[Edwood]

I also like the feel of the Mul-T-Lock keys sooo much better than Medeco's. Medeco's are like having a small saw blade in your pocket.

What's a good way to keep locks lubricated and from rusting? THe larger hole opening of the Mul-T-Lock worries me. It's raining like crazy here in SoCal, and wind is practically blowing rain sideways.

Is the dry powder based graphite lock lubricant sufficient?
Or will it get clogged up and cause problems with Mul-T-Lock's sliding pin mechanism?

-Ed

 

[Salt Peanuts]

From my experience (my work uses them), Medeco keys are bit annoying. As you've mentioned, Edwood, those jagged edges are akin to having saw-blade in your pocket, and they are also prone to breaking off near the end due to the overall skinniness of the key. They are also more expensive to have copies made, IRC.

As for lubrication, you could try Tuf-Glide. I think they're originally meant for firearms.

 

[Carbonman]

Mul-T-Lock, Medeco, ASSA Twin and Abloy are all UL437 listed high security cylinders from ASSA-Abloy. Primus is a UL437 high security cylinder from Schlage, part of Ingersoll-Rand.
I wouldn't attempt to pick any of them, except as an exercise. The UL437 rating indicates that they have passed very stringent tests to certify that they will resist picking, drilling, pulling and other forms of attack for specific intervals.
Mul-T-Lock keys can be easily decoded with a dedicated key machine. A locksmith used to pinning these cylinders and cutting the keys can decode a key by sight, both for the outer and inner pins.
Medeco Original is easy to decode by sight. Medeco BiAxial is a little tougher to decode because the pins are not just set to different rotations and depths, they are also set to Fore and Aft in each pin cell. There is, however, a handy flat decoder that every locksmith that works with Medeco has in their kit.
ASSA, Abloy and Primus are all easily decoded by sight. Also with a cheap gauge for the respective keys.
What gives all of these cylinders their high level of security, apart from the UL437 specs is key control. Distribution and creation of the key blanks is tightly controlled and protected by the individual manufacturers through patents and user contracts. Run afoul of the manufacturer and you end up with no stock being shipped, your existing stock seized and your sorry ass hauled into civil court.
Medeco keys are hard on pockets and used to be notorious for breakage many years ago. They are substantially better now. I find Abloy to be user unfriendly because you have to turn them to align the discs with the sidebar, then turn again to actually work the lock. They are damned tough cylinders, though. The caes-hardened steel nose just spins when you put a drill bit to it.
A good lube for any of these cylinders is Tri Flow or something similar, depending on your specific climate conditions. Don't use graphite as it can be abrasive in long-term use with a tight tolerance cylinder.
My 2 cents. Hope some of this information is helpful.

 

[Salt Peanuts]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carbonman Medeco keys are hard on pockets and used to be notorious for breakage many years ago. They are substantially better now.

They used to be worse?

Man, and I thought they are bad now. I still break mine on fairly regular basis.

 

[bLue_oNioN]

I remember reading somewhere that Mul-T-Locks can take anywhere from five minutes to several hours to pick, depending on the lock. How true is such a statement?

 

[Edwood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bLue_oNioN I remember reading somewhere that Mul-T-Locks can take anywhere from five minutes to several hours to pick, depending on the lock. How true is such a statement?

The Mul-T-Lock is tough enough to pick to not have to worry about it.

I'd be more worried about the "Reebok Lock Pick", and your windows. Reinforcing the door frame, etc.

Remember if your door has any window paynes near the door knob, use double cylinder locks (have to use keys on the inside and outside).

-Ed

 

[Carbonman]

Double cylinder deadbolts are a BAD THING to put on your doors. They have caused numerous deaths due to people not being able to get the door open during a fire and being overcome with smoke inhalation. Remember that fires often occur at night so you tend to already be groggy. Then add the effects of the smoke, which will confuse you and drop your cognitive ability quite a bit. Then add drakness and poor visibility from the smoke. How in Hell are you going to find your keys, find the right key and get it into the cylinder before you pass out?
Locksmiths that put double cylinder deadbolts on residential exits are subject to criminal charges if someone dies this way because they installed the lock. Homeowners can do what they want, but if they are landlords the same legal risk applies.
Go to Home Depot and buy 1/4" Lexan cut to size and install it on the inside of windows that allow burglars to get to the door locks. It will even stop a bullet!
I agree that the Reebok pick is much more commonly used. If you have someone targeting you that can pick any one of the UL listed cylinders, you're toast whether they get in by picking or other methods. The goal is to make the bad guys look at your home (doors, frames, locks, windows, balconies, etc.) and ldecide on breaking into your neighbors down the street instead.
Take care and do your security the right way. I want to keep meeting all of you online for a long time.

 

[Edwood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carbonman Double cylinder deadbolts are a BAD THING to put on your doors. They have caused numerous deaths due to people not being able to get the door open during a fire and being overcome with smoke inhalation.

Doh! Thanks for the warning.

