I'm so happy! (German Kromer Protector)

[greyman]

I just got hold of a German Kromer Protector lock
It's absolutely beautiful. I'll try to post some photos of it, but I'm not very experienced at this yet. In the meanwhile, let me say a few things about it. The lock (a model BP55K) is from 1993 and the dial ring is from 1995. The lock was supplied to me complete with a lafette and dial. The lafette (from the German word for canon barrel I think) is a long barrel hidden behind the dial. What you do is turn the dial to a certain spot, where it can be pulled out from the front of the safe. This reveals a slot in the lafette that the key (a double bitted lever key) can be placed into. The dial is then used to push the lafette, now with the key sticking out the back end, into the safe and into the keyhole. Turning the dial then operates the lock.

The lock itself is a masterpiece of lock engineering. There are levers or sliders arranged about 10 deep in the core of the lock. Some of the sliders are split, ie they operate in push-pull manner off the different siddes of the key bit. There are all kinds of interesting cuts on the key - not just the usual double bitted ones. There are grooves in the key as well as straight milled cuts and even a slanted cut in one spot. The key would be next to impossible to duplicate without Kromer factory equipment. When the key turns, it pulls or pushes all the sliders so that they no longer stick out the sides of the core. At about 45 degrees, if all is well, the core starts to rotate. The rotating motion is conveyed to two stubs at the rear of the lock, which operate a drive linkage.

What a lock!!!

[Schuyler]

That sounds incredible! I can't wait for pictures...how did you get it? Why is the lock from 2 different time periods? Was this a product offered by the company, or something commisioned, and if so, by who for what? sorry for all the questions, but I'm very curious about it...

[unbreakable]

I'm so happy 'cause today
I've found my friends ...
They're in my head



That lock sounds super uber cool, please post pics!!
Where abouts did you find it?

Any luck picking it yet?

[digital_blue]

"And just maybe I'm to blame for all I've heard
I'm not sure"

Sounds like a great lock! Can't wait to see some pics!!

db

[greyman]

Here are some pictures of the Kromer BP55K lock that I was talking about. As you can see, she is beautiful, non?

Enjoy

Sorry about all the copyright notices, but you know what the web is famous for...

[Kaotik]

Very nice lock! Let us know how the picking goes.

[greyman]

That sounds incredible! I can't wait for pictures...how did you get it? Why is the lock from 2 different time periods? Was this a product offered by the company, or something commisioned, and if so, by who for what? sorry for all the questions, but I'm very curious about it...

The different bits of the lock were made at different times. The lock itself a bit earlier than the Lafette and dial part. The QC stickers on the components indicate that two different people checked these parts. The BP55K was manufactured in Germany until about 1999, it was a regular item, not commissioned.

[greyman]

Very nice lock! Let us know how the picking goes.

I think you'd go down in the record books if you picked this one (even without the barrel part at the front)!

[mh]

Great lock! Thanks for the pictures!

Because I know you want to have all the details:)
"Lafette" is actually the German word for the thing the canon is mounted on - the canon can slide on the "Lafette", just as the key can slide in that as well.
See Pictures on
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lafette

Cheers,
mh

[mh]

BTW - as the dial has a scale - does the concept allow for operating a combination lock with the key?
It seems that there is a 45 degrees slack if you wanted to do that...

Thanks,
mh

[Omikron]

BTW - as the dial has a scale - does the concept allow for operating a combination lock with the key?
It seems that there is a 45 degrees slack if you wanted to do that...

Thanks,
mh

I believe this to be the case, quite similar to "The Russian Lock" that Barry talked about at his blog.

[greyman]

Great lock! Thanks for the pictures!

Because I know you want to have all the details:)
"Lafette" is actually the German word for the thing the canon is mounted on - the canon can slide on the "Lafette", just as the key can slide in that as well.
See Pictures on
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lafette
mh

mh, you are welcome and thanks for the clarifiacation. I didn't know that Lafette was the slide and not the canon! English-speaking people often call it La Fetten, Lafetten also, which is probably gramatically wrong. It;s strange how Lafette sounds French - are you sure it's originally German?

[greyman]

BTW - as the dial has a scale - does the concept allow for operating a combination lock with the key?
It seems that there is a 45 degrees slack if you wanted to do that...

Thanks,
mh

mh, I believe that German safes were made with both Lafette operated key locks and combination locks, so you had to open both. I am not aware of a safe that used the Lafette to operate a lock with a key in the way that the Russian lock does. The Lafette is rather cumbersome and difficult to turn due to its inertia. There is also no mark in the dial view window. Normally the Lafette is turned to 50 to line a spline up with a little peg at the back, then the dial can be pulled out.

[mh]

It;s strange how Lafette sounds French - are you sure it's originally German?

I'm no expert in etymology.

But -according to that Wikipedia article-
the French word seems to be "l'affût".

It sound plausible that the German word "Lafette" was derived from that French word.

Cheers,
mh