so i saw a lock today...

[south town ninja]

So i saw a lock today, and a friend that knows that i pick locks asked if I could pick it. I was unable to answer. let me explain: I knew it was a schlage , because it said so, but the keyway was definitely not a schlage classic, because the keyway was different. Based on the extra little slot, i determined that it was either a schlage everest or a primus. Is there a way to tell which is which just by looking at the front of the lock? I noticed (while doing a google image search) that many primuses have " primus" stamped on the front. is this the case with all primuses?

[UnlockingBoredom]

Im not 100% sure but as far as I know the Everest just has the Everest mountain on it and the Primus says "Primus" on the front of the lock.

Whats the extra little slot? are you sure its not a Quickset Smartkey?

[south town ninja]

no, i just mean the extra little "area" in a primus/everest keyway. Definitely not a kwikset smartkey. Good thinking tho. thanks for the info

[bjornnrojb]

fyi Schlage makes a lot of different keyways. Maybe 40 or so? See here: http://us.allegion.com/irstdocs/catalog/109487.pdf http://us.allegion.com/irstdocs/catalog/109487.pdf Go most of the way down to obverse keyways. They make waaaay more than just the c keyway.

[Squelchtone]

Do you mean the shape of the keyway itself had more stuff going on like this photo of an Everest (which you can tell by the mountain logo)

[nite0wl]

If it has the sidebar undercut (helpfully illustrated in Squelchtone's photo) than it is almost definitely some part of the Everest/Primus family.
Everests almost always have the small Everest logo, while Primus usually has the "Primus" stamp on the face of the plug. Primus XP typically has the "Primus XP" name stamped on it's face as well. Everest/Primus cylinders can have either Everest or Primus/Primus XP markings depending on their internals since Everest/Primus is a keying scheme that allows sidebar compatibility between the two mechanisms in a master keyed system.

I believe that Schlage does offer unbranded cylinders but these do still usually have a smaller, less obvious marking if they are Everest or Primus.

[south town ninja]

good info, thanks all!