meat-bix wrote:Sorry, this is in another thread too. Im sticking with this one now...
So I take one of these things apart, and there are three pins per hole.
A couple of big ones and a tiny one. Doesn't that mean there's a 'skeleton' key for them?
What gives!
I guess thats what you get for dealing on ebay...
Are skeleton key locks harder to pick?
Bad choice of words, but its a terminology thing. You get better at it as you go along.
Skeleton keys are found exclusively in warded locks. A design that has been around for more than several hundred years. At the height of their development in the mid 1700's the skill, craftsmanship, and sheer artistry involved in their complicated warding systems was beyond anything that has been developed since. The problem was they were prone to manipulation with skeleton keys. A key which had been filed down to such an extent that it bypassed the wards completely, and withdrew the bolt. It was this failure that led to the eventual development of other locking systems, such as the lever lock, warded lever lock, and then the "re-invention" of the pin tumbler lock.
What you are looking at is something called "master keying". A system whereby extra pins or "master pins" are inserted into some, or all of the pin chambers in order to create more than a single shear line.
Finding a lock with master pins in ALL of the chambers is highly unlikey, as this would create a system that was highly insecure.
However, the point is that in the most basic systems it works something like this.
Assume that you have 50 locks. Each of them requires their own individual key. So, you pin them to 50 unique bitting patterns. Then, you want a single key, or the "master key' to be able to open all of them. So, you insert the master key (which looks pretty much like all the rest) into each lock and adjust the pinning by adding master pins. This results in the extra thin pins you are seeing.
Now, in practice, you would never have to insert the master key into each lock. Using a chart, you would calculate the proper pinning for all the locks, including the master pins required to make them all respond to the master key, and their own individual keys.
This is a drastic simplification of course, but essentially this is what you are seeing.
Don't worry. Under normal circumstances, they are
easier to pick because of the extra shear lines. Practice your signle picking technique, and rty to develop a bit more sensativity in your finger tips so you know whats going on inside he lock.
Good luck,
Romstar
