Lock Testing

Many tests have been conducted on common commercial and residential locking mechanisms in the industry. Endlessly, they have been drilled, pried, hammered, picked and outright pummeled. Some have withstood the tremendous testing whereas others have not. Here are some basic findings from numerous testing analyses.

Inadequate Parts

It has been determined that the parts of locksets are quite often inadequate. A common part that often fails is the strike plate that is mounted to the frame of the door. Many of them are flimsy and unreliable. However, there are brands that offer sturdiness such as the Assa M80. The resistance of kick-in pressure can be significantly increased by installing a high quality strike plate.

Drilling Access

Common locks can be breached with a drill which removes the cylinders in only a few minutes. There are some locks that have hardened-type cylinders that prevent drilling success. The cylinders will become damaged, but access will be denied. It is better to only have to replace only the lock instead of having to replace the content you were trying to protect.

New technology versus Old Issues

There are highly advanced locking mechanisms on the market that offers all of the bells and whistles one could possibly want. There is fingerprint entry, passcode, keypads, and keyed entry. These types of locksets are quite pricy yet after multiple tests, it has been determined that they were easily breached. All of them were able to be rekeyed for temporary use to individuals such as contractors or guest and then later rekeyed once more after the short-term access is no longer required. This all could be performed without the need for a locksmith or a lock change. These technological advanced locks performed poorly up against the wrenching and prying test.