- these are locks with a cross-shaped pin cylinder mechanism, in which the pins are small and arranged in a circle in three planes. Depending on the design of the cylinder mechanism, there may be a 4-row arrangement of pins. The rows of code pins are arranged crosswise. Each row can have two or more code pins. The key well has cross section cross shape.
The keys of such cylinders look like a Phillips screwdriver from the end, and from the side they look like a rod with teeth along the entire length on three or four sides. Since there are many teeth, the secrecy of such cylinders is higher than that of “English” ones. However, due to the inconvenience of use and low burglary resistance, cross-shaped cylinders are also falling out of use.
Security of cross-shaped locks:
The mechanisms of such a system have practically no degree of secrecy (not to mention burglary resistance) (every fifth key fits the lock). This type has minimal privacy. In mortise locks, where the contact area between the key and the working part of the lock is small, it is difficult to prevent intruders from entering. The secrecy rating of such locks is 600-900 combinations, which is difficult to even call secrecy. Also, the secrecy of such keys very much depends on the length of the cylinder. On many locks the cylinder itself is short (up to 10 mm), and in this case the theoretical security is even lower.
Types of cross-shaped locks:
Cross-shaped locks are produced in Turkey, Russia and China: Fayn, Yale, Kale, "Kirov": The most powerful lock with a similar cylinder, if you keep in mind our manufacturer, is the lock of the Kirov Machine-Building Plant (Kirovsky lock) of the Selmash plant - a lock with a cross-shaped key, they produce in two versions, like mortise lock Kirov (without a handle, i.e. additional), and a rim lock.
Overhead locks are most often installed in metal ones, iron doors Garages. The security of the locks is higher than that of cross-shaped locks made in Turkey. The body of such a lock is copied from the Italian Mottura 30 series:
Mortise cross-shaped locks are installed in metal doors in two versions: mortise and inset methods of installing locks. The inset version of the lock is most often found in old metal doors from the 80-90s. on the door is most often found in the configuration with a rotary handle.
But there are a number of mechanisms with a cross-shaped cylinder that can be found in our open spaces, and which can be called strong. These are Gerda and Barrier 4. The thing is that these locks underwent serious modifications, as a result of which these mechanisms are very difficult to compare with their original version. And if Barrier 4 is classified as a cruciform type of castle, then a better castle among Russian ones cannot be imagined.
Also common in Russia are locks with a cross-cylinder “FAIN” and “Fayn” (Fain, Faun), as well as Kale cross-shaped mortise locks. Thieves love such locks and they often break. It is usually installed as an additional lock in rooms that do not contain material assets.
Disadvantages of cross cylinders:
1. Cross-shaped cylinder lock has a kind of cross-shaped cylinder, but not all cross-shaped locks are supplied with cylinders, and if they are supplied, they are most often found with defects (defects, defects);
2. Low degree of secrecy;
3. Low degree of burglary resistance: methods of breaking locks of this type do not shine with originality: the most suitable technique breaking locks that are locked with a cross-shaped key - a Phillips-head screwdriver. It is not even necessary to resort to using picks, drilling and other manipulation methods. Options for picking locks at the level of the last century are quite enough for him. The silent resistance time of such a lock to burglars is 1 minute. Bumping and drilling are not even used.
4. Similar castles in Russia are available only in low price category. Cheap options for pin crosses are inferior to cheap DIN pin cylinders;
5. There are products from our manufacturers where this cylinder mechanism made of silumin;
6. Cross-shaped cylinder locks cannot be recoded; if the key is lost, the cylinder must be replaced.
Increasing the secrecy of the cross-cylinder and its protection:
As you can see, domestic cylinders do not rise above a certain degree of reliability. Many models of domestic cylinders can be opened in a few seconds with a hairpin or paper clip. These are cheap locks with a low-precision secret mechanism and made from low-quality materials. This is due to the fact that Russian factories, with rare exceptions, do not produce mechanisms that could compete with imported ones, because One of the main branches of lock production is stagnating. And if the body nice castle, can still be done on a simple factory machine, the cylinder mechanism can only be made using professional equipment high precision. Russian factories are not yet able to purchase expensive equipment, especially now that new competitors have appeared on the market - Chinese and Turkish manufacturers. But Chinese cylinders from the category of “consumer goods” are of very low quality and can be easily opened with both a master key and a blank.
