Fine Lock Shop – Smart Door Lock & Locksmithing

Category: Uncategorized

  • Customer Self Destruct His Lock – But still did not unlock

    Customer Self Destruct His Lock – But still did not unlock

    This client self destruct his lock in attempt to unlock. His problem is rather complicated, which is latch jam (happens to many cheap china knob).

    Symptom of latch jam:

    • You have the key, you can turn the knob from outside, but the door still won’t open.

    Latch jam is a very complicated matter. Even for us well trained locksmith, we need one to two hour. We need to total   disassemble the knob to its smallest component. It is very labour intensive.

    If you just lost the key and don’t want to pay for locksmith key, there is still possibility that you can knock the lock and unlock. But if latch jam, don’t even think about it.

    Leave it to us.

  • Mortise Door Lock – Kuching

    Mortise Door Lock – Kuching

    Estremo Lever Handle on Plate

    • Material: Stainless Steel of SUS304 Grade, extra thick, extra durable
    • Work: Change Handleset to Higher Security mortise lock (maintain deadbolt part only)
    • Efect: Double Throw and Double Bolt
  • A Very Impressive Door Lock in Kuching

    A Very Impressive Door Lock in Kuching

    A customer walk in and ask to re-key his 10 years old house lock (one key drop somewhere and could not be found)

    We are very impressed with his lock. We knew he bought it either KL or Singapore, because they did not buy from us. It is EZ Brand, top range. We do sell it but we have never opened in till the key cylinder to rekey it. This is the first time we open all the way into the Key Cylinder.

    From outside looks like a common key cylinder, but inside is all good material and high security feature. Definitely an upper ANSI Grade 2 lock at least. In Kuching majority deadbolt, sorry to say, failed to pass the lowest Grade 3.

    This lock uses pin-within-pin key system, which makes it very hard to pick. Added with anti pick and anti bump top pin, I have to say this lock is simply beyond even my ability to pick it.

    How about drilling? You can see hardened steel pin inserted at the head of the cylinder:

    Which mean you can’t drill it either. 

    This is a very very impressive deadbolt. Worth every ringgit spend. Price: around RM 200 (high security, last very long, and safe)

    Ordinary China deadbolt might cost around RM 30, but they have nothing to compare with this deadbolt.

    Choose wisely.

    Advise from Locksmith.
    The Fine Lock Shop

  • Why Your Key Snap?

    Why Your Key Snap?

    No matter what quality your key is, even the best and thickest silver-nickel alloy, it will still snap if the below situation occurs.

    1. Lock not smooth/ stuck/ grinding/ badly installed. Usually sign is like the left photo, key twisted.

    • This might happens if the lock is of bad quality, some really cheap locks usually made in China. Or,
    • Badly installed locks, causes the bolt/ latch can’t really fit perfectly into the strike hole. So when lock or unlock, the bolt is actually grinding the strike. Or,
    • Still badly installed locks, the external and internal is not in the same horizontal or vertical line. The lock will not works smoothly and you need more force to turn the key

    2. The user used unnecessary excessive force on the key. The sign for this is bent key, not twisted.

    • Sometimes user use the key to pull the door while the key is inside the lock. The key becomes like a pull handle. 
    • If your door do not have a pull handle, install one. Must not use the key to substitute the pull handle

      Advise from Locksmith,
      www.finelockshop.com

    • Barrel Bolt, Hidden Type

      Barrel Bolt, Hidden Type

      This item is getting popular nowadays in Kuching. We have seen a lot in our client door (asking for repair)

      It is marketed as an additional locks for a wooden door. Same functions as a surface mounted barrel/tower bolt below:

      Standard Barrel Bolt

      Yes same function as above, but concealed into the door, not on surface.

      Under some circumstances, we might recommend this concealed barrel bolt, like special location, rarely opened door, etc. 

      However, as a standard guidelines, we say, avoid using this. Why? If you notice the top photo, there is a gear-shape key. There is also a gear inside the lock body. After repeated use, bolt-in, bolt-out (using the gear), what will happen to the gears? Both become rounded and later flatten. So you can’t bolt-out/ bolt-in anymore (actually can, if you use a sharp item and slowly hook the bolt in, but you will not want to do it everyday). No more gear teeth, so to speak. It might happen to the key, or to the gear inside the lock. 

      The problem lies in the material used. Those gears are usually made of Zinc Alloy, a relatively soft metal. 

      The photo that you saw on top, that bolt is sold by us, a highee quality type, full stainless steel lock body, yet the key is still Zinc Alloy. So it will last longer than those Zinc-body concealed bolt, but not too long. One day the key will still become flatten, although the gear inside the bolt part won’t.

      We will continue to search for a manufacturer that produce full stainless steel bolt with stainless steel key. Stainless steel gear-key will last much longer, but we still need to test it first in order to not distribute a problematic items. 

      Meanwhile we will say, stay away from this concealed barrel bolt, unless under a rare circumstances that make it a no-choice.

      Use those surface mounted type. Old fashioned, but time tested.


      Advise From Locksmith,
      The Fine Lock Shop Team

    • Door Sometimes Just Get Swollen

      Door Sometimes Just Get Swollen

      Swollen Door

      This door expands. It keeps on expanding so after a while, it is quite bad. So once you push it to close, it is hard to open. This customer ask someone from outside to help kick to door open. And the door cracks. (UPDATES: After checking on the client’s door, just the surface laminate layer crack actually, not the whole wood wall. Inside still solid)

      Wooden door is quite hard to predict. Some expand, some shrink, some twist. And some happen to new door (can claim warranty), some happen after 1 year, some happen after 2 years, etc. 

      We are fully focused on locks, so door knowledge is somehow limited to experience only. From experience, we can guess what type of door will expand, what type of door shrinks, etc. But why? We can only guess, can’t be sure.

