New material that cannot be cut
newscientist.com
newscientist.com
I felt bad after I pointed out this work-around ... I sort-of assume commission-based sales people are slimier than the average Joe; he admitted he hadn't thought of that but had heard of similar stories, just not "upside down can of air/sledge hammer" convenience. And steered me toward a good, less exotic (and ultimately ineffective) lock, instead.
And even the lock is a part of an overall security set-up that often has a weak-point right smack on "the thing you affixed the lock to" (if not "how you attached the lock in the first place"). And are there any unintended consequences here that are being missed?
And then the devil's always in the details of its execution. The story of "The Club" comes to mind ... big, bright, device you attached to your steering column that the theory of function was: (1) It adds a second factor (key) to unlock a device that has a hold on the steering column that is much stronger than what your car has built-in. (2) It's very noticeable, therefore, a thief will choose another car[0]. Except that the problem the thief has is walking around a parking garage carrying around a bunch of stuff that's frequently used to steal cars, much of which is difficult to conceal. With "The Club", one needed to carry a sharp hack saw and for your trouble you got a really strong lever to use to break the cars steering column lock. Two problems solved, making the product a vehicle thief attractant.
[0] If you and I are being chased by a bear, I don't have to outrun the bear, I have to outrun you.
I remember the bike shop guy trying to sell the last bike lock that was cut resistant. It was a steel (I think) "U" lock (back right after they came out). I worked at CompUSA at the time. A co-worker had discovered the consequences of holding one of those "air duster" cans upside down, aimed at the steel pole keeping his above-average-build body in his chair (it snapped, he fell). Turns out a can of air and a good hammer and you can do away with one these locks at least as fast as any other lock (and some scrap?). IIRC, the generation that followed had very thick rubber insulation glued to the metal.
The bike thief cares about taking your bike/parts as quickly as possible and (probably) selling it somewhere. They don't care about breaking your super-lock. They'll cut through/break the thing it's locked to, and toss the whole thing onto a U-Haul as it circles the block[0]. Your wheels/gears/seat/parts are expensive, the frame can be frozen/shattered/cut quickly.
There have to be a lot of applications for a material like this (pretty much everywhere diamonds are used?).
But hey, if the aim was a better lock, here's my thinking: maximize for "it damages blades that try to cut it". Mimic a lock design that thieves hack (ideally, one that is difficult to cut but has no faster approach; encourage them to attach the expensive blades). Anything that increases the time during a theft might be enough for them to jump back in the van and drive off to the next set of bikes. And like all things security-related, use it in combination with other techniques that balance the strengths/weaknesses of each approach.
I really hope it's not ... the problem at hand is really "I want access to a bike with specific features when I want to use a bike with specific features"[1]. But alter the variables of "how nice of a bike I can ride when I want to ride it", "how difficult/easy it is to get a bike where I want a bike when I want to ride it" (it's not easy, now) and "provided I follow simple guidelines, you'll take the grief of bike theft mostly off of my plate/offer replacement on-demand insurance". There might be a market for "have the bike that's ideal for the trip" combining scheduling/delivery/insurance options.
[0] ... that same U-Haul that was briefly parked next to your car while you ran into Wal*Mart... the trip hereby known as "that really loud drive home after which you discovered your exhaust system had been hacked through/catalytic converter stolen".
[1] Like most, I chose to solve that by buying a bike. There wasn't another option that mixed "features", "convenience" and "price" (note, "theft risk" wasn't a thought until after I purchased it). Most people don't think beyond that and the creation of an alternative without "ownership" of some kind will likely be a non-starter for many people (...depending on price/features mix, for me ... I'll frequently use a service that requires having to schedule days in advance if I can ride a bike I can't afford for a very reasonable price).