help with antique box

[henry_l]

https://ibb.co/hWZf9CZ][/url]


box size is 12 X 6 X 8 in ; keyway is 2/5 in.

Suggestions on type of skeleton key or picking? I do remember the working key was flat & thin.

Thanks everyone.

[GWiens2001]

Nice strongbox!

That will require you or a locksmith to impression a key.

This is a post on impressioning different types of locks. If you scroll down to the section on lever locks (just over half way down) it will guide you through the process. Look for the brown box with yellow spots on the front. The section starts a paragraph or two above that first picture.

Gordon

[henry_l]

Thanks Gordon. I should have mentioned one thing: the box was in indoor storage for 20 years, in a taped cardboard box showing no sign of moisture. I was pretty sure I had the correct key but it didn't work. Is it possible that a lock mechanism can just fail/freeze over that time span?

Also would picking be an easier option than impressioning? I'm new to this subject.

[GWiens2001]

Possible, yes. But unlikely. Do you live in a humid area? If so, then it becomes more likely.

If you think the lock is jamming up, you can try spraying lube UP into the lock, or set the box upside-down and then spraying down. The reason for this is because the locking parts of that lock are ABOVE the keyway, at least as respective to how the key is oriented when it is inserted. So if you don't aim the lube directly at the locking mechanism from the keyway, it will just run down the inside of the keyway and lock body and have no effect.

Gordon

[Squelchtone]

Also would picking be an easier option than impressioning? I'm new to this subject.

Hello,

I have a feeling I know what you're thinking or hoping for... can these guys just tell me how to stick a paper clip in there and jiggle it around to pick it open like in the movies..

Funny enough, lever locks, which is the kind of mechanism your strong box uses, are harder for most American lock pickers to open because we mostly have pin tumbler locks in the US such as the Kwikset or Schlage on your front door or the Master padlock on your shed, and the lock picks we use for pin tumbler locks don't work in lever locks.

To open lever locks, as Gordon mentioned it is often faster to impression a working key. The how to tutorial post Gordon wrote ia great way to learn the process. To pick lever locks open requires special picks called "wires" which are L shaped picks meant to lift the levers inside the lock while a second wire tool throws the bolt open.

Your lock only has a few levers, so it should be straighforward to impression it. The biggest challenge is finding the right flat key blank with a throat cut to match your lock so you can begin the work. Bringing this box to a locksmith shop and asking them to smoke (smoking a blank covers it with soot from a candle to make it easier to see the scratch marks made on the key blank by the levers inside the lock) or knife (knifing a blank is thinning the top of the blank so levers pressing into it make marks that are easier to see) a blank and make a working key would be your best bet and would cost $25-$100 depending on where you live and the locksmith you meet. Why would it cost so much? well, it takes time and knowledge to make a key, as demonstrated by this video by Jason from SE Lock & Key on his youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrCCvqlzjOc and not all attempts are a success as demonstrated by the same locksmith in another of his videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BaiIp1tvpg

There are plenty of youtube videos for picking lever locks with wires, but if you attempt to make some to open your box, be aware that the tools have to be the correct type of metal, something soft and bendy like a paper clip simply wont work. You can buy lever lock picks online as well, but it takes time to learn the skill, more so than picking a pin tumbler lock, in my opinion.

Here is a box like yours with the door open so you can see the lock case is very slim with not much to it.
https://another-life.jp/?pid=157291978

Best of luck with your project,
Squelchtone