My insurance asks for a five-lever mortice deadlock; what is that?
“Mortice” means that the lock is fitted within the fabric of the door — a mortice is a rectangular hole in a piece of wood — rather than screwed to the face or “rim” of the door. Deadlock means that the lock-bolt is not held in the keep by a spring; in other words it’s not “live”. A deadbolt is extended manually, usually by a key, and can only be retracted in the same way. Five lever refers to the tumblers that prevent the lock opening in the absence of the true key. A typical “Yale” rim latch lock has pin tumblers, which are not particularly secure, whereas a five lever lock has, well, five levers — a much more secure arrangements. (In the USA, where people apparently dislike carrying the bigger key of a lever lock — perhaps pocket fabric technology isn’t so advanced — lever locks are rare and American locksmiths have an easier time of it both on doors and safes.
