cheapest bump proof lock?

Before worrying whether or not your lock is bump resistant and harder to pick you should worry about someone being able to kick the door in... Invest in a good set of hinges with some long screws in them... Also properly install a security strike plate for whatever deadbolt or lock-set you end up purchasing...

As to your problem with the Medeco locks being >$100 in price - well security doesn't come cheap... You could invest in a LORI deadbolt that will accept a mortise cylinder and find some 'higher' security cylinder that is within your acceptable price range...

If a lock can be bump resistant and harder to pick, is the size of the key really all that objectionable??? If the Medeco M3 or KeyMark keys are "inconvienently large" opt for the older medeco keyway with the round head...

~~ Evan

That's too bad because if you want good bump resistance for residential usage something like a Medeco Maxum is your best bet. As far as the keys the plain old commercial key blanks are not much larger than most other keys. A little longer is all. All conventional pin tumbler locks are theoreticaly vulnerable to bump keying so if you want something that is truley resistant you will need a high security cylinder of one type or another. None of them are what you would call cheap compared to normal grade three locks. If you have a lock that a Medeco cylinder will work in that will cut the price by about 2/3 in many cases. Medeco cylinders for Schlage grade 1 and 2 (Not the new F) can be found on Ebay and other places for $5 - $10.

They can definitely be kicked in. But I'm not even worried about that. The windows can be smashed with less force. If there is a way to prevent this without making the house looks like a jailhouse, I'm all ears.

But at least kicking door and smashing window would make some loud noise.

I just need to make my house less convenient to break in than my neighbors' :)

Just use a cylinder with a less common profile ie not Schalge C or Kwikset type.

1. The average housebreaker will not bother with bump keys.

1. They will be reluctant to carry bump keys because they face being charged with possession of housebreaking implements.

2. If some do carry bump keys, they would carry a small number that would cover 80 - 90% of houses. Hence the advice to use a less common key profile.

To make a lock more difficult to pick I would make the cuts high and low. For example, near the bow a deep cut and near the tip no cut. The lock picker would have to not push down the pin nearest to the opening and depress the pin at the tip all the way. Or do this to the two pins closest to the tip. Whay kind of neighbors do you have?

If that is the case I wouldn't spend ANY money on locks... I would invest the $200 or $300 for an ADT alarm system to be installed and pay the monthly monitoring fee...

Doors with high security locks on them will simply be kicked in when the burglars come calling unless they are properly reinforced before the shiny new high security lock is installed...

Burglars carrying lockpicks is something out of the spy movies -- it happens in reality only 1 or 2 times out of

100,000 occurrences of burglary... Bump keys aren't standard equipment of burglars either -- even though TV news reports would have you believe that everyone uses them everywhere...

You want to decrease the probability of success for someone attempting unauthorized entry into your home so if you are serious about doing this then here is the advice:

1. As others have said purchase locks with uncommon keyways (to make it less easy for someone carrying around a standard assortment of bump keys to be able open your door)

The LORI deadbolt I mentioned in my previous response will accept standard mortise cylinders in any keyway of your choice (if you choose a standard cylinder, you can increase its security slightly by having it pinned with spool driver pins to make it less easy to pick)

1. Install an alarm system that is monitored and have the "entry delay" feature set to 2 minutes or less (have the alarm panel installed in an non-typical location -- not the coat closet next to the front door)
2. Actually use the alarm every time you leave the house (break-ins can happen when people go out for a short time and come back to find a mess, having NOT set the alarm)

You want to make your house secure enough so that if a burglar was able to get past the locked door quietly that his next challenge would be defeating the alarm system in less than 120 seconds...

How many people do you think use lockpicks or bump keys to break into houses that can also defeat ANY alarm system in less than 2 minutes ???

~~ Evan

This isn't good advice:

"Medeco cylinders for Schlage grade 1 and 2 (Not the new F) can be found on Ebay and other places for $5 - $10."

As such cylinders often times come with only one key and NO card to obtain more copies of said key...

It will cost someone who ends up buying such things off eBay some actual money to have the cylinder serviced to a keyway that the local locksmith is authorized to use (by purchasing a new keyway plug) and having the cylinder rekeyed and issued a valid ID card with that keying information...

