Just to be clear, a box of wards is only part of the lock and not all warded locks have a ward box. The warding (fixed blocking) in a lock can be simple or it can be complex. The lock itself can be simple or complex. At the height of blacksmith made warded locks of the 1500-1700’s, in the best locks, both the ward boxes were complex as were the locks themselves. It is to do a disservice to the masters of the past to continue this myth that all warded locks were simple and easily opened. That link to the blogspot shows some of these better locks. Just as it is today, some locks are picked quickly, some not so quickly. Doug