-Ed

 

[aerius]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edwood What's a good way to keep locks lubricated and from rusting? THe larger hole opening of the Mul-T-Lock worries me. It's raining like crazy here in SoCal, and wind is practically blowing rain sideways. Is the dry powder based graphite lock lubricant sufficient? Or will it get clogged up and cause problems with Mul-T-Lock's sliding pin mechanism?

The best way is to get a storm door installed in front of the main door to keep the wind, rain, snow, and dust storms out. Failing that, Boeshield T-9 does a good job of preventing rust without gumming up the mechanical parts. Graphite will clog & jam the lock mechanism over time and doesn't provide rust protection.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carbonman Go to Home Depot and buy 1/4" Lexan cut to size and install it on the inside of windows that allow burglars to get to the door locks. It will even stop a bullet!

Maybe a .22LR, but .38, 9mm, & .45 will all blow clean holes through it. It will however, be a serious pain in the butt for a burglar to break through unless he has a pick-ax.

 

[Carbonman]

"Maybe a .22LR, but .38, 9mm, & .45 will all blow clean holes through it."

Not necessarily. It depends on whether it has suffered deterioration from UV exposure, whether it is properly supported, what glass is in front and behind (if any) and the range and velocity of the bullet. Lexan softens and distorts when hit with a lot of kinetic energy. Often the sheet of polycarbonate has distorted into a spiral cone with the round trapped in the apex of the cone. 7mm polycarbonate is serious material, but not recommended for ballistic use on its own.

"It will however, be a serious pain in the butt for a burglar to break through unless he has a pick-ax."

Count on it! If you don't hit it just right, the pick-ax will probably bounce off and bean you. The unpleasant part for the burglar is when the Lexan flexes and throws the shattered glass in their face as it rebounds back to position.

 

[Stephonovich]

First, while yes, most handgun and rifle rounds can penetrate 1/4" poly (MythBusters did an episode of this if you want video... or you can do it yourself. Very fun), do you really think your average thief is going to? The word 'thief' means to steal in secret. Shooting up the neighborhood isn't the best way to gain silent access.

I agree Carbonman. While proper security is very important, chances also are that if you present a difficult target, they'll go after someone else. Same with Wi-Fi - while I can get around most stuff if I feel so inclined, it's much, much easier to just hop on the completely open node right next to it.

 

[aerius]

Laminated high-grade 1/4" Lexan will stop anything up to a 9mm handgun round, but you can't get the stuff from your local Home Depot, you gotta order it from specialty plastics suppliers.

The thing that most people neglect is windows, throw a brick through them, clean out the glass, and you're in. Quite easy in the daytime when everyone's off at work & school, depending on the neighbourhood. And that's why you get a nice blast & burglary resistant film put on the inside of all windows.

Harden your house and make it a complete pain to break into, make the bad guys give up and hit someone else's home. I eventually hope to own a house where the only way of breaking in is with explosive breaching charges.

 

[Bunnyears]

Quote:

The protective window film can block up to 99 percent of UV rays, preventing the fading of interior furnishing and lowering a building’s energy cost by reducing its solar load.

Now that's something that gets my attention! I hate it when the upholstery fabrics start to fade, especially when the fade pattern is uneven.

 

[eric343]

I was at the What the Hack conference in the Netherlands this past weekend. One of the talks was by a friend of mine by the name of Barry Wels (http://www.toool.nl/index-eng.php), on something called the "bump key":
http://www.toool.nl/bumping.pdf

This is a very serious and major security problem, allowing most locks and *especially* many high-security locks (including Mul-T-Lock and possibly Medeco, though the latter claim has not been independently verified) to be opened within seconds. Fortunately it has not caught on in the US (yet). I would highly recommend you read the article if you're at all concerned about physical security. TOOOL has published a list of bump-proof locks here:
http://www.toool.nl/sloten.pdf

Note that not all of these are available in the US. If you can't find any locally, I know a collector and sometimes dealer of locks that may be able to help you out.

 

[Edwood]

My condo complex uses Medeco locks on all the entries, pools, gates, etc.

I have the Medeco lock. The main reason I got this lock was because of a drunken person that got confused and broke my POS Quikset lock trying to open the door with the wrong key.

Since everyone has a Medeco key, I wanted a decent lock that had a completely different key opening than most other locks, specifically the Medeco.

(plus I hated that jagged saw-like key cutting up my pants pockets. Didn't want two of those suckers in my pocket.

I guess I can take small comfort in that the Mul-T-Lock keys lack a shoulder, and require more modifications and effort for the
bump trick.

But I've got bigger fish to fry as far as door security is concerned in my place.

Like the ass backwards patio sliding door that is mounted OUTSIDE rather than inside rail. I have to use a stupid sliding pin lock at the bottom of the door, otherwise you could simply lift the door off it's rail from the outside. What were they thinking when they originally installed these doors. I've looked around, seems like all of the sliding glass doors are installed this way.

-Ed