Happy new year, hope 2013 will be a great year for all my readers.
As things have been pretty quiet of late I have been getting out all the locks I own and I’ve been honing my picking techniques. Every lock is different, they all respond differently and require tools designed especially for that lock. Some pick easily and some are a absolute nightmare. The Tann 9 lever has been on my hit list now for some time. It is a lock that should be respected as it can trap you very easily with its anti pick notches either side of the gate. The lock contains 9 levers, 8 of which (in all the examples I have) have anti pick notches either side of the gate, one lever which acts as a control lever is plain and it is the first lever to set. After this it is a matter of plotting and remembering where the gates are.
The Tann 9 lever lock is found on higher security safes, sometimes two are fitted to the same safe. The following safes contain this type of lock:
Bankers, Cashier, Clarendon, Consort, Fortress, Superbullion, Tenacity, TS1, TS2 and TS3 – there are more and there are variants of this lock too. Almost all of these locks are protected by glass or other relocking devices so drilling is normally out of the question.
I can open and replace a Tann lock if required or re-lever it to suit a new key