      We have worked with some door seller. Some just sell. Some is a contractor carpenter. They are almost the same like us, they can explain what happen to the door but is a pure guess on experience. 

      But there are a few, who are really  specialised door maker. He knows what’s wrong with the door once he sees and touches it. The differences with common carpenter is he can explain to us the technical and scientific reason behind it. Just like a teacher explaining in details.
      So for door problem sometimes we need a skillful and experienced carpenter’s advise or if better a specialised door maker’s advise. We always keep their number with us. Called them up so often that we have become friends.

      Here we list a common door-cannot-close problem:

      1. Hinge problem. It might be the hinge screw worn out or loosen, or the hinge is a bad quality type. Change the hinge (cost more than installing new door, as the workmanship involved is actually removing, and reinstalling door again, so is a “double work”)
      2. Door expand: need to plan the door or grind it
      3. Door shrink: causes the door to unable to latch. In this case the strike plate needs some extra padding to thicken it so that it can catch the door latch.
      4. Door twist: can opt to readjust strike plate, or readjust hinge alignment 
      5. Door joint problem : the door spine/ bone joint is no longer strong, causes the door to drop in shape. Need special angle steel plate to lift and strengthen the joint.

      Advise from locksmith,
      www.finelockshop.com

    • Great Alternative To Sliding Door Lock

      Great Alternative To Sliding Door Lock

      Usually a sliding door, be it wooden or aluminium (steel sliding is rare), will need 4 items to work:

      1. A hook lock mortise
      2. A Key Cylinder
      3. An escutcheon (or common people call, key cylinder cover)
      4. A door pull

      But there are some other alternatives like the above photo. The all-in-one sliding hook lockset. 

      There are many China brand, they break easily. 

      But there are also good one, although not easy to find. Still using Zinc Alloy material, but is thick and heavy, and good mortise mechanism.

      If you have budget, however, should just stick with the 4-piece hook lock. Priced higher, but so long lasting and so reliable. Stronger, piece of mind, and made of stainless steel material.

      Advise from Locksmith,
      www.finelockshop.com/blog

    • What makes a good padlock?

      What makes a good padlock?

      I come across this catalogue from a fellow locksmith in KL. I have got my hand on many St Guchi product and am not impressed. 

      But this is a Molybdenum padlock…

      Molybdenum is usually a premium padlock and among the best material for shackle. I ll try on a St Guchi Molybdenum padlock soon, but for now lets talk on some padlock’s shackle knowledge. Because everybody love padlock, except me (maybe)

      1. No. 1 most common material for padlock is Fake Hardened Steel. It can be cut, can be saw and it will rust. If you buy 10 different padlock from a hardware store, you will get around 8pcs that are fake hardened steel. 
      2. Secondly is Real Hardened Steel. Can be cut, but cannot be saw. It will rust, but depends on the quality of the chrome coating. How can we know it is a real hardened steel, you ask? Get a hack saw and try saw the shackle. If you manage to saw it, it is fake. But if can’t, it is real. At Fine Lock Shop, we try saw every single padlock that we sell. I will share some photos of our experiments next time.
      3. Stainless steel. The best for outdoor. It just won’t rust. But, it can be saw. Stainless steel is known for long lasting and highly rust resist, unfortunately it is not a really hard steel. Not as hard as real hardened steel. So there are pros and cons here.
      4. Boron and Molybdenum. This 2 are commonly used only at the expansive padlock. Might reach up to RM 500 per padlock if it comes with security key. You can’t saw it, can’t cut it. And all come with layers and layers of coating, makes it really hard to rust. So theoretically, boron and molyb will rust, but they are protected by the coating. Just early this year I have seen some Abloy-330 and 341 boron padlocks right here in Kuching Tabuan Jaya, put at outdoor to rain and sun for around 20years, still work smoothly and only some small dots of rust to the shackle. Very good padlocks.

      So now you know the shackle and its material. Next time you can choose a padlock according to your needs. 

      Another important aspect is the internal material and the key cylinder. No matter how good the shackle is, if the key cylinder is really cheap, the padlock can be compromised in seconds and it defeats the purpose of the padlock. I ll let you know how to choose a good key cylinder in the future.

      With Sincere.
      Francis, Just A Humble Locksmith.
      www.finelockshop.com

    • What type of Door Handle will Break Apart?

      What type of Door Handle will Break Apart?

      We have seen Zinc Diecast as the most oftenly break. Followed by Zinc Alloy.
      The above photo is a Zinc Diecast. It is installed at a Metal Door. Aged at 4 years.

      We changed to a fully stainless steel handle for him. Definitely won’t break.

      Advise from Locksmith,
      www.finelockshop.com/blog

    • Self Destruct by Customer (But still can’t enter)

      Self Destruct by Customer (But still can’t enter)

      A destroying attempt by our customer in Stapok. He said he tried the whole morning.

      But end up still need to call us to unlock. And need to buy new lockset to replace. And the need to pass the new key to all family member.

      If he call us in the first place, we ll unlock it in maximum 15 minutes. No need whole morning, no need change lock, no need to pass new key to family member.

      But is not his fault. Everyone has his right to choose. 

      1. Whether you want to call for professional, hassle free and save time, or
      2. Whether you want to save the professional fee, but spend some extra time and effort and maybe little bit of trouble.

      We respect their choice. We have some really poor client usually from some kampung, can’t afford our fee, but they are quite handyman, can even build a whole house themselves. We understand their condition. Hence we teach them the proper lock to destroy.

      But if you wanna do it, make sure, double make sure you have some handy skill. This is not for some office professionals. 

      If not, you will be like our client above. Time, effort, money, all wasted. Plus some trouble.

      Advise from Locksmith,
      www.finelockshop.com/blog