Eagle Supr Security IRS Padlock

Adrian Weber

This is an Eagle Supr Security IRS Padlock that I wanted to share with you. In my opinion an interesting piece and my first IRS padlock. I would also like to have an IRS pancake padlock but these obviously sell for a lot of money.

I have also attached the Patent and the mentioning in the Padlock Handbook.

Adrian

us3035433.pdf

497kB

Dean Nickel

I have the rim cylinder of that lock cylinder type. I will find the pictures and post them so you can see the plug.

Pschiffe

Adrian Weber wrote
This is an Eagle Supr Security IRS Padlock that I wanted to share with you. In my opinion an interesting piece and my first IRS padlock. I would also like to have an IRS pancake padlock but these obviously sell for a lot of money.

I have also attached the Patent and the mentioning in the Padlock Handbook.

Adrian

From Locks and Lockmakers of America, Rev. Third Edition by Thomas F. Hennessy, pg. 12:
In 1961, the Eagle Lock Co. came out with a new line of locks called “Supr-Security”. These were one of the first line of high-security locks which were virtually pick-proof and the keys could not be duplicated on standard key duplicating machines. These locks were invented by Frank Testa, an engineer at Eagle Lock Co. (Patent #3,035,433, May 22, 1962). These new “Supr-Security” locks included padlocks, jimmy-proof locks, cam locks and rim and mortise cylinders. These locks were quite successful, but they could not be masterkeyed.

Pete Schifferli

[unknown]

timof5stars

Funny you should mention…I just dropped out of the bidding on this one over at eBay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/190940324736?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1431.l2649

Currently at $45 - I was amazed when I saw this a few days ago. Aren’t these called “Bell” keys?

I wish I was a little more flush with cash but I’ve been saving up for the big tomato:

[url]http://tinyurl.com/gotlockyep[/URL][INDENT][/INDENT]

Pschiffe

timof5stars wrote
Aren’t these called “Bell” keys?

The Supr-Security key is indeed a derivation of the old “Bell Lock” design which used wiggle-cut sidewinder type keys although the mechanism is different. The Supr-Security added wafer tumblers and a side bar to the Bell-type tumblers for increased pick resistance.

Interestingly the same Eagle Lock Co. had acquired the rights to manufacture the Bell Lock line in 1949. Originally patented nearly a century ago in 1920, one of their most famous uses was on the old Mills Novelty Co. slot machines.*

Although little known, the Bell Lock is still manufactured today by Login Parking who I suspect purchased the tooling from Lori Corporation. The current application is primarily for parking meters and gaming applications. See link:
http://www.loginparking.com/securityproducts.html

*adapted from Historical Research Series #15, May 1985 by Thomas F. Hennessy.

Pete Schifferli

[unknown]

Adrian Weber

I have the rim cylinder of that lock cylinder type. I will find the pictures and post them so you can see the plug.

Would be very interesting to see that Dean 🙁nerd):

From Locks and Lockmakers of America, Rev. Third Edition by Thomas F. Hennessy, pg. 12:
In 1961, the Eagle Lock Co. came out with a new line of locks called “Supr-Security”. These were one of the first line of high-security locks which were virtually pick-proof and the keys could not be duplicated on standard key duplicating machines. These locks were invented by Frank Testa, an engineer at Eagle Lock Co. (Patent #3,035,433, May 22, 1962). These new “Supr-Security” locks included padlocks, jimmy-proof locks, cam locks and rim and mortise cylinders. These locks were quite successful, but they could not be masterkeyed.

I still have to get this book Pete thanks for posting this info!
I was yet not able to find a patent number on this padlock design but the padlock handbook handbook describes it pretty well I would say.

You are really bidding on this timo? Nice 😃:

The Supr-Security key is indeed a derivation of the old “Bell Lock” design which used wiggle-cut sidewinder type keys although the mechanism is different. The Supr-Security added wafer tumblers and a side bar to the Bell-type tumblers for increased pick resistance.

I once heard that the inventor from EVVA 3KS was inspired by this Eagle Lock. Not sure if that is true or just a rumor though…
Pete, I asked already but where can I get this Historical Research papers?

Adrian

Pschiffe

Adrian Weber wrote
Pete, I asked already but where can I get this Historical Research papers?
Adrian

Adrain,
The Historical Research Series numbers about one hundred and were published periodically by Lock Museum of America, Inc. I have been a charter and life member since it opened in 1972 and one of the benefits was receipt of those documents. Thus I have most, but not all of them. I have heard that founder Tom Hennessy, Sr., who is probably in his late eighties, is presently in a nursing home; thus there will likely be no future editions. Tom Hennessy, Jr. is curator of Lock Museum of America and I suspect they should be able to provide a listing of the various Historical Research Series together with their charge for copies. The museum has a part-time staff and limited resources and thus may be slow on responding to inquiries, but you could try. Here is a link to their website which is sadly, quite out-of-date:
http://www.lockmuseumofamerica.org/home.aspx

Pete Schifferli

[unknown]

