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Thread: Sargent lock

  1. #1
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    Default Sargent lock

    Here's a Sargent lock I picked up a while back on Ebay. I had read an article in the Journal of Lock Collecting where the author had a similar lock with the same markings that had square pins inside rather than round. I bought this lock locked without a key not knowing the pin type,but hoping for the rare square pins. But as my luck would have it ,they were the traditional round pins. I was able to pick the lock open and remove the internal assembly screw, dissassemble the lock, clean it,find a key blank,cut it to match the pins and reassemble it to make a working lock. I have asked the author for any information on the age of the lock as well as asking various other collectors with no results. I've seen this same lock with the name Sargent in raised letters across the center rather than the fancy S & CO scroll on mine. The reverse sides are the same on the scroll desing and the raised name design. Anyone out there have any info or know where to point me to look? Thanks, Mark
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails combo lock 018.jpg   combo lock 020.jpg   combo lock 019.jpg  
    Mark A. Billesbach

  2. #2
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    Default

    Your Keil 108 aftermarket key blank crosses to Sargent 265B original. This is an obscure and perhaps restricted keyway. I'm guessing your padlock may have been for a railroad application. I'll check with the Sargent Key Records Department and see if I can get any information.

    Pete Schifferli

  3. #3
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    Thanks Pete, I got the key blank in an assortment of key blanks I bought off of Ebay a couple of months back. It was a perfect fit. I was hopping to find an origional period correct Sargent key blank, but wasn't having any luck. Still would like to know when the lock was made. I've searched through Sargent patents and found the lock style but nothing on the logo. Mark
    Mark A. Billesbach

  4. #4
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    I may have an OEM blank from that time. I will check and get back to you.

    As for the date I would guess around 1900-1920s on the account of the keyway.

    Keyways are a good way to get a date range for narrowing a search.

    Can you post a picture of the keyway of the lock?
    Last edited by Dean Nickel; 28-05-11 at 09:46 PM.

  5. #5
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    Dean, here's a picture of the keyway, hope it helps. Thanks for any info you can find. Mark
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails combination locks.jpg  
    Mark A. Billesbach

  6. #6
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    With such a fancy logo, I've always wondered if there are visual clues as to the ordering of the symbols. In this case the letters S, C, O, and ampersand. There are 9 reasonable combinations (I'm omitting anything that begins or ends with the ampersand). Trying each on a quick Google search, I did come up with one interesting possibility: OC&S, the Ontario, Carbondale, and Scranton railroad. See:

    RAILROAD.NET • View topic - OC&S RR - Jermyn, PA?

    The railroad was formed in 1888 but this lock looks much newer than that.

    Another possibility is the Ordnance Center & School (check Google).

    Jim

  7. #7
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    Jim, How about "S"argent & "C"O"mpany. Oh, that that was too easy. I am surprised at you. But keep up the good work. Doug

  8. #8
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    True, Sargent & Co. is rather obvious. I was just thinking the logo was fancy enough to have been requested by a customer. But I do like the artistry that goes into these intertwined symbols. Attached is another example, from Mosler, circa 1915.

    Click image for larger version. 

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  9. #9
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    I definitely agree with you on that point. And if Dean is correct in his dating of the padlock that style must have been in voque during that era. What do you think about the square pin version mentioned, if true? Should that lock be filed under "what were they thinking?". Doug

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Doug MacQueen View Post
    I definitely agree with you on that point. And if Dean is correct in his dating of the padlock that style must have been in voque during that era. What do you think about the square pin version mentioned, if true? Should that lock be filed under "what were they thinking?". Doug
    The Sargent Square Pin Cylinder was invented by Henry R. Stadtmuller of Whitneyville, CT and assigned to Sargent & Co. in 1897. This cylinder was invented to eliminate the use of "split pin masterkeying" in a masterkeyed cylinder thereby making it more pick resistant. This was accomplished by having two steps in each pin with a R.H. blade change key and an L.H. blade master key. See US Patent 588,026; Aug. 10, 1897. There are several in the collection of Lock Museum of America in Terryville, CT*. BBE (Billy B. Edwards, Jr.) has suggested that they are found only on Roman Catholic Churches. I've never actually seen one.

    *adapted from Historical Research Series #13, June, 1984 by Thomas F. Hennessy, Curator, Lock Museum of America

    Pete Schifferli

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