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The History of Keys & Key Blanks
Keeping
property safe and secure has been a preoccupation of mankind since
the dawn of civilization. The ancient Egyptians, over 3500 years
ago, used bolts with wooden pegs and bars in a system not at all
unlike our modern pin and tumbler locks, so there is an argument for
saying that not a lot separates their achievements from those of
Linus Yale in the mid - 19th century.
However,
though many of the basic designs of lock may be recognisable
throughout history, a great deal of change took place in the craft
and workmanship of those designs that reflects our own industrial
history.
The
Romans were as accomplished as locksmiths as they were in many other
spheres. Working in iron and bronze, with some amazing decorative
padlocks depicting birds and beasts, they tended to concentrate on
'warded' locks, where so-called wards or obstructions prevent any
but the right key from being inserted. These differed from the
Egyptian pin-tumbler style, which remained undeveloped for many
centuries to come.
The
Middle Ages really do little more than chart the developing
complexity of warded locks, which became so intricate and
extravagant in their workmanship that each craftsman would vie with
the next to produce more decoration and figurative design. So, while
these years saw the development of locksmithing as creative art
form, very little was done to improve the products mechanically.
It
was not until 1778 that Robert Barron, returning to the Egyptian
tumbler principle, produced his double acting lever lock, which gave
rise to the later improvements of Joseph Bramah and Jeremiah Chubb.
In the following century the English market, celebrating the 1851
Great Exhibition, was alarmed by an American lockmaker, Hobbs, who
claimed to be able to pick any lock in Britain - a boast that he
went on the fulfil. This was a severe blow to the pride of the
security-conscious Victorians, who set about lockmaking with a new
vigour. However, it is to two Americans, Linus Yale Snr. And Jnr.,
that the credit must go for developing the ultimate answer the
cylinder lock. Not only was this lock, based on Egyptian pin-tumbler
principles, much more secure than any predecessor, but it was also
cheap to manufacture in quantity. Yale Snr. Produced a round-pin
lock, but his son perfected the device further in 1861-5 with a
flat-pin design that was ideal for mass-production. The rest, as
they say, is history.
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