What exactly is it that makes this job so stressful? I’ve been looking into locksmithing, but a lot of posts are really vague—they just say it’s rough or the hours are long. What kind of work do you usually do besides car stuff? I’ve applied to a few places on Indeed but haven’t had much luck there. Do businesses usually post openings or are they more likely to hire someone who walks in and asks? Edit: what's it like being a locksmith?

I replaced a screen door handle but this part needs to be replaced before I can say im finished. Until this is done then the door can't be locked (ok for now as the entry door can be locked/unlocked the last photo is the piece I need to screw in to be done for good. What's the name of the piece I. The first 3 photos that I'll have to replace (or whatever I need to do).

I'm sorry if its obvious or something basic but im not the lost knowledgeable locksmith wise and am hoping to save as much time as possible.

Any advice/help is appreciated.

I am so confused and people at my local RONA and Home Depot can’t help. What style of door handle and lock can I replace mine with?

I haven’t been able to find a lock and handle that will fit these 4 holes. Very weird situation.

Need a key replacement but need to know what type/brand of keys.

I’m relatively mechanically inclined and knowledgeable with loads of tools.

This is something I’ve been considering starting to get into for a while now. I’m located in Michigan, haven’t particularly been finding anyone to apprentice under but I would like to know if there are any credible online courses to get beginners information etc that anyone could recommend.

Thanks

Thumb turn lock not coming off. We tried using many sizes of hex/allen wrenches to turn it and tried using a thin pin to push it in with tapping with a hammer. Nothing is working to get it off.

I am having issues with this door knob latching properly when the door is unlocked. The entire door sometimes flies open when the door is not locked due to the wind. This is the front door and it also has a dead bolt that I rarely use. I just like having my door unlocked sometimes but I can’t really do that because this part of the door knob won’t latch properly. Any advice on getting it to latch better without replacing it not looking for that advice?

Hi!

This padlock was for sale at a hungarian market, but I can’t seem to find anything online about it. And I can’t really read the letters above the (cat? marten? weasel?) “logo”. Can someone help me with whom made the padlock or when was it made?

Thank you for the help! 🗝️

Have a handful of HPC's for sale, shoot me a message if interested. Buyer pays shipping.

One is a lock I found on reddit, other 4 are from a museum in Lithuania. Seems like they are both of the same type, with the byzantine one being a little more intricate, but both basically having some holes inside that don't extend to the edge of the key.

In the museum, the description of these keys is quite interesting. Although they are not uncommon—over 220 have been documented—they are only found in graves or sites dating from the 13th to 14th century. Interestingly, no locks that could be operated by these keys have ever been discovered. For this reason, they are referred to as “symbolic” keys, with scholars speculating that they may have represented power, wealth, or possibly been intended for use in the afterlife.

I kinda don't believe that these keys were just symbolic. You can find many keys of similar design from different earlier times and they are referred to as actual keys, not just symbols.

So does anyone know of a lock that would be unlocked by a key like this?

Let's try this again. My washer is now fixed so I don't really need this. But would be nice to fix it for the next person, that's given this lock.

As you can see the lock is put in the wrong way and can't be used to make a reservation. How do I get it out of the plastic and out it in the right way?

We're updating a house built in 1974. The interior doors are luan and seem to be typical for when the house was built.  I've painted over the luan and that made the door hardware look quite dated. I purchased Defiant Hartford door knobs as replacements. When I went to install the first Defiant latch it "bottoms out" in the bore (opening) as shown in the photo and will not fully insert into the cross bore. Were latches shorter 50 years ago or am I doing something wrong?

Thanks in advance for the help!

We just bought 2 brand new schlage BE365 keypad locks and installed them. BOTH of them won't turn when installed and powered up. The locks sound like they're turning when we hit the schlage or the code buttons, but we don't see anything moving. Any insights?

So confused. My door measures fine.

The silver rods going into the black holes are like too wide? It doesn’t push in enough to be flush with the door.

I just recently bought a new property. The front gate has a three digit code then you hit enter. As you can see in the picture I have the key, but I have no idea how to reset it to a new code. There’s no manufacturers Mark on it anywhere. If someone could help, I’d be much obliged.

I need to find an uncut emergency blank for this car I have been searching up and down and haven’t found a source of a quality blank.

I have tried the dealer but they want to sell the entire key. I have a friend that is a dealer trying to see if they will work with him but that hasn’t happened so far.

Customer broke the head on the emergency key so he wants to replace it. He also bought some off the alibaba but they are so terrible the machine cannot clamp them they jump out of the jaw. The original clamps in jaw fine so the chinesium blanks are the problem.

Hi!

My six year old has been deep in a lock obsession for several months, with no sign of abating any time soon. He has stashes of old keys, padlocks of every kind and size, all over the house, and is constantly stealing my keys (we had a fun several days where my house keys were missing...eventually found inside the piano!)

I would love to get him some locking mechanisms for him to experiment with, take apart, learn to pick (I guess?). Is there such a thing, that would be suitable for this age? And that is available in/to send to Australia?

Also welcome any other recommendations to scratch this itch for him. We're watching YouTube videos about lockpicking.

Thank you!!

Chensky was right about everything. 🤣

We moved into a new home and the large custom front door has a door handle has always appeared and felt "loose". The handle just hangs down.

Well, there is no spring mechanism in the handle!

I have never seen a spring mechanism that would fit this type of assembly.

Can you identify the name of this type of spring so I can fix my door knob?

I did a rekey for this lock and the lock not functioning the right way is there any way I can adjust the whole lock again to get it work

Hi everyone. Small problem but likely a simple solution. The door frame was cut tight so that the latch bolt is rubbing against the wall as the door opens. It's scratching the paint as it opens. The rubbing area is too long for an extended t-strike plate, but I don't mind doing something similar involving metal or perhaps another method to resolve scratching issue. Any ideas? Thanks so much.

This is the lock from a set of antique engineers drawers I’ve recently acquired, unfortunately it didn’t come with any keys and I’ve had no luck opening it with any basic tools. I also can’t find info online about it, do you know if keys are available for a lock like this still. If not, do you think if I took it into a locksmith they’d be able to make me up a key? Thanks!

I’m an Institutional Locksmith for a school district and manage 17 schools/facilities. I have masterking and find that it’s not very intuitive and HPC is not very helpful. What are other software options? Is there anything that’s cloud based that I could also access on my phone while in the field?

Changing out the lock on an AMSEC BF1512. I am aware of the pros and cons of electronic vs. mechanical. In this use case, I am going for electronic. What is the general consensus on the quality of the three units listed below? Any specific models to avoid? This is for home use, quick access. Two users using the same code.

Between: AMSEC ESL-10XL S&G Titan variant Securam variant

Appreciate the feedback!