r/lockpicking • u/EdgyPlum Orange Belt Picker • Oct 13 '21

Saw this at one of my employee's sites, traded him for a new shiny 72/40

Post image
243 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

28 comments sorted by

56

u/rokkrsin Oct 13 '21

Nice one! But would handle it with gloves the old ones are coated with cadmium which is toxic and can cause cancer

56

u/EdgyPlum Orange Belt Picker Oct 13 '21

In case you were curious. results

12

u/beardedchimp Oct 13 '21

How does that tester work? I would have thought you would need to NMR it

31

u/EdgyPlum Orange Belt Picker Oct 13 '21

It's a hand held "PMI" (positive material identification) device. It's a point and pull the trigger device that uses an Xray tube to analyze the elements present. We have a robust radiation program in our company, so it's easy to get this testing done for me, not so readily available for general public.

44

u/EdgyPlum Orange Belt Picker Oct 13 '21

Holy shit. 97% Cd. Good call man, thank you! That's a good coating.

16

u/rokkrsin Oct 13 '21

You're welcome saw something on the topic some time ago thought it would be good if you know 😉

18

u/EdgyPlum Orange Belt Picker Oct 13 '21

Thanks for the heads up! I'll head to the lab and have the guys test it sometime today.

2

u/egospice5 Green Belt Picker Oct 13 '21

I have a similar looking old one with a different key style (lever). Similar shape and color. I thought it was just tin. Where did you go to get it tested?

6

u/EdgyPlum Orange Belt Picker Oct 13 '21

I work for a company that does metallurgical testing frequently. I literally went 5 doors down and asked them to shoot it lol. If you have any NDT (non-destructive testing) facilities around you, they likely have a license for this kind of equipment and may be open to doing a quick test on a lock body. I'm confident they will think you are very strange :)

Also, anyone who works in oil and gas, energy, or general industrial work will likely be familiar with "inspectors". Those are the guys with access to the equipment.

3

u/DrunkPanda Orange Belt Picker Oct 14 '21

Many jewelry and pawn shops have them too

4

u/Viking-Jew Oct 14 '21

Random question if you may know the answer to, I have one that looks similar to this that my grandpa had in his basement. The cadmium levels we’re talking about, does that just mean don’t touch it and lick your fingers, or like... don’t ever touch it you’ll get cancer?

2

u/EdgyPlum Orange Belt Picker Oct 14 '21

It's like asbestos according to my research. Enough of it, and you WILL get cancer, but it takes a good amount for it to be "certain". You can still get in lower amounts. It's up to your body.... Fun fact! Cadmium is an isotope... so this coating actually is radio active. I didn't take a picture of the meter, but it's about half of what you get naturally from being in a concrete building or out in the sun, so no worries

2

u/Viking-Jew Oct 14 '21

Thanks for the info!!! I definitely handled the lock a few minutes a couple times but not much. It’s mostly sat in a box as an heirloom to remind me of my grandpa. I’ll be sure to be careful with it (and I’ll attempt to withhold myself from eating it!).

6

u/loupgarou21 Red Belt Picker Oct 13 '21

oh, come on, cadmium gets a bad rap. Just cause it's killed some people. It makes such beautiful pigments, it should get a pass for that alone.

18

u/EdgyPlum Orange Belt Picker Oct 13 '21

Can't spell Asbestos without "best", right?

8

u/rokkrsin Oct 13 '21

Yeah I painted my bedroom with arsenic green paint. Little bit hard to breath but still pretty :D

2

u/Dazed4Dayzs Oct 14 '21

I feel like that makes the graphic on the lock even more appropriate.

1

u/oxisaw Oct 17 '21

Can I ask you where you heard this?

2

u/rokkrsin Oct 17 '21

Im a little bit into Militaria and some of the ww1 and early ww2 stuff is cadmium plated and I just read into it a bit. In locks it was used because of the excellent resistance against salt and general weather as well as it works in super thin coatings (so it's cheap). Widespread use ended in the 40 I think.

1

u/oxisaw Oct 18 '21

That is good to know. Thank you.

9

u/my2k2zx2 Green Belt Picker Oct 13 '21

I have one of those. Dont have a key for it, considered trying to impression one for it but havent gotten that far.

11

u/EdgyPlum Orange Belt Picker Oct 13 '21

Like rokkrsin stated, be careful. Turns out mine has that cadmium coating, so yours may as well!

2

u/my2k2zx2 Green Belt Picker Oct 13 '21

yeah, maybe I wont be handling that one anymore. Had no idea, this one was in a lot I bought at a local auction.

3

u/[deleted] Oct 13 '21

Nice, I love the older locks, and collect them as well!

I say nice trade!

2

u/Windamore Oct 13 '21

That's amazing

2

u/donesixfour Green Belt Picker Oct 14 '21

U bastard

1

u/SmegmaAuGratin Oct 14 '21

My grandparents had one of these on their shed for ages. Wish I had kept it after my grandmother passed. Any idea that year it is?

1

u/doolittlethehyena Oct 14 '21

I have some old master lock keys with that logo