then a well placed strong magnet could make this lock feasible to pick. Even if they aren't now(I don't have mine near me so I can't test the theory) it's possible they were in earlier versions of the lock explaining the legend of the guy who ran around picking these locks. I'm pretty sure they use non-magnetic springs like they do for most locks these days, but that leaves the toothed piece as a possibility and still doesn't rule it out as a possibility in ealier versions. Does anyone besides me have one to try a magnet on the toothed piece?

by **MrB** » 23 Jun 2005 10:18

Remember that when the lock is in service, it is inside the container, behind the hard plate of the container wall, and behind a hard plate on the front of the lock itself. That's a few layers of steel for the magnet to get through before it reaches the spring or the toothed thing.

I've looked again at the photos, and that toothed thing seems very hard to reach with any kind of wire or tool inserted through the key hole though. If it could be disengaged it would certainly seem to make picking more achievable, like Ray said.

by **TOWCH** » 23 Jun 2005 15:41

I'll call home and get someone to test this for me. If this part is infact magnetic it solves a very old mystery and is also a much easier solution to the problem than a variable key.

by **TOWCH** » 24 Jun 2005 19:51

Just got the response and it looks like a no go. How do springs react to changes in temperature does anyone know? They're made of copper right? If you can't manipulate the mechanism maybe you can change it's properties.

by **GateTwelve** » 25 Jun 2005 1:32

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6189223862&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&rd=1

Yum Yum Yum Yum

Western Bell Telephone Lock....

Western Bell Telephone Lock....

the toothy thing

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