Medeco vs. Primus
kri...@ix.netcom.com
new to newsgroups. My father recently purchased a Schlege Primus lock.
I have heard that Medecos are better locks and have some kinda
guarentee against picking. Others have told me that the Primus as a
whole is better because you have that little credit card to make key
copies. I know that most thieves probably just use a drill to bypass
locks so i'd also like to know who makes the better casing. Thanks for
all your help in advance.
Thank You
Ken
>From: kri...@ix.netcom.com
>Subject: Medeco vs. Primus
>Date: Fri, 16 Feb 1996 08:06:47 GMT
>Thank You
If cost isn't a factor Medeco locks can't be beat.
aa-2@deltanet.com@deltanet.com
>First of all i'd like to apologize for test posting here, i'm kinda
>new to newsgroups. My father recently purchased a Schlege Primus lock.
>I have heard that Medecos are better locks and have some kinda
>guarentee against picking. Others have told me that the Primus as a
>whole is better because you have that little credit card to make key
>copies. I know that most thieves probably just use a drill to bypass
>locks so i'd also like to know who makes the better casing. Thanks for
>all your help in advance.
Both Medeco and Schlage's Primus are good products. Primus comes in both
UL listed and non-UL versions, with the UL version having better anti-drill
protection.
Primus has the advantage of being able to be keyed into a standard Schlage
system: the Primus key can be made to work all cylinders, while the
non-Primus key will only operate the standard Schlage locks.
Both Primus and Medeco have fairly good protection against unauthorized
key duplication, assuming all works as planned. Ultimately, I would rate
Medeco as having better key control at the lower security levels, because:
(a) All of the cuts on a Medeco key are unique to that key. In Primus and
some other sidebar locking systems, the high security sidebar cuts are often
shared among all of a locksmith's customers, meaning that one customer's
key could theoretically be altered to fit another customer's lock more readily.
(b) Medeco's key sections are more unique. The Primus keys are almost
the same as standard Schlage keys, with only minor variations.
These are both situations which you'll probably never have to worry about,
so Primus will probably suit your needs just fine.
Douglas R. Floyd
>First of all i'd like to apologize for test posting here, i'm kinda
>new to newsgroups. My father recently purchased a Schlege Primus lock.
>I have heard that Medecos are better locks and have some kinda
>guarentee against picking. Others have told me that the Primus as a
>whole is better because you have that little credit card to make key
>copies. I know that most thieves probably just use a drill to bypass
>locks so i'd also like to know who makes the better casing. Thanks for
>all your help in advance.
>
>
Medeco's have variable levels of security: These are from an old table
of mine, and I dunno if these are valid:
#1: Key copiable at any Medeco locksmith. <non-biaxial>
#2: Requires signed "credit card" at registered locksmith. <biaxial>
#3: Requires blanks from regional outlet. <biaxial>
#4: Requires blanks from Medeco's factory. <biaxial>
#5: You order the amount of keys with the lock. That lock will have
that number of keys, no more. NOBODY can <legally> duplicate these, not
even Medeco's factory.
Are these levels still valid?
--
Douglas R. Floyd <dfl...@io.com>
Disclaimer: What, me speak for my employer(s)? Yeah, right.
If you know what you are doing, you are not making progress...
aa-2@deltanet.com@deltanet.com
>Medeco's have variable levels of security: These are from an old table
>of mine, and I dunno if these are valid:
>
>#1: Key copiable at any Medeco locksmith. <non-biaxial>
>#2: Requires signed "credit card" at registered locksmith. <biaxial>
>#3: Requires blanks from regional outlet. <biaxial>
>#4: Requires blanks from Medeco's factory. <biaxial>
>#5: You order the amount of keys with the lock. That lock will have
>that number of keys, no more. NOBODY can <legally> duplicate these, not
>even Medeco's factory.
>
>Are these levels still valid?
>
Well, no. That's not how the system was set up.
The original, non-Biaxial Medeco levels were 1 through 4: (remember, when
initially introduced, Medeco held the patents on the locks and the blanks, and
was the sole legitimate source of blanks)
Level 1: Commercial level, keys could be duplicated by locksmiths who had
a machine and who could buy blanks
Level 2: Keys cut by distributors or locksmiths large enough to qualify.
Credit card-style imprint required on order form.
Level 3: Keys furnished by Medeco factory only. Signature verification
determines who can order keys.
Level 4: "Omega". Locks can be ordered with any number of keys, and
each key is stamped "1 of 9", "2 of 9", etc. No duplicate keys may
be ordered at a later date, period. Key blanks never leave the Medeco
factory. Omega locks cannot be ordered master-keyed.
Since Medeco's patents have expired on the basic system, aftermarket key
blanks are available for some non-Biaxial Medeco keyways. Since there's
a limited market for the higher level keyways, aftermarket manufacturers
haven't produced them all, so far as I know. But legally, they could if they
wanted to.
When Medeco introduced the Biaxial system, they created levels 5, 6, and 7:
Level 5: Locks are shipped with two keys and a credit card. Locksmiths
cannot purchase key blanks; duplicate keys require a card imprint and are
cut by a local distributor.
Level 6: ("DBK") Larger locksmiths or institutional users are allowed to
purchase key blanks and cut their own keys. Different keyways are assigned
to different locksmiths in a geographic area, and key blanks are stamped with
a code which enables Medeco to track down the source of a cut key, if
necessary. While this allows authorized users to get instant duplicates of
Medeco keys, it also locks them into a particular locksmith.
Level 7: Factory restricted Biaxial systems. Duplicate keys are available
only from Medeco.
I have never heard of a "Level 8" Omega/Biaxial, but I'm sure it exists
somewhere. And by the way, there's no legal prohibition on duplicating
Omega keys: it's simply a matter of policy for Medeco not to do it. I've
never seen an Omega key, and my guess is that no one but the government
uses them.
Douglas R. Floyd
[diet]
Thanks for the correction. However, I have seen Biaxial/Omega... I also
can order these from a locksmith "superstore" in my area.
PS: Biaxial servers two things: One, it offers many more key
combinations than non-biaxial, and two it extends Medeco's patent on
keys, which IMHO is important.
