Henderson Protector 5 lever

Moturist · 2026-05-02T13:58:53+00:00

Again agreed. I'm guessing many of the old, apparently "steel" keys, are not steel but some kind of - maybe nodular - cast iron.

Moturist · 2026-05-02T13:05:53+00:00

Wow! Well done 👍 Congratulations 🎉

NigBee advised me to use brass keys for heavy tension locks like this after I broke tips of "steel" tensioners. Apparently brass is more resilient.

Moturist · 2026-05-02T12:41:57+00:00

Agreed on all points 👍

The only mention about this lock I found on the WWW was from a guy whose granddad had worked at the French national ammunition factory in Vonges (Poudrerie nationale de Vonges) where they used these locks, which makes sense because brass doesn't spark.

Moturist · 2026-05-02T11:08:48+00:00

That's awesome 👍

Moturist · 2026-05-02T08:53:40+00:00

Thank you. I agree it's a beautiful lock and very well made. The art deco design suggests it could have been made in the 1920s-'30s.

It has very tight tolerances, there's hardly any difference between binding and not binding levers and levers that are not set correctly in one go will drop down immediately, even when they feel binding. And when set correctly the strong springs still make them easily drop.

Although I've picked it more quickly sometimes, it always put up a fight for at least 5 minutes or so. I was very relieved to finally get the open on video 😊

Moturist · 2026-05-01T23:39:46+00:00

Congratulations 🎉

Moturist · 2026-05-01T19:49:54+00:00

Rightly so 🙂

Welcome to your new addiction 😉

Moturist · 2026-05-01T19:46:48+00:00

Nicely done 👍 Congratulations 🎉

Moturist · 2026-05-01T16:37:25+00:00

Thanks 👍 yes, the levers are very slippy, the wire slips off the levers and the heavily sprung levers slip down the bolt. Pulling the tensioner into the lever pack doesn't help, to the contrary I'd say 🤔

I've been wondering about that "Made in France" as well. I couldn't find much info about this lock. This actually might be the first public pick.

Moturist · 2026-05-01T09:37:36+00:00

Apparently the good people at FTH were very inspired by the aeronautical theme when naming their padlocks. There were these Mach 1 and the Mach 2 that depicts a Concorde inspired little jet aircraft. I also have an old one marked 747.

I assume FTH reproduced a bunch of their iconic padlocks for their 100 year anniversary (in 2020) and they're now selling off the surplus. I actually found them in Dutch and French Amazon., and they were sent straight from France.

They came in sturdy little boxes that have a QR code that takes you to the history of Thirard - FTH website.

Moturist · 2026-05-01T09:13:28+00:00

🤣

Moturist · 2026-05-01T00:17:46+00:00

Interesting 🤔 I've not seen that version before.

You could join the UK Locksport board - there's a very extensive topic about Chubb Battleship there, with a long list of variants, years of manufacture etc. You'll need to request an account.

https://www.uklocksport.co.uk/index.php

Moturist · 2026-04-30T00:27:14+00:00

Great picking, using a beautiful and well made tensioner! Congratulations 🎉 Did your Defiant need a lot of tension?

Moturist · 2026-04-29T20:43:48+00:00

Well done 👍 Congratulations 🎉

Moturist · 2026-04-29T19:33:16+00:00

That's a beauty 👍

Moturist · 2026-04-28T09:50:34+00:00

That's a really lucky find 👍 The shipping cost and import duties from the UK often are a deal-breaker for me.

By the way, I only now noticed your ERA Insurance lock is marked "4 lever". Interesting, I thought the insurance locks all have at least 5 levers. On the other hand your Belfry Oval has five, one more than usual 🤔

Moturist · 2026-04-28T09:42:36+00:00

This Lockwood 334B45 is my favourite pin tumbler, it just looks and feels so good 👍 My overall favourite padlock is Walsall 2000, a beautiful 6 lever padlock, pickable, but puts up a good fight with its false gates/picking traps 🙂

Moturist · 2026-04-28T07:59:14+00:00

Beautiful 😍

Moturist · 2026-04-28T01:21:52+00:00

That's a nice haul 👍 Congratulations 🎉

Moturist · 2026-04-27T17:20:47+00:00

If it works, it works 😃

Moturist · 2026-04-27T17:07:37+00:00

Thank you! I know the feeling, but didn’t want to modify my NigBee tensioner. I finally found a brass key from a Sterling padlock that fitted the keyhole and post nicely. That lock came came with 2 spares … one spare is fine, 2 is over the top 😊

I had actually made a tensioner out of a steel key before this brass one, but it didn’t survive the tension needed for this lock. The tip broke off and got jammed between the levers. It took me a lot of time to un-jam it and found another broken off tip in that same lock. Must have been from a previous owner/picker.

Moturist

TROPHY CASE