Specifications

48 • The National Locksmith
A
bout a year ago, we at The National Locksmith
mounted and attacked deadbolts with our feet and a
fork lift. The results told us a lot about door and
strike security. This year we will kidnap some poor
unsuspecting deadbolts, and carry them kicking and
screaming into our Locksmith Torture Test Lab to attack the
locks themselves within a few narrow protocols.
The attack sequence used on the deadbolts included in
this article is a compilation of attack methods
commonly used to try and defeat such locks. They
include picking, punching, probing, and drilling. I
will mention some more cogent techniques at the
end of the article.
Here are the guidelines used when working
on the following locks:
1. Picking includes 10 minutes of professional
picking. If I cannot pick a lock in that time, I go
on to more advanced and destructive methods
to open the deadbolt.
2. Punching is done
with a sharp pick type
hammer. One end was
used to bash the deadbolt, and the pick side is used to knock
off the cover of the deadbolt which will expose the ends of
the mounting screws.
3. Drilling is done with a fully charged Makita 3/8 inch
battery operated drill and a sharp 1/4 and 5/16 inch drill
bits. Drilling can be done either at the shear line of the
cylinder where appropriate, or on the ends of the mounting
screws to loosen the lock or to drill out/off the mounting
screws. Drilling can also be used to open a hole above the
deadbolt to expose the bolt mechanism.
4. Probing is the use of an ice pick to try and flip the
inside deadbolt to the open position. Drilling above the
deadbolt will expose the “Crescent of Opportunity” by
loosening the deadbolt from the door.
Deadbolt Theory
The purpose of a deadbolt, like a safe or money chest is to
buy the customer time. It is not to provide impregnability. If
someone wants in a door bad enough, they WILL get in
eventually. If time and noise is of no importance, then the
door or deadbolt will eventually be defeated.
Let us go on to the actual attacks. I am not stupid. If I
know an attack will fail, I will NOT proceed with it. I do not
get my jollies by futile effort. I learned a lot when I started
working on these units. You will see that High Security
means a lot more than just NOT being able to get the keys
duplicated, although that is part of the system too.
Defiant Deadbolt
The first unit is a low cost lock made in Malaysia with
many options. Called the Defiant, it is easily set for either
2-3/8” or 2-3/4” backset. It is easy to rekey and uses the
standard .115 size pins. It has a 1 inch throw and is
easily installed. It also offers NO security from any of
my attacks.
by Dale Libby
Click on border to view new company or issue