The Osceola times., 1884-11-29
USELESS LOCKS.
How AN Expert can Open the Most Intricate
Combinations In Existence.


close shaved, clean-cut, pene rating.
looking man. He stood in locksmith's
shop on Four-and-one. half street. dang.
ling the dia. ofa combination lock ON
the end of bent wire.
"They open if he looks at EN-" said
youth, who stood by interestedly ex-
aminiDg the bits Of broken lock. old
keys, drills and odds and ends Of wire,
brass and steel which were scattered
about the shop. The sign in front of the
door read: "Praticcal Locksmith and
Saie-Opener."
Do you make practice OF breaking
open safest" asked the Star nan.
Il open safes when nobody else can. -
replied the smith, giving the scribe a
keen. inquirine look, which might have
opened him had he been lock. That
is, open safes when the locks are out of
order or the combinations lost. Some.
times man will oil the lock of his safe
and it gets gummed up SO that the tum.
blers won't work, and he cant get il
open. Some men are forgetfu aud lose
their combination. Safes are sold at
Sherif's sale sometimes, and, the owner
being mad won't giveup the combina.
ton. When anything of that kind hap
pens they send for me-"
ado you blow them open?''
kL. lanly Il H.. 4. -
won't work dr Il a little hole alongside
the dial and pick the lock with a small
bit of wire. If the lock is all right, only
the combination is lost, go t. work to
find it and don't deface the safe at all.
1t takes me from three seconds to six
hours to open rafe, according to the
kind and the method | employ"
"But how can you find the combine
ton? Does it not take long timer
"By testing. As to time. it depends
upon circumstances. If | know the man
who set the combination / can find il in
very few minutes. If don't, it takes
longer You see, ! study the character
of the man, and if know him pretty
well can strike his combination through
his character. When stranger comes
TO Inc TO say he has lost his combination
make study of him, and in nine cases
out often can hit it the second or third
time. But if he did not see the combina-
ton himself il is more difiicllt. Then
study the lock instead of the man, and
am sure to get it open in few hours.
Oh, mol II wouldn't do 10 tell YOU how.
Safe openers are dangerous in commu-
nifty. They are always watched by the
police They keep an eye on me all the
time. have them trying my door all
hour. of the ulght ard there's generally
one somesh"re around. No, couldn't
teach YOU to open safes. But you might
not find it easy TO learn. There is kind
of association between me and locks an
understanding, as it were. We have the
same way of thinking"
Gould YOU open burglar-proof time
lock-" asked
81 cln open the best lock that was ever
made ia 1--WE oi SIX hour. These little
ofice.salcs wouldn't put that inuch
time on. II cy dol Z Iay enough. just
take a hat ner and break the knob of,
and car get into G safe in about three
seconds"
What DO you get Tor opening II saie?'
For little three. second safe ge. SO.
For larger safes like they have IN banks
and brokers offices, ana where they don't
want the lock injureo, get $3.50"
Gould you open the great safe in the
United States Treasury
Easily. could get nd of the time
leck and every thing in six or seven
hours. and wouldn't make any parii ular
fuss about it, either. No safe was ever
made but il had some weak point known
to the maker, SO he could get into 1t in
case the lock should lail to respond. II
there wasn't, they would have to break
the conc, rn all TO pieces if the lock broke.
Now, | know where to find these weak
places. can strike within quarter of
an inch of it every time. 1t is generally
covered over by thin sheet of steel or
boller.iron, and by cutting away block
three or four inches, which is easily done
| could drill into the best safe that has
ever been made. 1t would not be any
trouble for burglars to get into the Treas
ury safe if they understood locks as
do"
HAS your knowledge of locks ever got
you into any trouble with the police"
"No. not seriously, though, as ! say,
they always watch me. Down in Oil
CITY. though, created quite an alarm
one night, and came near being captured
as a burglar. Some fellows got TO tam
perinp with the safe in large hardware
store there. and somehow got the com
bination changed so that no one knew
how to omen 1t. The proprietor sent for
me. and told him could open it, but
as | was quite busy, ] should have to
wait until evening. ! closed my shoP a
little after dark, and went over to the
store and got to work on the job. had
been working couple of hours, when
somebody banged al the door and called
or me to surrender without resistance II
did not want to be shot. The proprie-
tor was fortunately in the store at the
time. and opened the door There was a
squad of policemen armed, and the mouse
was completely surrounded, so could
not escape. The patrolman had seen me
at work on the safe and gone OH ana
reused the town, and the whole police
force had been called out to surround
the building. The proprietor explained
and went on with my job.
But locks don't do much good against
experts" he continued. "a gang oi bur
glars would find no trouble in robpihe