If possible, we would advise not just replacing the cross-shaped lock, but modernizing the lock. Replace the old cross-shaped lock with a full-fledged cylinder lock or lever lock, depending on the system previously established second lock on the door, as well as the desired degree of secrecy, burglary resistance of the lock, i.e. if the budget is small, then you can install a domestic lock such as Sam, Class, Mettam...Guardian, Elbor, if possible, then it is better to import a manufacturer Mottura, Cisa, Mul-t-Lock…
Locks from the Turkish firms Kale and FAYN with a cross key have become extremely widespread in the country. Kale was previously released in a black case, Fine was always in red.
The above mentioned models of kale and fayn locks have some disadvantages. Namely:
- extremely low protective characteristics. It is unknown who spread the rumors that locks with a cross key cannot be opened or are more difficult to open than others. Some people are still in this ridiculous delusion.
There are several reliable ways to open and hack these mechanisms. Moreover, they are so simple that even schoolchildren can handle them, and it will take no more than 2-3 minutes. Alas, many people have similar locks installed on metal doors. Such a door is a tasty morsel for a burglar.
- inconvenient operation. The key is inserted only in a certain position, and removed from the lock - similarly. Due to this, users suffer inconvenience and take a long time to get used to working with such a lock. And it would be for the sake of...
- low quality characteristics. The cross key, when entering the mechanism, wears it out on several sides. Frequent breakdown and replacement of such locks is a natural phenomenon.
But despite all the above points, kale and fayn locks with a cross key continue to be purchased en masse in lock stores and used on the doors of fellow citizens.
And the reason for this is trivial - the lack of analogues that would be better in their characteristics and would fit in place of the specified locks.
More recently, the domestic manufacturer of locks and hardware, Mettem, offered a replacement. Model 8.190 - to replace kale 189/4MF and model 8.290 - to replace Fayn lock.
Mettem lock models are good because they have almost identical body dimensions.
The key holes and the location of the crossbars also match.
The advantage is that the proposed models of Mettem locks to replace kale and fayn have a lever security mechanism, which has proven itself to be a more reliable solution with increased security characteristics.
All the locks that we reviewed in this material can be purchased in our lock store. If necessary, our specialists will not only recommend you suitable model, but they will also install it on your door.
On the website of the ZamkiTut online store you can buy high-quality and reliable mortise locks with a cross-shaped key at affordable prices.
First of all, you need to figure out what cross locks are? This term refers to locks intended for doors with a cross-shaped cylinder (cylinder). It just so happens that in our country the most common locks with a cross-shaped key are Turkish models. At the same time, you can purchase locks from a variety of manufacturers from us: KaleKilit, Edson, Fayn, Italian Cisa and so on.
If we talk about the degree of secrecy, then a mortise lock with a cross-shaped key has a decent indicator - more than twenty thousand different combinations. At the same time, unfortunately, in terms of resistance to burglary it is inferior to the same two-system locks, since it is not always able to withstand even the most primitive methods. The fact is that the cylinder of such a lock is attached to the body using two small and fragile screws.
How to order
However, our company has assembled exclusively high-quality and reliable models for you. The price of a particular lock depends on the manufacturing company, retail or wholesale purchases, delivery method and other factors.
Before purchasing locks, you should carefully study their technical and operational characteristics. Our manager-consultants are ready to provide any information you are interested in.
On the territory of Russia and many countries former USSR, cost millions of Turkish locks Fayn, Kale, Ornek, ITO, DAF, with cross keys. In the 90s, these locks became wildly popular among domestic manufacturers of metal doors and, almost without a fight, captured a huge part of the lock market in Russia.
They wouldn’t be popular if only one type of key to these locks, and this was actually a cross key, brought potential customers of steel doors into awe. Moreover, when the manager placing an order for the production of metal entrance doors, say Ostap, as if by the way, reported on the millions of combinations of the secret of these locks with round cross-shaped keys. And that they are almost impossible to open! The customers were delighted. Wow!!! ... Fine and Kale castles, with cross keys - it's super! Do you think such castles don’t exist and this can’t happen, did that bastard lie? Maybe. Almost everyone has wised up now, but then...
And then, that manager, perhaps, fervently believed in what he was talking about or lying to naive people originally from the USSR. The locks are almost Western, beautifully packaged, Turkish manufacturers almost gave up their heads and swore that their Fayn-Kale locks and others, with cross-shaped keys, are the height of perfection in modern “lock building” in Europe. So it turns out that the Ostaps are not to blame! The Ostaps of that time also wanted to eat, just like those of today. At that time, it was very profitable for “Dvernik” to install locks of this type on metal doors: less work- more profit. The laws of capitalism have not been repealed.
