# Kryptonite!

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kryptonite/275951>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [November 21, 2004, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kryptonite/275951 "2004-11-21T14:12:10Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\
**Post date:** [November 21, 2004, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kryptonite/275951/1 "2004-11-21T14:12:10Z")

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Hey, it’s only taken two months, but Kryptonite has finally put me on the waiting list to get a new bike lock-- to replace the one I own which can be picked by a ballpoint pen. All I have to do is put the lock in a box, slap on the label they emailed me, and away we go.

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**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\
**Post date:** [November 21, 2004, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kryptonite/275951/2 "2004-11-21T14:19:45Z")

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Did you try opening it with a pen, just to see if you could do it?

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**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\
**Post date:** [November 21, 2004, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kryptonite/275951/3 "2004-11-21T16:00:32Z")

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I bought my Kryptonite back in 1987; will they send me a new one too?

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**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\
**Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kryptonite/275951/4 "2004-11-23T13:48:11Z")

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I can open my lock with a pen, although it takes a lot of effort. A skilled thief could probably do it much faster.

And as for your '87 lock, it’s probably pen-immune. Only a few locks are vulnerable, and that’s because the diameter of the keyhole is the same as that of a round ballpoint pen. (My older U-lock is pen-safe.)