unusual halfmoon dimple lock

[femurat]

I recently found this lock, the unusual keyway attracted me and I had to buy it.
It's a bike lock, the key profile is similar to dimple locks but it's shaped like an half moon.
It has an alarm but I picked it without that option, otherwise it could have been too noisy for my living room!

It's a standard 5 pins, the weird part is to tension it since the wrench binds against the cylinder wall. To avoid this I had to keep the wrench between my thumb and index and pull it.
To lift the pins I rotate an half diamond with a bent tip. It's a very precise technique I always use for dimple locks.

It's always fun to find a strange lock to play with.

Cheers

[MacGnG1]

man thats funky lookin lock! cool

[Solomon]

Hmm, that's a bit different. I see what you mean about tensioning it, must have been a little awkward. I'm guessing it was easy enough to get the pins set, though. By the looks of the bitting on the key there aren't any deep setting pins, which I'm sure you're thankful for... the warding would have made setting those a bit of a pain.

Nice find, thanks for sharing!

[LocksmithArmy]

wow that looks fun...

who makes it?

[Squelchtone]

That's a Chinese design that can be often found on ebay. The patent drawings for it are floating around here somewhere.

Squelchtone

[femurat]

Hi Solomon, as you can see from this picture, the key has the fifth pin short and the fourth long, so the bitting IS quite extreme (I'd guess 52261). Setting a short pin behind a tall one isn't easy, but I was lucky because my pick was perfect for the job! Usually I check the first pin to see if the pick can lift it completely AND if it can pass under the pins without even touching them.
Tensioning it was tricky but once you figure it out it's not harder than a .

As squelchtone said this is a chinese design, the first time I saw it mentioned here: http://blackbag.nl/?p=248. Mine was made by zoeman, I found it for 20 euro in a big shop.

Cheers

[femurat]

... it's not harder than a standard 5 pins lock.

[Solomon]

Yeah, can see the bitting much better in that pic! I'm starting to get into dimple locks at the moment, picked up a cheap chinese one off ebay a while back and cracked it pretty quickly. Looking to get my hands on something decent now like the Iseo R6, or a DOM. I really like the look of the ix-5, but haven't had much luck fnding one yet (not even on the german ebay)... fingers crossed anyway!

[raimundo]

Is this something like the lock that appears on the coin box in a modern bus. Or is that a japanese lock of a different design.

[mh]

Rai - your thought processes always amaze me How did you make the connection to a bus or Japan?

Cheers
mh

[raimundo]

well I have seen the cash boxes on buses, the old ones had a bell lock, (sidewinder) and when the new ones came out years ago, the keyway looked so different, I was naturally curious about the lock.
You can see the cylinder face as you step up to the cash drop.
The japanese connection is from a miwa lock I think, or its something I read somewhere, cant remember which.

[sir lot is here]

EASY PICK TO BE HONEST - AND CHEAP !

[Rickthepick]

iv seen a couple of these in rim cylinder form on front doors, just another gimmick and probably hard to get hold of anyone that stocks the blanks when you want your key cut

[Fredmad]

There is different kind of halfmoon lock.
Some are built with pins and drivers perhaps some only with pins and sidebar.




The first one could be very easy to pick. The second one is something else.

[femurat]

Hi Fredmad,

thanks for your input, your 3D model is very clear and easy to understand!

My lock is a standard pins version. Easy to pick.

I guess also the sidebar version isn't hard to pick if the pins are shaped like the one in your model. It'll be harder than the standard version, but not much more difficult. Since I've never had one in my hands I can't be sure. Mine is just a wild guess based on my experience with other locks similar to this.

Cheers