On Fri, 6 Dec 2013 01:00:21 +0000 (UTC), Danny D'Amico
wrote:

On Thu, 05 Dec 2013 19:36:10 -0500, gfretwell wrote:

It really gets down to how much noise they can make.
A battery operated side grinder will make short work of any padlock.
I also understand if you freeze one of those super hard locks, they
will shatter when you hit it with a hammer.

I suspect most thieves will prefer not to make all that much noise.
And, I suspect whatever is fastest, and easiest to carry, is what
they'll use.

A 48" bolt cutter is probably fast and quiet though.

I only have a 24" bolt cutter (I needed to cut a chain on my
property when I bought the place); so I'm not sure what a 48"
one would do.

Would it basically open all the locks we'd normally buy?

How thick, compared to the locks we'd normqaly buy, was the shackle
of the lock you cut open? Was it marked "hardened"? Was it a name
brand (meaning if they said hardened, it really was.)?

48" gives twice the pressure that 24 does. Maybe a lot more if it
opens so much wider that you get to use different muscles to close it.
But its jaws have to be as hard as the shackle. I don't think those
cheap Chinese bolt cutters, also about 24", I bought from JCWhitney
20 years ago were high quality. I bought them because they were so
cheap.

BTW, can one un-harden a shackle by heating it with a propane or MAPP
gas torch?