 | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
|
| |||||||||
|
CONSTRUCTION OF LOCKS AND KEYS. The word סגר (sagar) to close in, used in Genesis, chap. xix. ver. 6, is the root of the word םסגר (misgar), rendered " smith " in our translation, Jeremiah, chap. xxiv. ver. 1, and "locksmith " by Buxtorf. The word םפתח (key) occurs in Judges, chap. iii. ver. 25, and in Isaiah, chap. xxii. ver. 22. In the treatise on keys " De Clavibus veterum," by L. Molinus, printed at Upsal, the Latin name " clavis " is derived from the Greek κλειω, and it states, that at that period the use of keys was still unknown in many parts of Sweden. The Laconic keys consisted of three single teeth, in the figure of the letter E ; which form may still be seen in ancient cabinets. There was also another key, called by Polybius βãλãνάγρα, made like a small screw, and having a corresponding female screw in a bolt affixed to the door. The construction of the ancient Egyptian lock is shown in, Fig. 1. EGYPTIAN LOCK. which is copied from a wooden lock recently brought from Alexandria. A staple A is fixed to the outside of the door, into the upper part of which three loose pins B B B are fitted; these pins drop into three corresponding holes in the bolt C, so as to fasten the door when the bolt is pushed in to its full extent. The key D is a straight piece of wood, and, at one end, there are three pegs E E E, corresponding in position with the pins in the lock. The key is inserted lengthways through a slot F, formed in the bolt, and then the pins in the key, corresponding with the vertical holes |
On the Construction of Locks and Keys by John Chubb