books

[figment501]

hi
I have been trying to buy books on lockpicking and safe manipulation. Specifically the National Locksmith series and have been unable to "qualify " for purchase because I am a hobbyist. It's kind of a catch-22, can't buy until you know enough to pass a test and can't pass the test unless you know enough. I have extensive shop and mechanical background in several fields. I would like to buy 'Sieveking's books as well, but cant find an open source. I have a very excellent book search engine which I use very frequently and no luck. Ebay has some info but its basic and hit or miss.
any ideas?
thanks
rls

[CaptHook]

Unfortunately most "useful" books on safe manipulation are locksmiith only. I do not know of any general locksmith certification that delves into safes, its kind of a step 2 kinda thing (locksmith first, safes after that). As far as locks go, once you get the concept, and it isnt a difficult concept, Ive found working on locks and taking them apart far more useful than most texts Ive seen on the subject. The MIT guide which is free is very helpful, Matt Blaze's site on crypto is excellent.
Another really good source for lock info is straight from the manufacturer, look on their websites, good tidbits to be found there.
Chuck

[Eyes_Only]

Be very careful when you look into books offered by companies like paladin press and simmilar mail order book catalogs. They have some nice book once in a while but the majority of them are complete junk, believe me, I learned that by experience. Your best bet for hobbiests like us is LSS and maybe a few locksmithing books offered by Bill Philips, thats all I really ever needed to be honest. I recently was trying to get more ristricted literature like you were and stumbled across amazon.com and found out that you can get a subscription to the national locksmith or similar locksmith trade magazines through them. I havent tried but it might give you that "foot in the door" towards getting more ristricted material. Good luck friend

[randmguy]

Go to http://www.foley-belsaw.com and request a copy of their catalog. They sell a lot of TNL's books although their prices are higher. You could also subscribe to The National Locksmith...I've never had any questions asked about my profession when ordering from them and I believe they sell all of Sieveking's books. Thinking back on it, my wife got me the back issues on CD for Christmas last year and I think she just ordered that online under her own name. Sort of off topic, but the CD's are GREAT. A wealth of info, and I got to write off 4 years worth of subscriptions by donating them to the county library.