Hobbs 4-lever lock

Cepasaccus

I have got this Hobbs lock. Impressive bitting, but just 4 levers. The most impressive part of the bitting is located where the bolt is. Imprint on the key: HOBBS&Co. PATENTS LONDON 48810. On the lock is also 48810.

I would appreciate any information regarding age and for what it was used.

Thanks

safeman

Cepasaccus wrote
I have got this Hobbs lock. Impressive bitting, but just 4 levers. The most impressive part of the bitting is located where the bolt is. Imprint on the key: HOBBS&Co. PATENTS LONDON 48810. On the lock is also 48810.

I would appreciate any information regarding age and for what it was used.

Thanks

Number relates to 1954. Appears from the number 2 stamped on the bit that it could have been the second lock of a dual locking system. The mystery is where are the other levers to suit a 9 lever key and the step to operate the talon of the bolt. Not a Protector high security lock despite the key. Perhaps for a grille gate.

[unknown]

Cepasaccus

Thanks. Grille gate of a vault or something like a private property?

I assume that this is intended as a 4-lever lock deceiving the customer. The talon is the full width of the bolt and so it is the longest bit in the middle of the bolt which is actually throwing the bolt.

Tom Gordon

Cepasaccus wrote
Thanks. Grille gate of a vault or something like a private property?

I assume that this is intended as a 4-lever lock deceiving the customer. The talon is the full width of the bolt and so it is the longest bit in the middle of the bolt which is actually throwing the bolt.

Maybe there was another lock which used all the bittings and another key without the extra bittings.
one key would open both locks but one key would only open YOUR lock.

[unknown]

Richard Phillips

I have a Hobbs double-sided grilegate custodial lock masterkeyed with compound levers. The belly has 2 different radii, each half the thickness of the lever, i.e. two different points on which the key step can bear. (Similar idea to masterkeyed wafers, but more difficult and expensive to make the levers, and cut the master and servant keys.) Sadly I only have one key for my lock, no way of knowing which it is.
Mine probably dates from 1930’s when the prison was built. The patent dates from 1922, according to UNION Encyc of locks.

Cepasaccus

Tom Gordon wrote
Maybe there was another lock which used all the bittings and another key without the extra bittings.
one key would open both locks but one key would only open YOUR lock.

That makes sense!

[unknown]

Gary Stephenson

This will be the backpan lock of a safe or strongroom designed to open using one of the main safe or vault keys, quite common on hobbs stuff

Gary Stephenson

Always admired the thinking behind this, the backpan is secured against tampering but works on one of the main safe or vault keys, rather than have separate rarely used keys that get lost.

Cepasaccus

That is a backpan? Can’t find it in the dictionary and the internet searches are not really helpful. If I had to make a wild guess, I would say it is the grating behind the main vault door.

The length of the key makes really sense for this setup. The levers of my Hobbs’ Protector lock ( https://www.antique-locks.com/showthread.php/4599-Help-needed-dating-Hobbs-amp-Co-Patent-Protector-locks?p=26899#post26899 ) are very similar to these levers and its key’s bitting is very similar to the bitting of the unused part. So the main lock would have also very similar levers? Perhaps 9 plus 2 of the bits for turning a curtain?

Gary Stephenson

The backpan or chamber is the back door onto the safe or strongroom boltwork, in a lot of the older stuff they used to be lockable to prevent anyone that had access to the doors whilst they were open from being able to tamper with anything or have access to locks so keys could be made, nowadays security comes second to cost so most backpans are screwed or bolted on, or at best have little cheap camlocks fitted.

Cepasaccus

Thanks. Have seen modern backpans with the cheap wafer locks.