As an example. The famous “Klin metal door” of economy class and one of the options for equipping it with locks. Upper castle Fayn - Kale with cross keys is installed, the lower one is installed with a VAZ mortise cylinder lock, also known as DAAZ ZV 4–3. Or, the lower lock could be installed with any other mortise cylinder lock of a similar type, with the standard interaxle distance for Russia of 55 millimeters, inherited from the USSR. And also the lower locks, in “Klin metal doors” and others like them, could be installed with mega-popular locks such as: the Belarusian semi-automatic mortise disc lock SHO-25 Baranovichi or the Ukrainian mortise cylinder lock ZAZ - Motor-Sich ZV4-6.
The top lock in cheap “Klin metal doors,” in addition to Fayn-Kale locks, could also be Ryazan “SAM” locks.
Yes, in this example you can also look at general development and understanding what kind of doors these were - “Klin steel doors”. One small addition. They stood, stand and will stand for a long time in many people’s apartments.
There could also be such options for metal doors, which anyone wanted and called: “Crab-type metal doors” or “Spider-type metal doors”, to convey solidity and at the same time fear to the customer. Fayn-Kale type locks with cross keys were also actively installed on these doors. And here is this type of door.
The lower lock on this door, with sliding bolts, is ITO, with cross-shaped keys.
ITO is the Turkish twin brother of Fayn - Kale castles. “In his place it could have been Fayn or Kale!” But at that time the cards ended up with the manufacturer of this metal door, but these doors could also have had domestic locks.
The ordinary option of equipping metal doors with locks was very popular and widespread for many manufacturers of steel doors at that time.
That is why, at that time, locks of this type were literally transported from Turkey to Russia by the truckload. “Unobtrusive advertising” by expert consultants and managers did its job. This is how there was a demand in Russia for locks with cross keys from Turkish manufacturers Fayn, Kale, Ornek, ITO, DAF. The laws of the market are inexorable. Demand creates supply. It got to the point that at one time these locks were even transported to Russia by shuttles, in the famous checkered trunks, and sold in markets, like any other consumer goods. They were literally flying away.
But still, the main share of the market for locks with cross-shaped keys in Russia was captured by Turkish manufacturers Fayn and Kale. But. “Maslenitsa is not everything for the cat,” a holy place is never empty. Soon, a counter flow of similar locks poured into the Russian castle market, no less powerful than from Turkey, from the rapidly developing China. Chinese manufacturers of similar locks, and even direct counterfeits of Fayn-Kale locks, began to aggressively dump prices and managed to win a significant market share from Turkish importers in a tough fight.
This is roughly how Fayn-Kale locks appeared in Russia, with cross keys. Or, as they are also called, locks with cross keys Fayn - Kale, or locks with cross keys Fayn - Kale, or locks with cross keys Fayn - Kale. And also their clones from China.
Quite soon it became clear that Fayn - Kale, locks with round cross keys, are not so super-duper reliable, both in terms of opening and breaking, and in terms of trouble-free operation of the cylinder mechanism installed in locks of this type. No matter how funny it sounds, it was the “top-secret” replaceable cylinders that turned out to be the weakest link in Turkish locks, with cross keys Fayn, Kale, Ornek, ITO, DAF, and the like. How to open these locks with cross keys is easy and simple; literally the entire Internet is filled with information.
The mechanical part of Turkish locks of this type also turned out to be not up to par. Design flaws and brittle material, brass alloys from which these Turkish cylinders are made, as well as improper operation of the locks, every day inexorably brought them closer to a pre-programmed breakdown and accident.
And this day has finally come for many owners of metal doors, from various manufacturers, with Fine-Cale locks. Ah-ah-ah! Accident. For some it happened faster, for others a little later, but these locks began to actively break, on steel entrance doors, often, a lot and regularly. Why be surprised? Many millions of these locks were installed on metal doors in Russia and the CIS countries. They had to start breaking at some point. The first statistics on typical breakdowns of locks with cross-shaped keys have appeared, and the “generic” sores of locks of this type have emerged.
None of the “door keepers” took into account the operating conditions for which these Turkish Fine-Cale locks with a cross key were designed. Almost none of the manufacturers of metal doors with locks of this type instructed users how to use them, what to do and how to care for them, how to lubricate them, in the end.
In Europe and Turkey, locks of this type were originally installed on various office cabinets, file storage, gun cabinets and mailboxes. Here, by the way, is a warm greeting to Turkish locks with cruciform keys from the USSR.
Castle on mailbox with cross keys made in the USSR.
In addition, locks with cross keys in Europe were mainly installed on storage rooms, in various institutions, on pseudo-safes, or even on windows, or on roller shutters, and on other secondary objects that required minimal protection from the entry of unauthorized persons.
