Posted 2 years ago
dav2no1
(823 items)
German Heimwacht Keyhole Locks
I picked up a box full of keys and locks today. These keys were part of that lot. Awhile back someone had posted a very strange looking lock..I think it was on a box or maybe a clock? I can't remember. But this reminded me of that.
Marked with the name Heimwacht and Rekord. Haven't found any information yet..
As you see in the pictures, the key is a 2 piece design. You would insert the key into the lock and turn it. This would cause the rear of the forward piece to rotate and lock, then you remove the key.
When the key is unlocked with both pieces together, it is locked together and the 2 pieces cannot be separated.
***PLEASE see comments..apparently these are "Key Guards" or "Keyhole Locks"***
Nice ,, can’t wait to see what everyone comes up with
I think it is a 'keyhole lock', once used on hotel room doors and such. Locking a door with this key, then disengaging the end part and leaving it within the lock, would prevent another key (authorized or not) from further operating the lock/opening the door.
"Keyhole Lock" ..that makes sense. I found a CW post about them..
https://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/190271-keyhole-guard--a-lock-that-looks-like-a
That's exactly how/where I learned about 'em too, Dave?!! I haven't *found* one of my own yet, though...? <lol>
Your lock looks smaller than keyhole locks. I'm fairly certain that you have a display case lock. They work similar to keyhole locks. Think of the jewelry department (or other department) with a lot of display cases with sliding doors. The lock is inserted into a housing. The tip of the lock then acts as a bolt or blocker so the doors do not slide open (locked). The clerk inserts and turns the key and removes the lock. That allows the doors to slide open (unlocked). The lock stays on the tip of the key so the clerk doesn't forget to put it back to lock the case, or is reminded to do so when they go to open another case and have a lock on the tip of their key. These are very practical so that one department or section of a department can use one set of locks to a particular key and the other sections have locks that use a different key. If they are to get new displays, they use their existing locks. If they need to change the keys, order a new set of locks.
In the previous comments there is a link to a post on keyhole locks. Here it is again:
https://d3h6k4kfl8m9p0.cloudfront.net/stories/bSSnsj3w9miILLWD1lEUyw.jpeg
Compare the appearance of most of their locks in the first picture. The two at the top are actually display case locks. The bottom right might be a display case lock, but I'm not certain.
-- Earth
Thanks for the comments. I've seen a lot of display cases and have never seen these type of locks used. With the markings..record...I feel they may be file cabinet keys?
Not file cabinet keys at all. They are designed to block a sliding door with their tip. The company I work for still sells a similar lock made by a company called BURG-WÄCHTER (pronounced: berg vock-ter). We used to carry a model by another German company called Borkey. Perhaps my familiarity with them makes me think they are more common than they are. They may not be as common as they once was. But they were as good once as they ever was.
-- Earth
Interesting! I've never come across one of those