Falle-safe picks

[algygale]

Hi...

Im a bit new to all this but due to a impending redundancy in Uk i am forced to look for a new career.

So i have decided to take up locksmithing as i have been interested in picking locks since school.

I recently bought a small picking set & have been successful in picking padlocks & just started on yale pin tumblers to which after re-pinning can now open 3 pins just the security pins pose a bit of a problem.

Not realising that UK locks need slimline picks not the standard ones to which i bought.

Anyway...anyone know where i can buy some Falle-safe picks as they look pretty handy & are made in Jersy which is just off the UK??

Many thanks...

[pinky]

john falles picks are only sold by his company, safe ventures in the uk, www.safeventures.com , though they only supply trading locksmiths.
if this is for hobby use or unless your pockets are deep,fine , this is not a priority purchase if setting up as a lockie in the uk.

before blowing your redundency money on items that will be of little benefit to you if trading, read the posts here on 101 about setting up in the uk, you wont do it on a shoestring.

cylinders on the whole are beaten quickly and simply with a good pick gun, its the bs mortice lock ranges that cost the money to beat, but again stumped on buying the needed tools until trained and trading.

its also worth remembering that 9 out of 10 new locksmith start ups, fail and go bust in 1st 12 months.

its great deciding im going to be a locksmith and buy some picks, but there is a lot more to it than this, have you researched your area ? have you researched and formulated a marketing plan ? where will your work come from ? i can assure you that it wont come from call out work, have you formulated a realistic and workable business plan, and can you afford to work for up to 12 months with no wage ?

not trying to put you off, just ensuring you have made this decision without rose coloured specs on, and if so, maybe save you some money.

[algygale]

john falles picks are only sold by his company, safe ventures in the uk, www.safeventures.com , though they only supply trading locksmiths.
if this is for hobby use or unless your pockets are deep,fine , this is not a priority purchase if setting up as a lockie in the uk.

before blowing your redundency money on items that will be of little benefit to you if trading, read the posts here on 101 about setting up in the uk, you wont do it on a shoestring.

cylinders on the whole are beaten quickly and simply with a good pick gun, its the bs mortice lock ranges that cost the money to beat, but again stumped on buying the needed tools until trained and trading.

its also worth remembering that 9 out of 10 new locksmith start ups, fail and go bust in 1st 12 months.

its great deciding im going to be a locksmith and buy some picks, but there is a lot more to it than this, have you researched your area ? have you researched and formulated a marketing plan ? where will your work come from ? i can assure you that it wont come from call out work, have you formulated a realistic and workable business plan, and can you afford to work for up to 12 months with no wage ?

not trying to put you off, just ensuring you have made this decision without rose coloured specs on, and if so, maybe save you some money.

Thats the 2nd time you have brought me down to earth with a kick in the nuts pinky...

Its just somthing i am interested in & would like to give it a try..

I am at an age where i need another career & i have asked lots of people but no-one seems to know a locksmith..i dont know why they dont, maybe its because they arent needed that often??

There are about 50 smiths in my area yellow pages & 3 in the town where i live..but surely some1 needs to start somewhere..

If i could make an income of around £1k a month that would do me for a start.and i understand that i would need another job aswel to see me through until i get some work..

But how do you go about getting the work? wht sort of research?
And surely if so many people are failing where do they sell their tools?

[pinky]

its harsh reality im afraid. many guys tools when they start up are a drill and a hand pick set.
if you want an income of about £1k a month from it, you wont get this from your advertising on call outs at first, it just wont happen. your only chance of acieving this initial figure is to work for the cowboy nationals like reactfast.
the decent contract work will elude you for quite some time.

advertising , what makes you a better choice than the other 50 lockies advertising ? if yellow pages get 260 calls a month for lockies, you will get about 4 of these, but its going to cost you.

research.
initialy research talking pages and scoot, how many calls a month do they get for lockies, and how many on system, this will give you a rough indication of how many calls you will get, remember also , of these calls, some will be no more than quotes, some will be jobs you cant do.

how many locksmiths advertising across all advertising mediums, you need a minimum of 50,000 homes to each locksmith to have any hope at all.

what advertising budget do you have ? you wont get far without at least £4500 , now if this only yields 10 jobs a month for you, then each job costs you about £45, so you will be expensive or make a loss.

have you priced up the kit you need, your advertising, van , stock etc etc, now look at how much work your likely to get, way up income to costs.

or just ignore all advice and go for it, though advice is not aimed at bringing you down, but waking up to the harsh reality of this industry, its just not possible to wake up one day and decide , im going to be a locksmith, place a small ad.

even a small income of £1k a month is bloody hard to achieve in your 1st 12 months, read the set up posts carefully and fully, toomush wrote a good informative post on this, everyone thinks that their area is fine, and they will make it, most end up getting stung and losing their money, a few are lucky, and at the end of the day, a big part of your survival will be luck, so do you feel lucky?

[algygale]

its harsh reality im afraid. many guys tools when they start up are a drill and a hand pick set.
if you want an income of about £1k a month from it, you wont get this from your advertising on call outs at first, it just wont happen. your only chance of acieving this initial figure is to work for the cowboy nationals like reactfast.
the decent contract work will elude you for quite some time.

advertising , what makes you a better choice than the other 50 lockies advertising ? if yellow pages get 260 calls a month for lockies, you will get about 4 of these, but its going to cost you.

research.
initialy research talking pages and scoot, how many calls a month do they get for lockies, and how many on system, this will give you a rough indication of how many calls you will get, remember also , of these calls, some will be no more than quotes, some will be jobs you cant do.

how many locksmiths advertising across all advertising mediums, you need a minimum of 50,000 homes to each locksmith to have any hope at all.

what advertising budget do you have ? you wont get far without at least £4500 , now if this only yields 10 jobs a month for you, then each job costs you about £45, so you will be expensive or make a loss.

have you priced up the kit you need, your advertising, van , stock etc etc, now look at how much work your likely to get, way up income to costs.

or just ignore all advice and go for it, though advice is not aimed at bringing you down, but waking up to the harsh reality of this industry, its just not possible to wake up one day and decide , im going to be a locksmith, place a small ad.

even a small income of £1k a month is bloody hard to achieve in your 1st 12 months, read the set up posts carefully and fully, toomush wrote a good informative post on this, everyone thinks that their area is fine, and they will make it, most end up getting stung and losing their money, a few are lucky, and at the end of the day, a big part of your survival will be luck, so do you feel lucky?

Not sure if i do feel so lucky anymore after reading the business forum..

I thought i had it all sussed..

For the set up price of an autolocksmith i could take my pplh (commercial helicopter pilots licence)

I think i will try & talk to some locksmiths in my town & see what they say.

Maybe i will come & do a course with you for a couple of days mate so we could have a proper chat ?

Thanks for all your help..oh and how come you have so much time on your hands to be writing posts on ere?

[pinky]

im a locksmith, we get plenty of quiet times.

the posts on here are not their to put people off, but to make sure that all entering the business, do so with eyes wide open, knowing exactly what to expect and realistic returns.
those researching a business plan properly and entering with eyes wide open, are prepared for whats ahead, maximiseing their success for survival.

its a tough business made harder by the sheer amount of new start ups each year, who believe the hype, and as that 40 go bust, another 60 replace them. this is why work is thin on ground.

[zeke79]

I would keep picking with some cheaper picks for now. You are likely fairly heavy handed while picking still and the falle safes seem like they are fairly delicate.

The southord standard picks are pretty durable and the peterson standard picks are pretty durable. Those are two pick sets that i recommend to start out with although HPC makes some decent picks if you can locate a set in the UK.