Older bottom-dial brass combination padlock

wylk

Here’s a moderately interesting padlock I picked up a couple of years ago. I haven’t been able to find out very much about it. There are 4 wheels inside that lock the shackle directly. But the wheels are so loose that they turn when they aren’t supposed to, i.e. by friction from the central spindle and not from the fly of the previous wheel. This makes it rather difficult to open which is why somebody long ago drilled it from the top (a straight piece of wire can be used to hold the wheels in place to unlock it). No markings or clue about the maker.

Can anybody help me with who made it, or any other information? It looks 1900-1920 to me.

Billy B Edwards Jr. CML

The patent class 70/25 includes that type of mechanism and specifically patent 327,046 from 1885 may be for your lock.
BBE.

Dean Nickel

Sure looks like it.

us327046.pdf

159kB

wylk

I’ll have to read the patent in detail, but it does look very much like my lock, thanks for pointing it out. One difference is that the patent drawing shows the wheels locking both legs of the shackle while my lock only operates on one leg of the shackle. That’s a pretty obvious cost-cutting measure.

Billy B Edwards Jr. CML

Yours might be a later version or a comletely different patent. I did some research a few years ago on combination locks with the dial on the bottom and there have been over a hundred through the years. That one was the first. Anyway it gives you somewhere to start.
BBE.

wylk wrote
I’ll have to read the patent in detail, but it does look very much like my lock, thanks for pointing it out. One difference is that the patent drawing shows the wheels locking both legs of the shackle while my lock only operates on one leg of the shackle. That’s a pretty obvious cost-cutting measure.

[unknown]