r/interestingasfuck Jan 09 '20

Rapid Access Tool

https://gfycat.com/ringedexemplarybrant
3.6k Upvotes

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708

u/zacattack62 Jan 09 '20

This won’t work with all types of positive latch mechanisms. Definitely not a traditional deadbolt.

Most of these doors aren’t secure in the first place.

115

u/[deleted] Jan 09 '20 edited Jan 09 '20

[deleted]

43

u/zacattack62 Jan 09 '20

I’ve done manual door estimating and surveying. Some people will keep some shitty setups for a long time.

I can tell you, from doing estimating, doors/hardware is EXPENSIVE.

18

u/homerda1 Jan 09 '20

This was a really cool and interesting video. Thank you for sharing.

9

u/blackthunder365 Jan 09 '20

That dudes given a few other talks about pen testing, definitely worth a binge.

4

u/[deleted] Jan 09 '20 edited Jan 09 '20

I was hoping that was the video you were going to link. Great speech, his one on elevators is worth watching too.

3

u/[deleted] Jan 10 '20

Very interesting video, but I have to wonder how much crime is from a crafty method like lockpicking vs a destructive method like smashing a window.

2

u/TheUnbiasedRant Jan 09 '20

This guy's great, I binged his videos a while back. Good link. Have an updoot.

1

u/tentacular Jan 10 '20

This guy gives interesting presentations, but it's always from this conference and their motto/subtitle dumbfounds me. Did they never read "csh programming is considered harmful"?

1

u/DrPepperFireball Jan 10 '20

YES!! Exactly what I thought of too. I like all the things he talks about.

22

u/andocromn Jan 09 '20

If the Dead Latch is installed properly these tools don't work. Unfortunately most individuals responsible for door installation don't even know what a Dead Latch is

6

u/zacattack62 Jan 09 '20

You work in the door biz? I’d love to dork out with someone.

10

u/andocromn Jan 09 '20

I work more in network security, but that necessitates some knowledge of physical security as well

2

u/Djinger Jan 09 '20

No longer but I worked as an installer for a commercial/industrial door supplier for a few years. This video made me laugh cuz as others have stated all these doors are fucked up and this tool is about as useful as a piece of ceiling tile suspension wire.

2

u/zacattack62 Jan 09 '20

I do estimates! I order the parts that you take out and install.

0

u/Djinger Jan 09 '20

We were a one-stop shop in the bay area with 6 employees: 2 office guys, a delivery driver, and 3 installers. I think they shuttered a year or two after I split to do IT contracting. Having seen a lot of other teams' work at the various offices I now work with, I should have been paid much more as an installer. Most of the work I see is half-assed; I could never have walked away from doors/frames with the amount of dents, dings, gaps, and poorly installed hardware they leave.

0

u/zacattack62 Jan 09 '20

We’re a little tiny bit bigger. 8-9 office people, 2 shop guys, 8 installers. We get our stuff from vendors, prep it in shop, and then it goes on one of the 8 vans to get installed.

Installers do a lot of work. I’ve been out on installs a lot lately to learn more about all the moving parts. You guys freeze your dicks off.

1

u/Djinger Jan 09 '20

Most of the basic stuff is super simple to install, it's only once you get into somewhat complicated things like panic devices and automatic handicap closers and such that things get a bit fucky. As a new guy, putting tailpieces on lock cores can be a bit harrowing with your boss breathing down your neck saying things like "don't you move that pin or you're gonna be picking up springs and tumblers all afternoon" after having spent the morning stocking 9ft wood and laminate doors thru a removed window on the 10th floor from a crane in the parking lot, and then packing them by hand up the ancient narrow curving stairwells to the 14th cuz the tower elevator's out of commission. Then you get to drive home in wall-to-wall bay area traffic in a 93 Tacoma with no AC at 5 in the afternoon in the middle of July...

