I Opened a lock today that had a pin with no springs

[noorudeenshakur]

Hi there I opened up one of my sargents and noticed it had 5 pins with springs and one pin had no spring just a bottom and top pin

What is this called? and what is the purpose of this?

It didnt seem to make it any harder to pick. Is this just a manufactuing flaw or does it have a purpose?

Thanks

[Greyflex]

That type of pin is called a "gravity-feed" pin. It prevents the lock from being opened while it is upside-down, or when there is otherwise a loss of normal gravity, such as in free-fall or negative G's.
If the event that this lock gets excessively dirty, this pin may get stuck in the locked position. It is recommended that gravity-feed pins are replaced with normal pins where upside-down security is not a major issue. This is easily done by the addition of a pin spring.

[digital_blue]

So... does that mean that if my house ever finds itself in a free fall, my lock will not function? That's terrible! How will I get out of the house?

db

[Keyring]

Digital: You should never be in a situation where you need a key to EXIT a house!!! That is a safety hazard in case of fire!!!


( )

[digital_blue]

Oh, great... so my house is in a free fall AND it's on fire now. Wow. That's a bad day.

db

[illusion]

where the hell are you going to go if your house is in freefall? - if you step out of the door you are still in freefall - just no longer in the house !

don't forget the bone-shattering impact when the house hits the floor

although... I still suspect db is a ninja somewhere along the line... so he probably has parawings fitted to his coat which would allow him to float safely down to earth...

[Buggs41]

DB. Get out NOW! While you can.



I just hope I am not too late with this info. Darn slow internet........




Buggs

[digital_blue]

Not to worry guys. I've got it sorted. I'll just stay in the house, and at the moment before the house hits the ground, I'll jump up.

I'm like the ninja.

db

[illusion]

[Keyring]

I'm impressed! That is so cool!

[Greyflex]

The gravity-feed pin is actually an age-old concept. Because springs hadn't been invented yet, the first lock ever created used a primitive version of gravity-feed pins. Because of the machining tolerances of the
flint used, the pins were ginormous, weighing approximately 5 pounds, each. A major drawback to this design was the size of the keyway. It was so large that the first lockpicker in history could effectively claim that
his right hand was the first pick, his left hand the first tension wrench.
This did not deter the inventor. Ingeniously, he invented a cover for this keyhole that could, itself, be secured with a lock.

[noorudeenshakur]

Thats really interesteing.

Yeah its the first time ive come across that kind of setup. I thought it was interesting, and couldnt understand why the lock was made like that. I still think its a pretty useless design overall. I mean honestly what are the odds that lock will be used in space?

The upside down concept kinda makes sense though.

As for DB, I think you'll be ok if you wait untill the house is about to hit the ground and jump up, that technique saved my life from a 40 floor elevator fall, so it should also work with the house falling

[mike-z]

so db your house has misteriously lifted off the ground fliped over cousing it to light than suddenly lost ist magical power and came falling to earth?
or has the gravity around your house left and you are falling into space

[Buggs41]

I think this is all caused by DB being Canadian. Eh?


Buggs

[n2oah]

I think this is all caused by DB being Canadian. Eh?


Buggs

Ehhhhhhh, ya.