Keys in cases

Irish Flute
1

Another thread regarding clasps for case making and a comment that few had seen a flute case key lead me to this: I have an antique English flute case with a broken clasp. The only mechanism for opening this case was the key, so some time long ago someone had to break it open to get inside. My ever so inelegant solution to this was to make two large “rubber bands” out of one inch elastic. In my case I repurposed some elastic from a pair of my son’s shorts so they are a cheerful red.

Anyone else have a case that only opens with a key?

2

They’re pretty commonplace, if not the norm among C19th flute cases. I’ve got a friendly locksmith who’s very good at finding/making me keys for them. I’ve now a couple of times repaired locks which have been cut through the tang (presumably because the key was lost) by contriving a new tang. There are photos somewhere in my Facebook photo albums.