Project:Hobbs Pick for Chubb (Now Union)1K11 (aka Battleship) Padlock
A small project, a special lock pick to open a nice old padlock to which there are no keys.
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This is the lock, it is a Chubb Battleship padlock that was introduced in 1966 and has been produced continuously with little change ever since. this particular one dates from at least the 1970s and may be older.
The pick
This type of pick was invented by the celebrated 19th century locksmith Mr A.C.Hobbs, an American who came to Britain in 1851 to represent his company at the Great Exhibition.
The pick works by exerting pressure on the bolt of the lock while the levers are manipulated one at a time until they are all in the right place to allow the bolt to withdraw.
It was made from an old key, a couple of long bolts and a couple of potentiometer knobs. Processes used in the production were drilling, sawing, grinding, filing and silver soldering. In all, about three or four hours work went into this project over about a week.
Phil
