Arm yourself with some locksmith facts before your next pub trivia night. Impress your team mates with your random locksmith general knowledge and hopefully pick up some extra points on the score sheet.
Did you know that the oldest known lock is over 4,000 years old?
In the Khorsabad palace ruins in Nineveh the lock was discovered. This is the oldest known lock and the humble beginning of what we refer to as a pin tumbler style of lock. The lock used a large wooden bolt to secure a door. It had a slot with multiple holes in it and these holes were filled with wooden pegs to prevent it from being opened.
The oldest version of this lock used with a key dates back to around 704BC. The hole that was left for a hand to enter to pull pins out was reduced in size and a large wooden key was entered instead to lift the pins. This was also discovered in Khorsabad, in the palace of Sargon.
The first production key duplication machine was invented in 1917.
The invention of the first mechanical key duplication machine is believed to have occurred in the United States in 1917. This machine allowed for keys to be duplicated in less than a minute. A lot quicker than previously when cut by hand.
Machines to cut keys had been in existence since the late 1800’s. In 1895, Edmund R. Darling was granted a patent for his production key machine.
The Antique Key Machine Museum Of America has been open since 2015 and houses some of the rarest key machines in the world. It is located in Finleyville, Pennsylvania.
The Guinness World Record for the largest security lock/padlock has been held since 2003.
The lock and key was created by students and teachers at Pavlovo Arts College in Russia. It weighs 415.5kg and is 144.3cm tall, 105cm wide and 26cm deep.
The crest on top of the padlock was not included in its overall height as it was not an integral part to the functioning of the lock.
