An Interesting Story Regarding Tubular Practice Locks

[thubanpete]

Hi Everyone,

Just here to report an interesting incident recently. I've recently acquired a pair of tubular lock picks (a 7 pin & an 8 pin) to sate my curiosity about how the locks work. The same day I bought the picks, I went over to my local lock shop to pick up some practice locks. There were plenty of 7 pin locks to choose from, but oddly enough, no 8 pins. I asked the gentleman behind the counter if they had any. He proceeded to ask around, and came back with an interesting answer: They don't exist.

Just to make sure I wasn't completely hullucinating, I asked a few people in the know (including our resident guru, Shrub) about it. They all confirmed that the 8 pin tubulars do exist, and the poor soul behind the counter got some bad information.

[Shrub]

Now i see why you asked,

Its more likely that he thought the number of pins didnt matter and didnt stock 8 pin versions so said they didnt exist,

[Shrub]

Ps, go back to the shop with a 8 pin lock and say youve just made it does he want to buy it

[thubanpete]

Ooooohhhhhh!

Evil, twisted, and I love it!



Thank you for your most excelent help, Shrub. It's truly appreciated.

-ThubanPete

[Eyes_Only]

They don't exist? ::sigh:: Thats the sad thing about some of the locksmiths in the US. If they can't find something or don't know something they make it look like we're the ones who needs to better educate ourselves because we just asked a ridiculous question. Just sad man.

[greyman]

Tubular locks with 8, 10 and more pins have been made. There's a limit to how many pins you can cram into a ring of a given radius (if you don't want them to be so thin they'll break), but apart from that, it's not really rocket science. On the other hand, 7-pin tubulars are by far the most common (not counting the silly little 4-pin ones on computer front panels). 8-pin tubular with the same pin spacing as a 7-pin means using up the space normally reserved for the locating fin on the key.

[greyman]

Tubular locks with 8, 10 and more pins have been made. There's a limit to how many pins you can cram into a ring of a given radius (if you don't want them to be so thin they'll break), but apart from that, it's not really rocket science. On the other hand, 7-pin tubulars are by far the most common (not counting the silly little 4-pin ones on computer front panels). 8-pin tubular with the same pin spacing as a 7-pin means using up the space normally reserved for the locating fin on the key.

[raimundo]

someday, thuban, you'll be doing it too, the "they don't exist" answer is correctly translated as "don't bother me about stuff I don't stock, buy something or stop wasting my time." and for those old neighborhood locksmiths who are essentially doing the same thing as flaming newbies, all they are doing is brushing off pests.

[thubanpete]

Hmmm....

...Thanks for the tip Raimundo.

I'll try not to get so cynical or jaded as to let that happen.

-ThubanPete