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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Posts
    714
    Country: United States

    Default Corbin "SP" CO. Padlock....

    I'm sure all have seen this padlock. I has is for a long time trying to impression this padlock. Also was hard to pick because these are ball bearing pins. I just got to point by looking at other padlock on eBay that look like my until I found one key that has key cut stamp. Thinking about it and went a head to cut the key by 0-9-0-9-0-9. Surprise me that key work. Now got a working key to open this padlock. I think that most of Rail Road padlock that look like my ma come in key code 0-9-0-9-0-9. I have see three or more of it on eBay same cut.....Tmothy....
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Corbin SP CO. RR Padlock B.jpg   Corbin SP CO. RR Padlock A.jpg   Corbin SP CO. RR Padlock C.jpg   Corbin SP CO. RR Padlock D.jpg   Corbin SP CO. RR Padlock E.jpg  


  2. #2
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Posts
    1,754
    Country: Wales

    Default

    Good job, looks a nice lock. What are the ball bearing pins that made it harder to pick?

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Posts
    88
    Country: Australia

    Default

    Corbin sometimes used ball bearings in the pin stacks, as a means of minimising wear and tear on both keys and key pins in locks subjected to heavy usage. In my experience, it is often limited to the first few pin stacks in a lock, closest to the front of the keyway.

    Where a standard pin stack would have a spring, a driver pin & a key pin, Corbin would have a spring, a driver pin, a key pin and then a ball bearing.

    I've not found that the ball bearings make picking more difficult, however the Corbin locks I found them in were made to very fine tolerances, which obviously does make picking more challenging.

    I suspect it is more the high-low-high-low bitting pattern in the padlock above that made it hard to pick, than the ball bearings.

    I've never tried to impression a lock with ball bearings in the pin stacks. On one hand their shape might make them leave more subtle marks than a pointy key pin, but on the other hand ball bearings are very hard & should impress well upon the softer blank. I'd be interested to hear if they marked well or not!

    ...Mark

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Posts
    88
    Country: Australia

    Default

    Just after pressing send, I remembered that these padlocks use the Corbin master ring system, and thus have two independent shear lines - this would certainly add to difficulty when picking or impressioning!

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Posts
    714
    Country: United States

    Default Corbin "SP" CO. Padlock....

    Mercury
    You gave good information about ball bearing. As talking about impression it was hard as don't show to much mark to see. The only reason this one so hard because of the way it set the pins up. I have done a few padlock that does have ball bearing in it was not too bad to do it but take time. I'm just glad I finally got this padlock with working key....Timothy.....

  6. #6
    Join Date
    May 2016
    Posts
    90
    Country: Canada

    Default

    Nice job Timothy!

    I have two of these locks, one is three pin with a key and the other seems to be a 5 pin lock without a key.
    Yours looks like it has 6 pins.
    Is there that much of a variation to these locks?
    I am not that good at picking yet and have not been able to open the 5 pin lock.

    I find it difficult to make out the number on the key blank. Is it ILCO 1001DA?

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