It is much better for someone to buy the complete cylinder with the keys and ID card from a locksmith... They might not be able to figure out if it is the correct one for the lock they want to upgrade anyway... Then they are out the "$5 - $10" plus the cost of the actual part needed...

~~ Evan

1~Ottawa Canada

If you want to make your home burglar resistant, ask your homeowner's insurance man what type of alarm they recommend and how much of a discount it gets you on your insurance.

If you want better security, install a checkin/check-out alarm system like a bank and stores with valuable merchandise use. You must call the alarm company each time you enter your home when the system is armed and also when you close the house to goout.

Burglar bars on all windows and reinforced doors that are kick resistant help a lot too.

Burglars don't use picks much, they just heave a rock through the living room window or more likely a back window.

Brian

Before worrying whether or not your lock is bump resistant and harder

Your source for this amusing statistic is what?

theoreticaly

So buy them in non-restricted keyways which the cheaper ones usually are anyway. Problem solved.

Not if they pay attention to what they are doing and use a non-restricted keyway which is common sense.

If they don't want restricted keways and many people don't then it's a non-issue.

They might

And they might not be able to figure out how to install a complete lock on their door either but that isn't my problem.

Then they are out the

Excellent post.

There has been some great advice. I would like to add my two cents...

First, lexan will help you protect your windows from being used as entry points. Placed inside behind the glass, Lexan is clear, colourless and virtually unbreakable. I recommend it and sell it all the time.

Second, an alarm system is a wise investment but it does nothing to stop a burglar. The purpose of an alarm system is to let you know when your security has failed.

As for a bump proof lock - in addition to the advice already posted you can add "Spool" top pins. They are designed to produce false sheerlines.

Medeco, Mul-T-Lock, Assa and Abloy are all very effective lock systems and defend you against many attacks in addition to bumping. Physical assult is the number one method of B&E that I come across. All of these locks offer superior protection against physical attacks and are worth the extra money.

There are lower end security locks like the Scorpion brand that you may want to look into. For the best value for your money look into the Mul-T-Lock. It offers more features that any other brand including a stronger bolt and two rekeys included for the price.

Jason M. Scheide President

Bump keys are based on the standard OEM space and depths. If you rekey the lock using spool pins and your own depths that do not match factory depths, you would greatly reduce the chances that a bump key would work. Eg/ use a combination of vaarious cuts such as kwikset, sargent, corbin etc. on a schlage key.

Unfortunately, changing the depths from factory(OEM) depths will not change the potential for 'Bumping' except for one particular case..... Most 'Bump' keys are being cut using the lowest possible factory(OEM) depth.... i.e. Schlage #9 .300 bottom pin. In my shop we have cut 'Bump' keys to the lowest depth and then used a Pippen file lower them several strokes or about .005. This allows for a #9 pin(Schlage) to still be able to develope the inertia it takes to srike the top pin so that it can rise above the shear line and catch. An exact depth of .300 would mean the slight rise would put the bottom pin accross the shear line. Now what happens when someone(a thinking locksmith) cuts a Schlage key with a #10(.185) cut and uses a #10 bottom pin(.315) in his new combination choice??? The 'Bumpkey' cut between .300 and .305 is now rising accross the shear line as soon as the bumpkey is inserted. 'Bumping' foiled! I'm not testing every manufacture and assuring everyone that a lower cut is possible, because that will be solely dependant on the shape of the broaching. Radical angles can be the potential hinderance from this procedure............ but, here in Australia, where Lockwood has remained supreme for so many years, the C4 keyway is practically the standard here. I know for a fact that the C4 keyway will allow for a #10 cut(refered to as an 'A' cut by Instacode), and a #10 top bottom pin is totally available. We have tried the regular 'Bumpkey' and it DOES NOT OPEN the lock. Don't forget, in your hurry to try this, to remember to use the smaller top-pin in combination with this larger bottom-pin. If you get cluey enough to remember your MAX values, and use this larger bottom-pin next to a much smaller one, you will find that normal picking becomes quite difficult. Everything is possible when considering methods of keyless entry, but I'm just offering a cheap and easy way to thwart the majority of attempts. The absolute answer lies in locks that don't work with the standards we have relied upon for years and years. The future will be interesting to say the least.

This will have absolutely no effect on bumping unless you use a bottom pin longer than a 9 in one or more chambers.