The Complete Book of Locks and Locksmithing

[Boombaye]

Just picked this book up at Borders for $30

I don't know if its a good book but i said what the heck. I had a bonus check from work that I just cashed so i used it to pay for it.

Any input on the book? Is it good? Bad?

Thanks,
Boombaye

[ToolyMcgee]

It's really more of a book about locks and locksmithing than it is a book that will help you too much with hobby picking. It's been awhile since I flipped through it, but I don't really remember Bill Phillips writing much of anything about manipulation. I remember a part in the middle where he had listed makes, models, and years of cars with the locks they had in their doors, trunks, and ignitions. A good book on locksmithing as a professional, with breakdowns of various types of locks and diagrams of different door setups, lots of good reference for locks and terminology, but virtually nothing on manipulation for the hobbiest. It's worth a read, and you won't be sorry it's taking up space on the shelf if you need to flip to a diagram for reference.

[raimundo]

Its an excellent book on locksmithing but a couple of volumes short of actually being complete, however its worth every penny. there is one rudimentary chapter that covers lockpicking, but other chapters show some very good tricks and information that will be every bit worth your knowing, you can use what you learn in this book.

[jimb]

There were many locksmithing books written by Bill Phillips.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Bill+phillips+locksmithing

I have read a couple of them and thought they were very good. Check your local library, this is where I picked up one of the books that I read. You can also find many used books he wrote on Amazon and sometimes ebay.

[vision688]

very goood book worth every penny

[weerwolf]

Does it cover American lock only ? Or does it contain information on European locks as well ?

[MacGyver101]

Does it cover American lock only ? Or does it contain information on European locks as well ?

It deals primarily with locksmithing work and locks with a focus on the North American market. You can preview sections of the book through Google Books.

[weerwolf]

Thanks for the link. I think I'll go and buy the book. It looks very intressting from what I've seen.

[raimundo]

THe locks in the Phillips book are american, no doubt the general principles remain the same, but the specifics are all North American.

[New-York-Locksmith]

Ah! its a nice book, I've learnt many things from it...