Are Kaba dimple locks hard to come by in the states?

[Eazy123]

I always thought the key for the security door in my lobby looked kind of strange, then I looked it up and found it's a dimple lock - a Kaba Gemini, according to the imprint on the key. So I decided to hit up ebay and see if there are any Kaba Gemini mortises up for sale to try picking. Nada. Seems like the majority of Kaba locks are mechanical pushbutton types. Have these been phased out, or are they just not really used all that much here?

[kwoswalt99-]

They've never been phased in.

[Eazy123]

They've never been phased in.

What do you mean? They're never even used here?

[kwoswalt99-]

Dimple locks never caught on in the US, you'll see them sometimes, but not often.

[Eazy123]

That would explain why 99% of the newer Kaba locks I see are regular pin tumbler locks.

[Squelchtone]

That would explain why 99% of the newer Kaba locks I see are regular pin tumbler locks.

That and back in the 80's there were some company mergers, buyouts, and name changes. Certain technologies were also used under license. Lori of CT sold Kaba Gemini in the US. You may find gold colored Kaba Gemini mortise cylinders on ebay or they may be stamped Baldwin Kaba 8 as well. I dont know if Lori and Baldwin were related at all back in the 80's.

The Kaba 8, Kaba 20, Kaba Gemini, Kaba Quattro, Kaba Penta, Kaba Star and others were and I think still are more known and popular in Europe in the euro profile cylinder format.

KABA has a lot of companies, its worth reading about, you'll find they do Kaba Mas, Kaba ILCO, Silca, Dorma, and took over the old Unican holdings as well. Then you'll discover interesting things like the big Kaba Peaks keys and somehow they share this with BEST who uses the Peaks technology and branding as well but I think BEST Access is owned by Stanley Black & Decker. Makes me want to draw a big family tree just to keep track, hell, I probably got some of this jumbled up.


Squelchtone

[femurat]

Makes me want to draw a big family tree just to keep track

Yes, please!

Cheers

[Eazy123]

That would explain why 99% of the newer Kaba locks I see are regular pin tumbler locks.

That and back in the 80's there were some company mergers, buyouts, and name changes. Certain technologies were also used under license. Lori of CT sold Kaba Gemini in the US. You may find gold colored Kaba Gemini mortise cylinders on ebay or they may be stamped Baldwin Kaba 8 as well. I dont know if Lori and Baldwin were related at all back in the 80's.

The Kaba 8, Kaba 20, Kaba Gemini, Kaba Quattro, Kaba Penta, Kaba Star and others were and I think still are more known and popular in Europe in the euro profile cylinder format.

KABA has a lot of companies, its worth reading about, you'll find they do Kaba Mas, Kaba ILCO, Silca, Dorma, and took over the old Unican holdings as well. Then you'll discover interesting things like the big Kaba Peaks keys and somehow they share this with BEST who uses the Peaks technology and branding as well but I think BEST Access is owned by Stanley Black & Decker. Makes me want to draw a big family tree just to keep track, hell, I probably got some of this jumbled up.


Squelchtone

Yes, BEST is owned by Stanley now. I believe that happened in the 90s but could be wrong. Only mergers I know of so far are that one and Master acquiring American Lock. I'll look into the Kaba story - seems to be the deepest by far! Thank you!

[indigoalpha6]

actually, for picking, Security Snobs has the Sargent-Keso cylinder for sale. they are a re-badged Kaba Gemini:

https://securitysnobs.com/Sargent-Keso- ... -Used.html

$15 USD. shipping could be high depending on your location.

as far as dimples not really catching on in the states, largely true but i was at my local target looking at stuff, and i saw that Master and Schwinn are offering dimple cores on their bike locks. very simplistic dimples by the way but dimples none the less.

[Squelchtone]

actually, for picking, Security Snobs has the Sargent-Keso cylinder for sale. they are a re-badged Kaba Gemini:

https://securitysnobs.com/Sargent-Keso- ... -Used.html

$15 USD. shipping could be high depending on your location.

as far as dimples not really catching on in the states, largely true but i was at my local target looking at stuff, and i saw that Master and Schwinn are offering dimple cores on their bike locks. very simplistic dimples by the way but dimples none the less.

Wait, unless I'm missing something, and no offense to your years working with locks, I really really dont think Sargent Keso is just a rebadged Kaba Gemini.. they may look and function alike but I think the Keso key tip is different and much larger and the key blade is angled down the middle.

here are some old pics from 2008 from my collection:

[indigoalpha6]

Wait, unless I'm missing something, and no offense to your years working with locks, I really really dont think Sargent Keso is just a rebadged Kaba Gemini.. they may look and function alike but I think the Keso key tip is different and much larger and the key blade is angled down the middle.

here are some old pics from 2008 from my collection:

ohh..learn something new daily. thanks for that

[indigoalpha6]

btw who is Walt?

[Squelchtone]

btw who is Walt?

it says W A I T as in wait a minute..

[kwoswalt99-]

btw who is Walt?

I am!!!

[indigoalpha6]

sorry, that should show you how bad my eyes are.