A NEW LOOK.
Before the Exhibition of 1861, no one thought of making a lock, save Bramah, or Chubb. They were the orthodox makers, and men believed in them. The American Hobbs dispelled the illusion and set the lock- making trade free. Since this emancipation, various Makers have entered the lists vying with each other especially in the strength and security of their leas. The last claimant for public notice in this direotion is a Mr. Ash, of Great Itidport Street, Blandford Square ; whose work has been submitted to us for inspection. In this new lock, Mr. Ash dispenses with a spring, and introduces a novel part, which he calls the "lever-guard." These lever-guards are placed above the tumblers, and consist of strips or ribs of hardened metal, running nearly the whole length of the lock, having their inner ends attached to a pin on which they move. The other or outer ends nearest the bolt, have pieces of equally hard metal secured at right angles to the strips, and in the lower or thin ends of these transverse pieces are notches or segments. The guards being twice the thickness of tire tumblers, any other instrument than the right key is prevented from opening the lock. 13, the peculiar construction of the "steps" in the key two tumblers are lifted at once, and consequently one lever. If any instrument shciula by chance be inserted which lifts a tumbler, the lever-guard falls; and a portion of the bolt is driven into one of the notches. The lever Once down, it cannot be lifted back, except by the right key. Further efforts an the other tumblers only free the re- mainder of the guards. In order to make his secure lock more secure, Mr. Ash places a stump or pin, with a groove in its edge, in the middle of the bolt ; whilst the slots of the tumblers are provided with numerous pins, so that in case the lever-guards should be broken and the bolt be forced into the lock, the grooved stump is driven hack upon one of the pins, and the progress of the bolt at once arrested. The lock has been put to severe tests, with great success. It can be seen at the Society of Arts' Exhibi- tion, John Street, Adelphi. We understand the inventor is a working Man.
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