Any locksmiths here?

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Mark R

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Oct 9, 1999
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Anyone care to make some recommendations?

I want a replacement cylinder for a heavy mortice deadlock on a wooden front door. Note that this is an apartment and the front door is an internal door.

General requirements:
I need a Euro cylinder with internal thumb turn (I don't want to have to go hunting for keys if I need to get out in a hurry).

I need good resistance to most burglars - so good pick resistance and reasonable brute-force resistance are required.

As I may let the apartment, a restricted key section would be nice.

Lock's I've been thinking of are:
Mul-t-lock or Evva 3KS. The 3KS looks considerably more secure (to picking at least) but I'm not sure that picking either of these locks is going to be practical for most people.

Am I missing something? Would my money be better spent on things other than locks?

(The door is solid wood, with no letter box, and has a solid wood frame - note that I'm unlikely to be able to change the door or door furniture without jumping through a lot of hoops with the management company).
 
Nov 5, 2001
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no one is going to pick your locks. they will kick down your door. get a decent deadbolt and make sure the strike plate and hinges are installed with 3" screws.
 

AdamSnow

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Nov 21, 2002
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Don't even worry about any of the new locks on the market for pick-proof... for the last 3 years or so, all new locks have been using mushroom pins and the like to make picking extremely difficult...

Not to mention, there is a lot of skill required to pick a lock in the first place - and you must have the proper tools...

Its much easier just to kick in the door.
 

birdpup

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May 7, 2005
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I am curious what country you are in. I see Euro, and wonder if you have ever seen the double door setup with 2-4 locks for each door, common for apartments that are typical in Poland. I am not sure if these doors are typical in Eastern Europe or only in Poland. The setup is usually with two doors, an external and an internal with both consisting of a steel plate within the wooden decorative cover of the door. The external door has its hinges on the inside while the internal door has its hinges external but it has two steel bars that swing into the door frame to hold the door in place in case the hinges are removed. One of the locks on these doors always requires a key that is made of steel and is long and cylindrical with notches along its length. This key requires four complete turns to set the tumblers in the proper order for both locking and unlocking. This is supposed to be the most difficult lock to pick that has ever been constructed but that is just what I have been told. I do not know the name of this lock but I can find out if needed.

How sturdy is the door frame? The door can be strong but a weak frame would be worthless.
 

Mark R

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Oct 9, 1999
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Thanks guys.

Basically: the door and frame are both solid wood and of good quality, and meet appropriate standards for security. The frame is well fixed.
The current lock is a combination mortice deadlock and sashlock. The bolt is of good quality with hardened steel strengthening members, and the striking plate is good and thick metal. I've not checked the screws, but could do so without too much difficulty. The lockcase itself meets the appropriate insurance standards.
There are three equally spaced insurance grade hinges, and the door opens inwards - thus the hinges are not exposed.
There is no letter box, so no option to manipulate the door from inside. As the building is 9 floors, the door has to be unlockable from the inside without a key.

My main concern is that the previous owners provided me with 2 keys, and I don't know if any have gone astray. Even so, the keys are a fairly unimpressive 5 pin system, and freely copyable.

I am curious what country you are in. I see Euro, and wonder if you have ever seen the double door setup with 2-4 locks for each door, common for apartments that are typical in Poland. I am not sure if these doors are typical in Eastern Europe or only in Poland.

I'm in the UK. I've never seen the system you speak of. At least, not on the doors to the apartments themselves. I'm not concerned about the building's overall security. All entrances into the building are double doored, with electronic transponder entry on each door.

The external door has its hinges on the inside while the internal door has its hinges external but it has two steel bars that swing into the door frame to hold the door in place in case the hinges are removed.

We call these Hinge bolts. I've thought about these, but as the door opens inwards - I don't think they would be useful.

One of the locks on these doors always requires a key that is made of steel and is long and cylindrical with notches along its length. This key requires four complete turns to set the tumblers in the proper order for both locking and unlocking. This is supposed to be the most difficult lock to pick that has ever been constructed but that is just what I have been told.

Sounds like a disc lock. A very clever mechanism that uses metal discs instead of pins or levers. Very difficult to pick. Unfortunately, I did want a lock like this, but because the keys are very long the cylinders are too long for the door. I could easily install the cylinder, but it would stick out - allowing anyone with a big wrench to snap the mechanism. I could put a security guard around the cylinder, but I want the security to be subtle and the front door to look exactly the same as everyone elses.

Why break the door when a window is so much easier?

Well, it's a 4th floor apartment. I can't see any easy way to climb the wall - no pipes, handholds, etc. And, as the building is on a busy commercial street - next to a busy restaurant and several shops, anyone abseiling off the roof is likely to get noticed :)


 

mcvickj

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Dec 13, 2001
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Biometrics is where its at! :) A voice entry system would be pretty cool too.
 
Nov 5, 2001
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Originally posted by: tikwanleap
I've heard good things about Medeco locks.

http://www.medeco.com/


Medeco locks are very good. IMO it's overkill in a residential situation. They will kust kick down the door. The lock itsself as long as it is decent, will not be the weak point. The BEST improvement the average homeowner can make is replacing the short 3/4" screws holding the door strike to the frame and hinges to the frame with 3" screws. Bar none the best advice you can take.
 

NiKeFiDO

Diamond Member
May 21, 2004
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only rogues can pick locks, find a high level rogue for advice, a lot of them hang out in Orgrimmar.
 

BoomerD

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Feb 26, 2006
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When I saw the date, I KNEW it had to be a spammer that necro'd this thread...
 

spidey07

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Aug 4, 2000
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Phoenix Local locksmith services in different areas and specializes in lock changing, lock installation, lock re-key, car lockouts, ignition keys, high security locks, intercom systems, alarm systems, CCTV, gate & door, iron work, doors security systems, bell and buzzer systems, residential, access control, fire department approved fire escape gates and much more

Damn! The bots are using the googles against us!
 
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