Here is a lock with cross keys for windows, various cabinets and doors.
And here is a deadbolt lock, with cross keys, which is installed on the roller shutters.
Of course, locks of this type were also installed there. various doors, but mainly on wooden ones. Let's say like this one.
Cross key lock on a wooden door.
Apparently, it was the grandmother who installed such a mini-lock, with a cross key, on the door to her room in the family house in Staffordshire, so that her granddaughter would not play pranks with his friends without her...
And in Russia, Fayn - Kale locks, with cross-shaped keys, began to be installed mainly on metal entrance doors to apartments. Where the daily “passage” and operation were, for these locks, although relatively acceptable, they were on the verge of a foul. The fact is that normal steel doors are much heavier than wooden ones and the locks on such doors have their own operating characteristics. This requires more careful opening of the lock, and you need to make sure that the metal door does not hang with its entire weight on the locking bolts of the lock.
The steel door must be firmly fixed to the lock latch. In such doors, this is usually a lower lock with handles. If the door is not secured to the latch of the lock with handles, but hangs with its entire weight on the locking bolts, then the operator has to make additional efforts when opening any lock in order to open the door. This force is transmitted to the internal mechanism of the lock by the key, either directly, as with lever locks, or through a cylinder mechanism, into which the key is, in turn, inserted.
Years pass like this, until one fine moment the lock, with cross-shaped keys, breaks. The “nature” turned out to be too thin and flimsy for the cylinders, Fine-Calais locks, with cross keys.
Apartments would be nice. But Fayn and Kale locks of this type were also actively installed on common vestibule doors in several apartments, where the daily load on these locks increased several times. There are a lot of residents. In addition, on locks installed on common doors As a rule, there were not enough keys included with the lock for all apartment residents. It is clear that in such a situation people went to the nearest Metaloremont and ordered additional duplicate keys there. Sometimes these duplicate keys were not of very good quality, they were difficult to enter and exit the lock.
It goes without saying that after a certain amount of time, locks with cross-shaped keys Fine-Kale began to fail en masse on the entrance vestibule doors various types and structures throughout Russia. When a lock breaks, any one, it is usually replaced with the same one, especially if it is installed in a metal door. But what is the point of replacing Fayn-Kale locks with cross-shaped keys with exactly the same ones, if any master knows that in a few years it will break again. For many uninformed people, a counter question immediately arises: “Is it possible to change a lock on a metal door, previously “standard” installed in it by the manufacturer, and of one type and size, with another lock, of a different type, with different sizes and keys? »
The answer is almost always clear: “Yes, of course, you can change locks with Fayn - Kale cross keys to locks of a different type!” And it’s not only possible, but even necessary, and the sooner the better. What is made by the hands of one person can always be successfully remade by another person! This applies to almost any other lock installed on steel door, and if it needs replacement. Except in some cases, as well as economic feasibility.
But what you can replace Turkish key-cross locks Fayn - Kale with is a separate story and article. Instead of these locks, you can put a lot of locks, for example, with “safe” type keys, or a cylinder lock, with perforated cylinders and additional protection in the form of overhead or mortise armor plates. Moreover, both from the Fayn - Kale lock manufacturers themselves, and from many other lock manufacturers from Russia, Italy, China and so on.
And again about the legends. The words of managers who spoke about the million-dollar secrets of Fayn - Kale, locks with cross keys, turned out to be just promoted myths and nothing more. These locks became quite easy to open, completely in various ways, all and sundry. They became especially popular among drug addicts, since they did not require special knowledge, skills and qualifications from the thieves and robbers who opened these locks. This is how Turkish Fayn - Kale locks, with cross-shaped keys, and their Chinese clones and fakes became favorite locks for thieves of all stripes. What they are, what they are not, it’s all the same!
When the number of robberies of apartments with locks of this type installed in the entrance doors exceeded many tens of thousands, our valiant police (and then the police) began to warn respectable citizens: “Citizens, urgently change the locks with cross keys to others!” And at some police stations there were even notices with the same content and photographs of these locks, with the keys of the cross Fine - Calais. It got to the point that in the morning television programs of many TV channels, Russian citizens also began to be warned that they should urgently change the locks of this type installed on their doors, out of harm’s way.
If you have not yet changed your Fayn - Kale Turkish locks with cross keys, then do it before it is too late. Forewarned is forearmed!
And what can be replaced with FAYN - KALE, locks with cross keys, this is a completely different story.