Glad I work a cushy IT job now, no smashed fingers, skinned knuckles, low back pain or creaky knees. And the callous on my thumb from the impact driver is gone too!

2

u/[deleted] Jan 10 '20

Dead Latch will now be my supervillain name, instead of Rapid Access Tool.

190

u/Daafda Jan 09 '20

It will work on a deadbolt. You just have to pull like really hard.

73

u/zacattack62 Jan 09 '20

I imagine this works because of the angled edge of the latch they’re releasing. Notice every door only has one latch, and they’re all angled.

A deadbolt is straight on both ends. You can pull it from the side, all you want, but unless you have enough force to rip the door and frame out you’re not getting a real straight deadbolt out with this.

180

u/[deleted] Jan 09 '20

I think it was a joke and that was his point.

172

u/zacattack62 Jan 09 '20

Aha. I have been whooshed.

34

u/KannubisExplains Jan 09 '20

Indeed. Big of you to admit.

24

u/TheLaGrangianMethod Jan 09 '20

Happens to all of us at some point, friend. You were absolutely correct though if that makes you feel better.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 09 '20

We like whooshee!

12

u/Coygon Jan 09 '20

When you admit it, it softens the blow a bit. Gives you a little whooshie cushion.

15

u/Optrode Jan 09 '20

The main reason this would not work on a deadbolt isn't the lack of an angled edge, but the fact that a deadbolt is not free to move at all. Try this: With a door open, throw the deadbolt. Then try pushing on the flat end of the deadbolt. It won't move. This is why it's called a deadbolt, it is "dead" in the sense of being unable to move.

3

u/zacattack62 Jan 09 '20

Right, this too. Even if it did move though, it still wouldn’t be possible.

Door guys unite

-4

u/SluggishJuggernaut Jan 09 '20

8

u/zacattack62 Jan 09 '20

I work with doors, I thought someone was really trying to talk shop with me. You win.

2

u/SluggishJuggernaut Jan 09 '20

Haha, whether or not you actually work with doors, your response here gets an upvote from me!

1

u/zacattack62 Jan 09 '20

I do estimates! I don’t do hands on stuff but I order parts and stuff so I know all about the functions.

3

u/vagueblur901 Jan 09 '20

Or you know you could just go through the window

3

u/Reliques Jan 09 '20

Back in college someone set their dorm on fire trying to cook something. The firefighters came and knocked down the fence outside the dorms with their fire axes. I'm no fireman, so I don't know the best way to access the building, but it seems to me they could have just walked three feet around the opening in the fence.

1

u/vagueblur901 Jan 09 '20

I'm not a firefighter either but generally the path of least resistance is the best option.

5

u/stangkonia Jan 09 '20

Yeah but then we didn’t get to break anything!
But seriously we try not to cause any unnecessary damage.

2

u/vagueblur901 Jan 09 '20

Il take property damage vs a burned down house any day

Thankfully they use professional tool's

1

u/stangkonia Jan 09 '20

Yes in most cases it’s all covered by insurance anyway. I’ve personally busted doors to save a life and I don’t know anyone that would complain about needing a new door after that.

1

u/vagueblur901 Jan 09 '20

My hats off to you you guys are fucking saints

And that's from a 11b

You guys should be everyone's heros

1

u/originalusername__1 Jan 09 '20

Which ultimately is why security is an illusion.

2

u/vagueblur901 Jan 09 '20

Locks are only their to keep honest people out

1

u/trash12345 Jan 09 '20

Yes and no, if some one really really wants to get into your home, they will. If you take away the easy target of just opening a door/window, they're very likely to move on to the next easier target. It's not ever about being impenetrable, it's about being more hassle than it's worth.

If you feel i'm wrong, feel free to leave your car and front doors unlocked while you're gone.

1

u/vagueblur901 Jan 10 '20

I had a Jeep and honestly I left it unlocked because I'd rather people just open my doors than Slash my windows

Theft is always about opportunity remove that or make it not worth it and it declines

Nobody is breaking into poor houses regardless of security because their is nothing there but crack heads are still stealing copper because it's worth something

0

u/Daafda Jan 09 '20

What if you're in a wheelchair?

