Thu Sep 10, 2015 3:55 pm
Beaten by hated ILCO in real world open!
So...I haven't been on the forum for a while, but wanted to share what happened to me today. I would also like to know if anyone can help identify the lock I encountered.
I bought a small safe from a local company recently and struck up a conversation with the owner. Great guy. We talked about locks. He knew a little about manipulation but had never seriously worked at it. I told him about some of my stuff and offered to help him if he ever needed it. I figured I'd never hear from him, but about a month later he called and asked if I wanted to take a stab at opening a few locked safes.
I was stoked...and nervous. I've never done a manipulation for someone else and I haven't focused on spinning in a while. I'd say about every three months I grab a lock and make sure I still "have it." Those manipulations have always gone well, so I haven't felt a burning need to practice.
I show up and has had three safes out for me. Two are direct entry--one Chinese and one Sentry. I didn't bring a laser rig so I decided to save those for next time. The third is a little cash drop safe with my least favorite words on the dial "ILCO UNICAN."
I'm sorry, they are my least favorite locks to manipulate. I have four ILCO P67s and I hate all of them. Weak springs on the lever, mushy contact points, lots of slop and a sort of gritty feel to them. I have one P67 that I have like a 10% success rate on. One that I never opened at all. So right off the bat I'm feeling a little uneasy.
I start working with a needle on the dial and my magnetic magnifying glass. It's just like I expected. The lever is sticking and I have to "tap" it to get it set. I also notice lots of mush and wandering contact points.
I assumed the mush was another weak lever spring, but about 20 minutes in I really was feeling perplexed by wandering contact points and crappy readings. Then I realized it felt a lot like a S&G 6630 2M with a the eccentric roller in the nose. I did some more tests by assuming it had a roller and trying to get it to "set" like I do on a 6630. The more I played, the more convinced I became that it was a 2M with an eccentric roller. Two other pieces of evidence:
- It also seemed like there were several possible gate signatures on my first pass which is also consistent with the false gates in a 6630-like design.
- There was very little resistance on the dial which is common on the 6630. The dial feels like it wants to "race" since the roller acts like a bearing.
So, here's the question: Does anyone know what the ILCO 2M design incorporated? Did they just copy the 6630 like the did the 6730?
Of course, it could also be S&G 6630 with an ILCO dial. OR maybe it was the regular Group 2, but I just wanted it to be a 2M so I don't have to feel as bad about FAILING haha!
Anyway, would love to hear from someone who knows their product line a little better. I really don't think this thing had a normal lever in it.
Hope everyone is doing well.
Trevor
I bought a small safe from a local company recently and struck up a conversation with the owner. Great guy. We talked about locks. He knew a little about manipulation but had never seriously worked at it. I told him about some of my stuff and offered to help him if he ever needed it. I figured I'd never hear from him, but about a month later he called and asked if I wanted to take a stab at opening a few locked safes.
I was stoked...and nervous. I've never done a manipulation for someone else and I haven't focused on spinning in a while. I'd say about every three months I grab a lock and make sure I still "have it." Those manipulations have always gone well, so I haven't felt a burning need to practice.
I show up and has had three safes out for me. Two are direct entry--one Chinese and one Sentry. I didn't bring a laser rig so I decided to save those for next time. The third is a little cash drop safe with my least favorite words on the dial "ILCO UNICAN."
I'm sorry, they are my least favorite locks to manipulate. I have four ILCO P67s and I hate all of them. Weak springs on the lever, mushy contact points, lots of slop and a sort of gritty feel to them. I have one P67 that I have like a 10% success rate on. One that I never opened at all. So right off the bat I'm feeling a little uneasy.
I start working with a needle on the dial and my magnetic magnifying glass. It's just like I expected. The lever is sticking and I have to "tap" it to get it set. I also notice lots of mush and wandering contact points.
I assumed the mush was another weak lever spring, but about 20 minutes in I really was feeling perplexed by wandering contact points and crappy readings. Then I realized it felt a lot like a S&G 6630 2M with a the eccentric roller in the nose. I did some more tests by assuming it had a roller and trying to get it to "set" like I do on a 6630. The more I played, the more convinced I became that it was a 2M with an eccentric roller. Two other pieces of evidence:
- It also seemed like there were several possible gate signatures on my first pass which is also consistent with the false gates in a 6630-like design.
- There was very little resistance on the dial which is common on the 6630. The dial feels like it wants to "race" since the roller acts like a bearing.
So, here's the question: Does anyone know what the ILCO 2M design incorporated? Did they just copy the 6630 like the did the 6730?
Of course, it could also be S&G 6630 with an ILCO dial. OR maybe it was the regular Group 2, but I just wanted it to be a 2M so I don't have to feel as bad about FAILING haha!
Anyway, would love to hear from someone who knows their product line a little better. I really don't think this thing had a normal lever in it.
Hope everyone is doing well.
Trevor