Many people even do it themselves without any problems. And some, on the contrary, have big or small problems with replacing such locks. It would seem that an absolutely similar lock was purchased, but only from a different manufacturer, but a person cannot install it. Come on. And how confidently and persistently the sellers convinced this man: “You will have absolutely no problems replacing such a lock.” But no. It turns out that saying is one thing, but doing is completely different.
Cross locks– these are locks for doors with a cross-shaped cylinder or cylinder. The most widespread in Russia are the Turkish cross locks KALE and FAYN, thanks to wholesale purchases and mass installation in metal doors at the door manufacturing stage.
Locks with a cross-shaped key have a good degree of security - at least 20 thousand combinations, but an extremely low degree of resistance to the most primitive methods of hacking: the cylinder is attached to the lock body with only two small, fragile screws and is not protected by an armor plate.
To increase the level of security of cross-shaped locks, such as Fayn and Kale, Turkish manufacturers even equipped them with three rows of pins, but completely forgot that the pins turned out to be too small in diameter, and the brass metal from which the core of the cross-shaped lock is made is very soft and malleable by force influences.
Cross or cruciform lock KALE - device
The Kale 189 series cross lock, like its analogues, belongs to mortise cylinder locks and is equipped with three or five keys, depending on the assembly batch.
The principle of operation of the mechanism is that the beard or beak of the cross cylinder moves the locking bolt. Locking occurs in two or three turns only with the help of a key, has four bolts with a diameter of 12 millimeters, and the extension of the bolts is 28 mm.
Recommended for installation only on interior doors!
Disadvantages of cross locks or why it is better to replace cross locks?
- Extremely low quality lock. If the cylinder locks wear out the mechanism on one side, then the cross-shaped key, when entering the cylinder, wears out on four sides at once, which leads to the key “biting.” And the cross key is inconvenient to carry in your pocket due to the sharp blank, which tears the fabric of clothing
- Inconvenient to use. The key can only be inserted into a cross lock in a certain position and removed, respectively. To operate cross locks, you need to get used to the sequence of opening and closing the lock in a certain plane of the key
- Extremely low rates protective functions or burglary resistance. Opening a cross lock takes no more than five minutes without rushing, and for a burglar it takes just a few seconds, and absolutely silently.
How to open a cross lock without a key?
Quite often there are situations when the key gets stuck in the lock, how to open the cross lock without damaging it? The “mildest” way to solve the problem is to pour in WD-40 spray and, with a little effort, try to unscrew and pull the key out of the cylinder.
If this is not successful, we move on to tough measures:
- How to open a cross lock using a drill and screwdriver
If the front door is closed and the key is broken in the keyhole, then you need to drill out the cylinder with a drill with a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the key, move the core bit and open it with a screwdriver
- How to crack a cross lock with a screwdriver
We select a nozzle that is suitable in size, first gently, for entry, we begin to turn the cylinder, then with force - by turning the lock should open.
- How to open a cross lock with chewing gum
We put in a soft chewing gum into the lock core, push it to the base, wait for it to harden and use any screwdriver, even a slotted one, to open the lock. The principle of a banal opening of a cross-shaped lock comes down to the following: the rubber band fills the cavities of the key cutting and, when solidified, takes the shape of a cross-shaped key; any screwdriver is enough... We think it is unnecessary to describe the process further.
- How to open Phillips locks with a Phillips impact screwdriver
The fastest and toughest method: drive a Phillips screwdriver into the lock cylinder almost to the base and turn it with force, possibly using an adjustable wrench. The cylinder rotates, the brass pins are cut off, the door opens, the lock is subsequently changed, preferably to a safe one!
Cross lock: replacing a lock with a cross key with a safe one
The main negative problem of Turkish cross locks such as Kale, Ornek or Fayn, in addition to the weak mechanism, is the easy opening of the lock from the inside front door. You don't need to be a professional burglar to silently remove the trim, hook the protruding tail of the key with pliers, turn it and open the door.
Therefore, there is reason to think about what to replace the front door lock with a cross key with and choose a reliable alternative. Replacing a cross lock with a safe with a butterfly key and a lever locking mechanism will significantly increase the safety and security of your apartment.
Replacing a cross lock with an economy class lever lock: the cost will be from 3,500 rubles, including the lock and modification work seat, boring a turnkey hole and a guarantee!
If you are interested in a more serious lock, for example made in Italy, then Mottura is a suitable alternative.
Contact us, our masters will definitely take into account your wishes and select a lock model exclusively for your door, explain in detail all the disadvantages of cross locks and the advantages of replacing them with safe ones!
