A long key reached past the door’s surface
In a wooden pin lock, the key had to do more than fit a keyhole. Its projecting pegs had to reach a row of pins set inside the lock and raise them clear of the sliding bolt. Once the pins no longer blocked the bolt, the key could push or pull it aside.
That arrangement helps explain the key’s unusual scale. The lock’s working parts sat behind the door, so the key needed enough length to reach them. Its size also made it a practical tool to grip and turn or shove, rather than a small metal key meant only to rotate in a compact mechanism.
Gravity helped secure the bolt again
When the key was withdrawn, the pins could fall back into place under their own weight, blocking the bolt from moving. The lock therefore depended on a simple sequence: lift the pins, move the bolt, then let the pins drop back. The key’s pegs had to line up with the pins, giving the mechanism a basic form of key-based access control.
A forearm-length key looks cumbersome by modern standards, but it reflects where the security mechanism lived: deep inside a large wooden assembly. The key was effectively a handle reaching into the lock to operate its parts.
