On Thu, 09 Sep 2004 09:11:40 -0500, Australopithecus scobis
wrote:
On Thu, 09 Sep 2004 08:14:33 +0100, Jeff Gorman wrote:

The lever cap should be so adjusted that you can only just release the cam
with one finger. In this situation there should be no difficulty in
adjusting either the lateral lever or the feed screw.


(snippage)


Hey, remember those old-timey safecrackers who'd sandpaper their fingers
to increase sensitivity? That fellow who wrote recently about making his
fingers bleed whilst learning to use a diamond stone was on the right
track!


Good story, but myth. A combination lock can be "felt" depending on the
tolerence to which the mechanism is manufactured. Most safe's were
made to be hard to move (or say a concrete room) and time consuming to
open. For most of history--including most safes sold today, fire is a
more important design consideration than theft.

Among other things, this is discussed in Richard Feynman's delightful
"Surely You're Jest, Mr. Feynman." In addition to being a Manhattan
Project physicyst, Feynman was also an amataur safecracker and locksmith
who frequently put his skills to use when his colleagues forgot their
safe combinations.