Adrian Weber

Thank you very much for pointing me in the right direction! I was not even born in the 70’s yet and my hobby started in my early ages as a young boy at the beginning of the 90’s. I am a bit too young for these series I believe. I will try to contact them 🙂

timof5stars

Pete,Thanks for taking the time to reply to my post. As I’ve posted in previous threads I’m very interested in the history of padlocks and their production. In most topics I become interested in, the Internet provides a huge treasure trove of information. Not so much with padlocks. There is a little here, a little there and many small snippets from people like yourself that appear on forums like this. In the 10-12 months since I first became interested in old padlocks, I have not found the wealth of information I would have expected to find. I only recently became aware of Hennessy’s book (“Early Locks and Lockmakers of America”). Since it is long out of print, I located a used copy published in 1976 by Nickerson & Collins (by something they identify as their “Locksmith Ledger Division” - I assume they published documents highly specific to locksmiths. I’m also assuming the author of this more lay-person oriented book was Hennessy, SR not JR.) Until your comment, I had not made the connection between Hennessy and the Lock Museum. I am slowly learning who the players were but I have come to the conclusion that a fair amount of historical information is being lost - i.e. people such as Hennessy believe preservation of this information is important but we need a couple thousand Hennessys. For example, I believe there have to be former employees of Eagle Lock out there who could tell their stories but I haven’t seen any. I personally would love to be able to have a resource for most model of Eagle locks. What were their dates of manufacture. Who were the target markets for these models and when and why were they discontinued. When I come across a “new to me” Eagle lock such as the subject of this thread, I’m not just interested in its immediate physical appearance. Each lock contains a story (or more likely a set of stories)… why it came to be, what problem(s) it solved, etc. but t these stories are very elusive.

Arcade Al

By coincidence I was looking at this modern Euro lock on Ebay earlier
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fab-Dynamic-Assa-Abloy-High-Security-Cylinder-6-keys-3530mm-real-pic-/261320076531
And it struck me that the keys look remarkably similar…
🙁think):

Scott Klemm

A very interesting lock and one I previously had not seen! What especially caught my attention was the key that almost looks like 2 keys fused together - one pin tumbler type and the other a Bell type with a wavy groove. It reminded me of a key type associated with a watchman’s signal system made by Dudley. Its so-called tour key has a lock fitted within its stem that fits into another key within the box. This box key resembles the IRS padlock key in that it also looks like 2 keys fused together. It even has a groove down the center, but is straight rather than wavy. I have posted three pictures. Incidentally, does anyone have information about Dudley? All I have been able to find out is that it was originally located in Chicago and then moved to Canada. The company apparently was acquired by Master.

Pschiffe

timof5stars wrote
Pete,Thanks for taking the time to reply to my post.

Point of information, Nickerson & Collins Co. became the publisher of Locksmith Ledger magazine in 1970 after it was sold by M. Leonard Singer; who had begun the periodical in 1939. Mr. Singer was a museum founder and together with his wife Louise were museum directors until their deaths. Nickerson & Collins did indeed publish the first edition of Early Locks and Lockmakers of America as well as the expanded second edition which are said to have sold over 5,000 copies. I have a hard cover version of the first with my name embossed in gold leaf which was issued to commemorate America’s bicentennial in 1976. Some years later Cygnus Business Media became the publisher and continues to this day. I believe the revised third edition © 1997, now printed by Locksmith Publishing Corp., an affiliate of Cygnus; is still for sale by the museum. I have the good fortune to possess a soft cover copy autographed by the author and curator, Thomas F. Hennessy, Sr.

As an aside, I am attempting to secure the entire Historical Research Series of which I’m missing at least 24. If successful, I hope to scan these and burn to a CD so that they will be preserved for posterity. Attached are PDFs of #20 of the Series dated Aug. 1987 showing some old Eagle-made padlocks and #21 from Nov. 1987 with old Friam padlocks from their 1915 catalog.

Pete Schifferli

[unknown]

historicalresearchseries20.pdf

837kB

historicalresearchseries21.pdf

1MB

Pschiffe

Scott Klemm wrote
A very interesting lock and one I previously had not seen! What especially caught my attention was the key that almost looks like 2 keys fused together - one pin tumbler type and the other a Bell type with a wavy groove.

Interestingly, prior to 1949; the Bell Lock was manufactured by the Dudley Lock Corp. of Chicago, IL. See pdf of Historical Research Series
#15 by Thomas F. Hennessy, dated May 1985 attached for more information. I am unaware of any acquisition of Dudley by Master Lock Co.

Pete Schifferli

[unknown]

historicalresearchseries15-0001.pdf

1MB

Billy B Edwards Jr. CML

Pschiffe wrote
Interestingly, prior to 1949; the Bell Lock was manufactured by the Dudley Lock Corp. of Chicago, IL. See pdf of Historical Research Series
#15 by Thomas F. Hennessy, dated May 1985 attached for more information. I am unaware of any acquisition of Dudley by Master Lock Co.

Pete Schifferli

Dudley is a wholly owned subsiderary of Master Lock LLP and has been for the last 4-5 years. I did a little trouble shooting for the combo lock before it was converted to the MLC design a couple of years ago.
BBE.

[unknown]

Adrian Weber

Hey Pete, thank you so much for posting No.15, that one explains EVERYTHING!

Perfect, now the mystery is solved, at least for me 🙁nerd):

Adrian