Bill wrote: > Your hardened chain solution sounds like a good way to go. What would be > your recommendation for the accompanying lock to keep it from being the > proverbial "weak link"? Something that is bolt-cutter proof and pick > resistant? > My personal preference is a lock with hardened locking loop, again, the largest you want to carry. My favorite is those round locks with almost a continuous loop of hardened steel that you have to crank around using the key to the slot in the steel loops. I do not remember who manufactures these. Most of the heavy security locks use pretty good key/cylinder/tumbler designs, though none are pick proof. One of the most difficult to pick I think is the type with the cylinder-like key. Though I personally would not fret too much over the lock type, most thieves do not want to take the time to actually pick a lock. It draws too much attention too them since even the simpler of the heavy duty locks takes some time and skill to open without a key. They will choose to steal items that can be taken by quickly cutting a chain or cable with hand operated bolt cutters, or items left unlocked altogether. I spent some time studying my dad's locksmith manuals, mostly out of curiosity, but also in case I ever had to get a lock open when I did not have a key. Once you know how the internal mechanisms work, it this not that difficult to devise a way to defeat it with a few simple hand tools. But it does take a bit of time, some inventiveness, and most of all patients. These are all things thieves generally do not have in abundance, otherwise they would make a better living with a stable income doing legitimate work. [it is perhaps a mistaken romantic idea that there are criminals that live lives of luxury by stealing]. So I think the object of any security system, be it for bikes or kayaks, or your home and car, is to make it appear not worth the effort for a criminal to make you his victim. Troublesome locks, large dogs, exposure to arrest, and camouflaging your valuables to appear not very valuable, all go a long way to make criminal look elsewhere. I routinely drive old vehicles that I seldom wash, and when I carry tools or surveying equipment I make sure they are out of direct sight under an ugly old blanket or tarp if I leave it parked. I have never had anything stolen this way. Yet I know people in the construction trades that always drive shinny new trucks, and can count on having all their tools stolen about once a year, and have several thousand dollars worth of damage to their new trucks done in the process of the break-in. They just consider this a routine cost of doing business, but I have never had that problem. New vehicles full of shiny new tool boxes are huge criminal magnates. Best to leave the new trucks at home, and drive a $300 rust bucket back and forth to a jobsite, then to provide a steady stream if income to the criminal's drug dealers at your expense. Peter *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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