Bramah lock: Difference between revisions
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The '''Bramah lock''' is a lock design that was created by [[Joseph Bramah]] in 1784. The design was the first known high security lock design. |
The '''Bramah lock''' is a lock design that was created by [[Joseph Bramah]] in 1784. The design was the first known high security lock design. |
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===History=== |
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After attending some lectures on technical aspects of [[Lock (security device)|lock]]s, Bramah designed a lock of his own, receiving a patent for it in 1784. In the same year he started the Bramah Locks company at 124 Piccadilly, which is today based in Fitzrovia, London and Romford, Essex.<ref>http://www.bramah.co.uk/ accessed 2 March 2015</ref> |
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The locks produced by his company were famed for their resistance to [[lock picking]] and tampering, and the company famously had a "[[Challenge Lock]]" displayed in the window of their London shop from 1790 mounted on a board containing the inscription: |
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''The artist who can make an instrument that will pick or open this lock shall receive 200 [[Guinea (British coin)|guineas]] the moment it is produced.'' |
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[[File:Crystal Palace from the northeast from Dickinson's Comprehensive Pictures of the Great Exhibition of 1851. 1854.jpg|thumb|The [[Great Exhibition]] 1851]] |
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The challenge stood for over 67 years until, at the [[Great Exhibition]] of 1851, the American locksmith [[Alfred Charles Hobbs]] was able to open the lock and, following some argument about the circumstances under which he had opened it, was awarded the prize. Hobbs' attempt required some 51 hours, spread over 16 days. |
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The Challenge Lock is in the [[Science Museum of London|Science Museum]] in [[London]]. An examination of the lock shows that it has been rebuilt since Hobbs picked it. Originally it had 18 iron slides and 1 central spring; it now has 13 steel slides, each with its own spring. |
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Bramah received a second patent for a lock design in 1798. |
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Revision as of 14:00, 28 April 2015
The Bramah lock is a lock design that was created by Joseph Bramah in 1784. The design was the first known high security lock design.
History
After attending some lectures on technical aspects of locks, Bramah designed a lock of his own, receiving a patent for it in 1784. In the same year he started the Bramah Locks company at 124 Piccadilly, which is today based in Fitzrovia, London and Romford, Essex.[1]
The locks produced by his company were famed for their resistance to lock picking and tampering, and the company famously had a "Challenge Lock" displayed in the window of their London shop from 1790 mounted on a board containing the inscription:
The artist who can make an instrument that will pick or open this lock shall receive 200 guineas the moment it is produced.
The challenge stood for over 67 years until, at the Great Exhibition of 1851, the American locksmith Alfred Charles Hobbs was able to open the lock and, following some argument about the circumstances under which he had opened it, was awarded the prize. Hobbs' attempt required some 51 hours, spread over 16 days.
The Challenge Lock is in the Science Museum in London. An examination of the lock shows that it has been rebuilt since Hobbs picked it. Originally it had 18 iron slides and 1 central spring; it now has 13 steel slides, each with its own spring.
Bramah received a second patent for a lock design in 1798.
- ^ http://www.bramah.co.uk/ accessed 2 March 2015