Property of Colt Mfg.Co.

outkast

Posting a couple of Yale locks that my dad purchased awhile back.Both locks are the same with the same stamping which can be seen in the pics.I have searched yale locks online and can’t find anything close.Our guess is maybe military ( WWII ) maybe Colt used them when shipping firearms by Rail Road.Any help would be great.

Paul Prescott

While I’m no expert on padlocks these are rather odd. I’ve never seen a lock of this pattern made by Yale before. Do you have a key ? If so is it marked ?

It’s quite possible that the locks would have been made specially but somehow I doubt that Colt would have used such a lock as their shipments would have relied on armed guards rather than padlocks ?

Have you seen if Colts have a company historian who maybe able to assist ?

At the moment my gut feeling is that they are a fantasy item of some kind - although I could be wrong and am sure someone more knowledgeable than I will comment in due course.

Billy B Edwards Jr. CML

Yale did and does modify some of their locks to have these oversized shackles only on the exposed portion. They are typically used by railroads and the most common example is a logo lock for the Norfolk-Southern railway. The way this lock is marked does not seem genuine. The logo on this lock looks engraved rather than cast or stamped. I have never seen a Yale engraved logo lock. It is possible that they have changed to laser engraving in the last few years but that doesn’t really seem to fit in with the age discoloration that can be seen in the pictures.

I am wondering if someone hasn’t done the engraving and then chemically treated the locks to ‘age’ them visually. It should actually be possible to contact Colt with an inquiry since they are still in business today. That may be your best option since there are so many things that seem out of time or place with them.
BBE.

amazing01

It is a fake……Bob Dix did an article on this lock in the Journal of Lock Collecting Vol. 40, No.2 (March/April 2009). The crooks are getting better and better at making fakes and modifing old locks to fetch big bucks. I got had on a fake Keen Kutter but I only paid what it was actualy worth so I was okay with it. I really like the lock; it works great, it is pleasing to the eye, and it seems to be really well made……I just wish people would not try to pass them off as the real thing.

Cheers, Mike D_C/