Zeiss Ikon locks

[Eagerpicker]

Does anyone have any experience with this brand (Zeiss Ikon)? I opened up one of them the other day and was amazed by what was inside. A five pin tumbler lock, containing: 5 basic (albeit rather short and fat) key pins; 5 driver pins, three of which are spool pins, one regular and one that can only be described as a kind of spool pin in that it looks like a regular driver pin with halfway down its body a circular shallow cut - as if two short pins had been welded together; and, most stunning of all, 5 springs, two of which contained two tiny little steel balls each that can move up and down freely inside the spring. What might be the purpose of these ball-loaded springs? Picking attempts have been unsuccessful so far...

I am browsing the net for information but should anyone have any idea or input, I will certainly appreciate it. Once I find a good link to pictures and/or descriptions of this lock, I will post them of course.

Thank you.

[Varjeal]

Hmm..I've "worked" with Zeiss Ikon only long enough to remove these mortise cylinders from SAAN stores and replace 'em with Schlage Everest or Primus...hehehe...I don't have any in my possession currently or I'd take 'em apart, but from your description I would make an educated guess and say that the steel balls work as a "anti-pick gun" device.

I doubt you'll find much on the net, since I'm not aware that these locks are even sold anymore. (If they are and you know where correct me, though) They would be classed as a high security lock I believe because they also contain anti-drill elements as well.

Best of luck.

[abu]

They have a german webpage: http://www.ikon.de (Product groups: Padlocks (PL),Cam locks (CL),Office furniture locks (OF),Cylinders (CY),Electromechanical locks (EL),Rimlocks (RI) ).
AFAIK they belong to the ASSA ABLOY group.

[DrDave]

The steel balls inside the springs are also used to make "Drilling" MUCH MORE Difficult!

DrDave-USA