Even the Key to Doug Huse’s Heart Was Made by Yale & Towne : Antiques: Two weathered old padlocks sparked collector’s passion for pin-tumbler latches. This weekend, he has organized an annual show of the devices.

In a world where everything seems to be collected by somebody, Doug Huse has a lock on his hobby.

He collects Yale padlocks. And his cache of 500 produced over the last 130 years by the Connecticut company has grown to be the largest in the western United States.

Huse’s treasures are kept under lock and key, of course.

That is because although some weather-beaten old padlocks can be purchased for only a few dollars at garage sales, serious collectors are willing to pay up to $4,000 for the earliest Yale models.

Surprisingly, a weathered look can add to an old padlock’s value.

“You don’t want to shine them up or paint them,” Huse said. “If you find one with a nice patina on it, you can’t make it look any better.”

Locks have been around for several thousand years. But it took Linus Yale Jr.’s invention of a pin-tumbler latching device to produce the lock-and-key combination that remains in use today in homes and cars.

Yale patented his revolutionary lock in 1861. It uses a series of pins that hold a rotating locking plug in place until a properly notched key is inserted. The notches make the pins rise and release the plug.

Huse’s interest in Yale was triggered by a pair of old padlocks clamped to two forgotten gates at his uncle’s sprawling cattle ranch in the Cuyama Valley, between Bakersfield and Santa Maria.

“As a kid I’d go up there in the summers. I’d always see these old locks on ranch gates that were way back off Highway 166,” said Huse, 52.

“About 15 years ago I found a key hanging on a nail in the barn and decided to see if it fit those old locks. I went out and tried it and, sure enough, it worked! It was amazing--what still works after 50 years?”

The discovery unlocked Huse’s curiosity about mechanical devices that are sturdy enough to survive freezing winters and blazing summers in the dusty foothills--not to mention pushy cows and determined, two-legged trespassers.

Soon he was buying every Yale lock he could find. Then he started hunting for Yale & Towne Manufacturing Co. posters, catalogues, lock code books and keys.

Patiently tinkering with his Yales turned Huse into a lock-picking expert. Eventually, he left the advertising business and became a Pasadena locksmith.

During this weekend, Huse organized the 17th annual West Coast Lock Collectors Show, which drew 45 collectors and several thousand visitors to the Embassy Suites Hotel in Arcadia.

Displays include handcuffs, miniature vaults and antique chastity belts. Even better, there is an 1832 lock made by Linus Yale Sr. that was brought by collector Tom Gallian of North Carolina.

Huse does not own that lock. Yet.

But he said he remains a patient man. And with a hobby like his, patience is the key.