Dicey- they are similar in terms of the style of key and having a barrel or cylinder mechanism with slides, but the main differences with the Whitfield, Cotterill etc were I believe deliberate in order to avoid infringement of Bramah’s Patent.
With the Bramah the key pushes the slides vertically down against a coil compression spring at the base of the drill pin. This also allows for a more compact cylinder overall.
With the Whitfield etc the key pushes the slides radially outwards from the centre of the drill pin. Each slide has an individual compression spring which are very small- considerably smaller diameter than say whats found in a typical pin-tumbler cylinder. This led them prone to spring failure, the slides were also relatively delicate and prone to cracking on weak spots created by the false notches. For every single ‘reasonable’ condition working lock you’ll probably see over 20 that have literally chewed themselves to pieces!
Interesting locks though- I’ve always liked them but I’d definitely have to go with Bramah’s as the superior idea in terms of security, function and reliability. 🙁nod):
