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  1. #1
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    Default Junkunc Bros. American Lock H10 Padlock - Oldest/First Ball Bearing Padlock???

    Hello everyone,

    I was recently able to acquire this most beautiful and old Junkunc Bros. American Lock H10 padlock. I was very eager to get it since this H10 was in a very good condition. I have heard that American Lock was the company that invented the ball bearing security padlock as we mainly know it today. Is that true? The Patent dates back to 1927 but I do not believe mine to be that old. I know several of the American Lock Logos and this is not the oldest. As soon as I find my pictures on the Logos again I will post them here. Is there a way to determine how old my padlock is? Does anyone have a timeline to the American Lock Logos? Are there other early ball bearing padlocks that should be mentioned or that were maybe earlier than this one? A friend was talking about the Chubb Ava or the Squire HS2, both should also be quite old. I do not have a patent number on them though (I am interested in these patent numbers of course).

    I was also not aware that this padlock is still in production. It is now called the AH10, I am not sure if it is any different but it does look the same. The H10 was and still is used in harsh environments as also outdoors due to its weather resistant wafer cylinder mechanism.

    I am very happy to have a piece like this in my collection and would appreciate any information
    PS: The pictures are 50% smaller than the originals.

    Hope you enjoy!

    Adrian
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails 001.Junkunc Bros. American Lock - H10 Padlock (1).JPG   001.Junkunc Bros. American Lock - H10 Padlock (2).JPG   001.Junkunc Bros. American Lock - H10 Padlock (3).JPG   001.Junkunc Bros. American Lock - H10 Padlock (4).JPG   001.Junkunc Bros. American Lock - H10 Padlock (5).JPG  

    001.Junkunc Bros. American Lock - H10 Padlock (6).JPG   001.Junkunc Bros. American Lock - H10 Padlock (7).JPG   001.Junkunc Bros. American Lock - H10 Padlock (8).JPG   001.Junkunc Bros. American Lock - H10 Padlock (9).JPG   001.Junkunc Bros. American Lock - H10 Padlock (10).JPG  

    001.Junkunc Bros. American Lock - H10 Padlock (11).JPG   001.Junkunc Bros. American Lock - H10 Padlock (12).JPG   001.Junkunc Bros. American Lock - H10 Padlock (13).JPG   001.Junkunc Bros. American Lock - H10 Padlock (14).JPG   001.Junkunc Bros. American Lock - H10 Padlock (15).JPG  


  2. #2
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    Here is the US1607758 patent for it:
    Attached Files Attached Files

  3. #3
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    Default http://www.antique-locks.com/showthread.php/2803-Junkunc-Bros-American-Lock-H10-Padlo

    I too have an attraction for this style padlock...You are lucky to have the box , key & tag.
    I have a couple of early version's of this lock...One has a brass body & one of my early ones is missing the pin on the reverse side.. I'm not sure when that change was made, the pin on the back side, that is. I would like to know this, if anyone can help.
    Also my early versions are not plated....just raw steel and were not called series 10
    But had on the front Junkunc Bros. American Lock Chicago, USA...pats pend
    I can take photo's if anyone is interested..........Donnie

  4. #4
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    The Junkunc Bros. - American Lock Company which dates back to 1912 introduced their solid steel padlock bodies in the 1920s. In 2003 American Lock was acquired by Master Lock Co. who shortly thereafter laid off 400 employees and shuttered the plant in Crete, IL. The machinery was moved to Milwaukee where components are now manufactured before being shipped to Mexico for assembly. The AH10D is still offered under the American Lock marque with a suggested retail of $28.90 ea. Many American Lock bodies are stamped with a date code to indicate when the lock body was made: Z=Jan, Y=Feb, X=Mar, W=Apr, V=May, U=June, T=Jul, S=Aug, R=Sept, Q=Oct, P=Nov, O=Dec;
    N=1, M=2, L=3, K=4, J=5, I=6, H=7, G=8, F=9, E=0. Thus X H J x = March 1975, disregard the last character.

    Pete Schifferli

  5. #5
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    I can take photo's if anyone is interested..........Donnie
    Of course I would like to see them
    Here is a picture of the brass one that I have and also restored some time ago. It is marked with K1V106962 but I can make no sense if these letters not even with Petes decoding help. I will keep trying though! I believe that this one is a bit older. It is stamped with "U.S." at the back.

    Many American Lock bodies are stamped with a date code to indicate when the lock body was made: Z=Jan, Y=Feb, X=Mar, W=Apr, V=May, U=June, T=Jul, S=Aug, R=Sept, Q=Oct, P=Nov, O=Dec;
    N=1, M=2, L=3, K=4, J=5, I=6, H=7, G=8, F=9, E=0. Thus X H J x = March 1975, disregard the last character.
    Thank you for that information Pete! I do not see any marks on mine though... too bad

  6. #6
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    I forgot to add the picture.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails 010.Junkunc Bros. American Lock - Padlock.JPG  

  7. #7
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    Sweet lock! Mint (or near mint)-in-box locks are always great.

    The address on the box uses the old postal zone system ("Chicago 21, Ill."), so it can't be any earlier than 1943 (if Wikipedia is right, that is) and probably no later than circa 1960s (the ZIP code system replaced the postal zone system in 1963).

    It appears that the padlocks that have "JUNKUNC BROS. SUCCR'S TO AMERICAN LOCK CO." on the front (instead of "JUNKUNC BROS. AMERICAN LOCK") are the earliest ones, as the company history on the official American Lock website (link) says "In 1919 his [John Junkunc's] company moved to larger facilities and acquired the American Lock Company, a manufacturer of cylinders."

    I have a smaller Junkunc Bros. American Lock padlock with a shield logo, which I think may be the next logo used after the one on your NOS lock (interestingly, it also still says "PATS. PEND."). Its key is of the same design as the one for your lock, and it has a code on the top in the same format as the one on your brass lock, with a letter, a number, and another letter followed by 6 more numbers.

  8. #8
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    Hey Retro,

    thanks my friend! I totally forgot about the historical information on their web page
    I am building a timeline with the logos at the moment and always thought + had the information that the logo with the shield would be the oldest one. My information could be wrong though. It is the only model that I do not have in my collection yet but I am in a deal at the moment and hope it will work out. I have attached three pictures of padlocks that do not belong to my collection but I have the pictures on them. I also attached a picture of the timeline pictures. I will upload them as soon as I am sure they are in the right order. As you may notice I have pictured the newer logo several times and I did this because of a few small differences within the key design. My focus however, is on the older logos!

    All the assumptions we have come to here already make it easier to determine from what time period a padlock is but the best thing would be to have specific years of manufacturing to every logo. I may also add the old Junkunc combination padlock front logo as it seems to be the oldest of them all.

    The letters on top are still a mystery to me and so is the question whether Junkunc and American Lock had the first ball bearing type of padlock or not.

    Thanks to everyone so far
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails 100.American Lock  Logo - Oldest .jpg   101.American Lock Logo - First Pin Tumbler .jpg   103.American Lock Logo - Longest Used .jpg   001.American Lock Junkunc Bros. - Timeline.jpg  

  9. #9
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    Interesting pictures. Hopefully BBE will chime in with some info!

  10. #10
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    Thanks Jeff you are welcome

    I hope so too!

    Like this we could create a perfect timeline for dating American Locks both with pictures and text and put in a pdf. I will do all that in the End if being successful.

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