Yale

Yale, by name, is one of, if not, the most well known name worldwide as a lock and key manufacturer.

Linus Yale Sr. was a successful inventor who specialized in locks and mechanical engineering, and who held eight patents for locks and another half dozen for threshing machines, sawmill head blocks, and millstone dressers. (source...)

Linus Yale, Jr. became more involved with his father’s lock company in 1858 after his father's death.

In 1851 Yale invented what he referred to as the “Yale Magic Infallible Bank Lock,” for safes and vaults. This design allowed the owner to change its combination and would also allow the key to secure the lock while being hidden away from the exterior of the door by a hardened steel plate, which covered the key-hole behind it.

Yale stated 9 peculiarities for his Yale Magic Infallible Bank Lock that separated it from its peers: [1] 1. Being without springs, there are none to fail; it is impossible to damage by fire, dampness, or neglect. The design rid itself of the vices of the springs that become rusty or softening by heat or moisture. 2. The lock has a head that is detached from its key-bits, thus leaving a space between the head and the key-hole, making it virtually impossible to be picked. 3. When the key is withdrawn, all print or record of its action is obliterated, and no tell-tale left for duplicate keys to be made 4. Powder proof. No powder can possible be introduced into the lock itself, which eliminates the threat of gunpowder explosions. 5. Permutation lock has the ability to rearrange new key combinations. 6. In the event of a lost key, a duplicate key can be set up to unlock the lock, and upon changing the arrangement of the lock, the lost key will be powerless to open the lock. 7. The portability of the key conveys a vast advantage over traditional bank locks’. 8. Every motion of the lock is derived from movement of the hands rather than elements beyond the operator’s control, such as dirt, rust, or memory. 9. The lock is not liable to get out of order, having been made by first class machinists. (source...)

Patented in 1863, the pin-tumbler design is also known as the cylinder design, and plays significant roles in today’s locks and safes. Yale had previously harbored the practical implementation of the tumbler lock for decades, and had sketched the idea in 1844. Yale was convinced that key holes in traditional locks made the locks susceptible to thieves who could use picks, gunpowder explosives, and heat to thwart the locks. This led him to employ permanent dial and shaft designs in his inventions, known as “combination locks” today. Yale’s best-known lock design, the cylinder pin-tumbler lock, utilized a key-operated lock concept first conceived in ancient Egypt over 4,000 years ago. (source...)

Today, the Yale name is synonomous with one of America's greatest institutions, Yale University, named for the great benefactor and relative Elihu Yale.

Yale, as a company has changed significantly in recent years. Not as widely known today for their lock manufacturing, they still are involved with locks and locking mechanisms.

Many of their lock products today, conform to the modern accepted aesthetic pleasing form and functions.

We hope to showcase some of their products in future articles.

Pictured above is a modern style of their one-sided deadbolt, manufactured to provide beauty, form, function and reliability.