Padlocks and Hasps Need to be of Good Quality to Prevent Theft

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If you have a bug out location or storage shed, chances are you are using a padlock and hasp to secure all or part of the location.  Now padlocks are good tools if you understand their limitations.  No padlock is burglarproof.  Some are more burglar resistant than others.  Padlocks, actually all locks do two things; they keep the honest, honest and make a burglar work for his money.  The more work required and the more noise he has to make, the less he is likely to target you.

The first thing is if you have a warded padlock, see the picture of a warded key, throw the lock away, they are so easy to enter they are useless.  Second, take a good look at the hasp.  I have seen hundred dollar padlocks on three-dollar hasps held in place by ½-inch screws.  Buy good steel hasps and mount them with good strong screws or bolts.  Don’t make it easy for the burglar to pry the hasp and lock off.

An example of a cheap hasp with small screws. A thief will ignore the padlock and tear the hasp loose.

Now let’s talk about the padlocks.  The most common standard padlock that we see has a laminated body.  Many of them are sold by Master lock.  You have probably seen their ad in which the padlock stands up to rifle fire.  This they can do, laminated locks are less prone to cracking under heavy prying or strikes because the force is distributed among the individual plates of steel and the rivets that hold them together.  If one-plate cracks, the others still contribute structural strength; you have to crack many of the layers to break the lock.

Sounds great but the problem with laminated locks is that you can cut the hasp in a few seconds with a good pair of bolt cutters and the locks are easy to drill.  You can get a shrouded model that adds a shroud that extends above the lock body to make it harder for bolt cutters to reach the shackles.  This makes the lock somewhat more secure.

Disc padlocks work along this same principal as the shrouded locks; they have a round shape that partially hides the shackle from cutters or other attacks.

Hidden shackle padlock with hasp

Hidden shackle padlocks. One of my favorites take the whole thing a little further, the padlock’s disc covers the shackle entirely.  This lock is best when used with a special hasp.  The shackle is completely protected.  However, the keyway is still open to be drilled.  These locks usually run around $50 depending on the manufacturer and another $20 for the special hasp.

The best padlock I think is made by Mul-T-Lock.  The keyway is extremely secure and is resistant to picking and drilling.  The shackle is protected and very difficult to get at with a cutting tool when attached to a hasp.  The shackle is free spinning which makes it difficult to grasp with a cutter or grind with a cutting wheel.  Now you can eventually grind or cut your way through this lock.  But it is going to take someone who knows what he is doing a few minutes.  It will be noisy and can attract attention.  The average teenage burglar is not going to succeed.  The down side to them is the cost around $150.00.  Get the best hasps and locks that you can afford and realize that nothing is burglar proof.

Mul T lock Padlock

Howard

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