Finally picked my old abus rim cylinder :)

[Solomon]

I'm a bit excited about getting this old thing open, and learned a new trick in the process.



This lock is pretty old, I'm not sure of the exact model number but it's a bit of a tricky one. I haven't taken it apart myself, but the lockie who gave it to me managed it so after seeing that, I was determined to crack it for myself. I'd been having a go at it now and again with no luck, and after a while I got frustrated and figured it needed lubrication, so I took it back to him to see if he could squirt a little graphite in there. I left it with him, and the next time I went to the shop, he had picked and gutted it to have a look. Seems the reason it was giving me grief was because all the drivers were spools and because I was picking it in my hand I was having trouble varying tension correctly.

This is the only lock I have which has 5 spools; the brand new abus I bought only has 4. That one was a bit of a challenge aswell, but mainly because of the smaller keyway. The reason I'm dedicating a thread to this one is because it's old and has a bit of character, also because it's not too common for locks this old to have security pins in every chamber (as far as I know) so I figured someone would know a bit more about it.

So, I sat down with it today and decided it was time to get it open. Because the springs are fairly stiff and the rotation of the plug isn't the smoothest, it's not a nice lock to work with unless it's mounted on a vice - which I don't have. But, with some determination, I was able to get 3 pins set by raking. Even though I was using top tension and had plenty of room to move the pick around, I still couldn't get the remaining 2 out of false set... obviously this was a tension problem, so I inserted a second one into the bottom of the keyway and, after a little feeling around and playing with tension, I managed to get one more pin set correctly. At this stage I just knew I was gonna get it, and sure enough, it wasn't long before I felt that familiar click as it popped open... I can't tell a lie, I nearly died. This is a lock that had been giving me trouble on and off for months, so you can imagine how good that felt.

I know it's probably not an amazingly difficult lock to pick considering the skill level of a lot of guys on here, but for me, it's kind of a big deal and I'm really happy I finally got it. This is the first lock I've opened with all spool drivers, and now I just wanna find more! The lesson I learned today is that sometimes you need more than one tensioner... so to all the newbies reading this, if you're not getting anywhere with a particular lock, I definately recommend it. If you're not getting anywhere with top or bottom, try both. You'll be pleasantly surprised.

[Squelchtone]

Good job man, keep it up. I like Abus, they make nice locks. I've never seen an ABUS rim cylinder, that's pretty cool.

Thanks for sharing and a nice write up.

Squelchtone

[Solomon]

Good job man, keep it up. I like Abus, they make nice locks. I've never seen an ABUS rim cylinder, that's pretty cool.

Thanks for sharing and a nice write up.

Squelchtone

I think Abus are best known for their padlocks, as for actual cylinders I imagine they're mostly sold in europe. Are rim cylinders popular over there? Here in the UK they're fairly common... Yale, Abus, and ERA being the most widely used. The only other decent brand of rim cylinder I've seen here is Asec. Modern houses in the more upmarket areas are fitted with those, and it's usually a combination of a euro cylinder and a rim cylinder (both keyed alike).

I think Abus have been used here for a pretty long time, as a higher level of security than the standard Yales fitted on older properties... typically those don't contain any security pins whatsoever, so it's common for people who are a bit more security conscious to replace them. This is the most modern one made by Abus, in case you're interested:

[raimundo]

and yet the abus in the photo is ............not euro profile.......hmm......is that rim mounted or mortise threaded,? I don't remember now if Solomon is from the UK or the US or where? that would be a hint of what this lock is about. Perhaps there was a time before eurocylinders were all they used in europe...

anyone from germany got enlightenment for us?

[raimundo]

Yeah, solomons from the UK as he states in his last post here. I suppose that would be a threaded mortise cylinder then.

I have an american lock co. morise cylinder. I think its a bit unusual, I have never seen an american lock co. deadbolt or mortise lock, but I do have this one cylinder from my scrap metal guy.

[Solomon]

and yet the abus in the photo is ............not euro profile.......hmm......is that rim mounted or mortise threaded,? I don't remember now if Solomon is from the UK or the US or where? that would be a hint of what this lock is about. Perhaps there was a time before eurocylinders were all they used in europe...

anyone from germany got enlightenment for us?

Yeah, solomons from the UK as he states in his last post here. I suppose that would be a threaded mortise cylinder then.

I have an american lock co. morise cylinder. I think its a bit unusual, I have never seen an american lock co. deadbolt or mortise lock, but I do have this one cylinder from my scrap metal guy.

Hehe, not threaded. It's a regular rim cylinder, same as the others I have:

[raimundo]

yeah, now I see that you identified it as rim in the first post, I missed that from just clicking on the last post instead of reading the whole thread, Not the first time Ive not known what im talking about.

[Solomon]

yeah, now I see that you identified it as rim in the first post, I missed that from just clicking on the last post instead of reading the whole thread, Not the first time Ive not known what im talking about.

Haha, it's all good. Maybe you could brew some kafka.