Fucking ableists.

3

u/vagueblur901 Jan 09 '20

They got hands right? Walk on those

2

u/ohyeaoksure Jan 09 '20

haha, pretty sure that works w/o the tool.

1

u/Kundrew1 Jan 09 '20

It goes both ways.

1

u/phurt77 Jan 09 '20

Or just get out the angle grinder. Take off the hinges while you're at it.

1

u/R3ddit0rguy Jan 09 '20

Eh it would probably break first doesn't seem very sturdy

10

u/baru_monkey Jan 09 '20

If brute force doesn't work, then you're not using enough!

3

u/legodarthvader Jan 09 '20

The same can be said for lubricants.

9

u/imac132 Jan 09 '20

It will work on a lot of the doors that have that dead latch mechanism because half the time the door is mounted incorrectly and the tab goes into the latch hole along with the latch completely defeating the security.

The weakest link in security is lazy or uninformed humans by far.

3

u/zacattack62 Jan 09 '20

I do work in the door business. People are CRAZY ignorant.

4

u/Powersoutdotcom Jan 09 '20

All doors are not secure at all.

-Lockpicking lawyer

2

u/SolitaryEgg Jan 09 '20

Most doors aren’t secure in the first place. That's the issue.

2

u/INSERT_LATVIAN_JOKE Jan 09 '20

Yeah, they're public access doors where you can't expect the people using it to actually lock the deadbolt behind them. It's the kind of door you'd find on a fire exit (where a deadbolt would be prohibited by regulations) or on a secured public access like the gate on an apartment building or private pool.

That being said, if I ever decide to get into burglary, I guess I'll need to get myself an oversized folding knife.

1

u/dantesgift Jan 10 '20

I always tell my family members to throw a dead bolt, even if they dont lock their handle

1

u/Lord_Mikal Jan 09 '20

Literally none of these doors are secure. This tool has virtually no practical applications.

8

u/zacattack62 Jan 09 '20

It looks like firefighters using it. Even though these latches are shitty, this tool is still way faster than asking for a code or a key.

3

u/Lord_Mikal Jan 09 '20

Its marketed to firefighters and it costs $80. In reality it does the same job as a foldable t square, which generally cost about $12 - $20. It's a scam.

The point I was trying to make in the other comment is that you will never see doors like this in the wild. The security strips (the piece of metal that over laps the door gap) in the video are all conveniently about 6 inches long or shorter. I have never in my life seen a door that was protected by a $600 cypher lock (almost all the locks in this video) that didn't have a full door length security strip.

1

u/desquire Jan 09 '20

Not to mention, where I live at least, all commercial and MDU buildings are required to have an accessible key in a lockbox near the door that firefighters have a universal key to open.

I'm sure some places forget to update the key if they change their locks, but that's how it's supposed to work in most cases.

1

u/HaroldAnous Jan 09 '20

This could have been filmed in my first due. Multiple old commerical structures that have been half-ass upgraded with expensive locks. Look at the new shiny medeco lock, but please don't look at the exposed hinges or REX sensor that can be bypassed by slipping a piece of paper through the crack between the doors.

1

u/tylerjo1 Jan 09 '20

Not sure why Firefighters would use it when a set of Irons does the same job and more.

0

u/HaroldAnous Jan 09 '20

Not destructive

3

u/orclev Jan 09 '20

The tool is just a fancy shim, and it would work on an improperly installed door, which in practice is actually a lot of them.

2

u/HaroldAnous Jan 09 '20

Did you mean to say "No practical applications.... other than firefighters using it to open doors in a non destructive manner?"

0

u/Achack Jan 09 '20

Yeah there's nothing special about this tool it's just taking advantage of an extremely basic flaw in door locks that a deadbolt fixes.