Before you buy practice locks, why not just ask for free?

by **64mustang** » 15 Mar 2004 11:29

Hello everyone,
After I read one of member's message regarding of getting free locks from local locksmith, I went and gave it a try and I got one door lock and a Yale lock for free. The store owner is pretty cool about it, he even offer helps if I have lock questions.
So this is just a suggestion since it can save you some money :-)

BTW...
This message might not be in the right section. I can't post NEW topic in the FAQs, and General Information forum. Sorry if I post at the wrong place and please move it to the right one.

Best regards
64mustang

by **Pheniox** » 15 Mar 2004 18:51

64mustang wrote:Hello everyone,
After I read one of member's message regarding of getting free locks from local locksmith, I went and gave it a try and I got one door lock and a Yale lock for free. The store owner is pretty cool about it, he even offer helps if I have lock questions.
So this is just a suggestion since it can save you some money

BTW...
This message might not be in the right section. I can't post NEW topic in the FAQs, and General Information forum. Sorry if I post at the wrong place and please move it to the right one.

Best regards
64mustang

nah, it works here, its a general info thread.

nice thought though, most of the locksmiths i have been into have offered to help me(except for the one i made 150$ off of, but thats another story(his idiot son thought who was 20 or so thought that a bigger lock made it harder to pick. needless to say it wasn't and i made 150))

And then theres the locksmith around Palmsdale, CA who tried to tell me kwickset was high security. I just laughed at him and left his store. But most of the locksmiths I have went to and talked to were more than happy to help me out.

by **plot** » 15 Mar 2004 20:16

i talked to a locksmith's son. he said all old locks get parted and sorted for brass and aluminum... they have two 55-gallon drums. 1 is for aluminum parts, the other for brass, when they get full they take them in to the recycleing center.

so... they keep all old locks normally, they wouldn't mind giving you a few worn out old ones before they part them and recylce them probably.

by **TomSawyer** » 21 Mar 2004 2:58

Will all Lock Smiths' be willing to help?

by **Garbit** » 21 Mar 2004 6:42

What about fenaldn Uk lock smiths...do you recon they will ask questions or just laugh at me!?

by **Quin** » 21 Mar 2004 7:16

You won't know until you try

by **Garbit** » 21 Mar 2004 11:18

lol ok sounds good, i might try but i feel like a ponce if i get laughed at. Do lock smiths normally have old locks?

by **64mustang** » 21 Mar 2004 14:49

A little update of my lock picking life... :-D

I think this might be interesting to know.
I went to the locksmith who gave me the free locks for advice on one of the padlock with small keyhole.
He tried to pick it with my MPSX14 set but no lock, and he said they usually don't pick those kind of locks, most of the time they just break/cut the lock.
Then I ask if it is possible to use pick to pick the door lock, he said yes and he tried it with my set to open a brand new door lock, Again, he didn't open the lock. Then he went and got his pickgun to open it.
The basic concept I got from him is that they don't spend much time to pick locks, it is like if it is too much of time consuming, they will suggest customer to get a new one and break the current.

I wonder if this is the business concept to make more money out of customer to buy new lock?
Any opinion?

by **Pheniox** » 21 Mar 2004 14:55

64mustang wrote:I wonder if this is the business concept to make more money out of customer to buy new lock?
Any opinion?

that it is. Afterall, if you can make 50$ just for coming out, and then they have to buy a new lock from you to? thats just more money.

Not all locksmiths do this, but most do, from my experience.

by **Varjeal** » 21 Mar 2004 15:33

The concept isn't really strictly a money issue for most. It's actually value of time vs. replacement cost. In the case of small padlocks, etc. It is cheaper for the customer for me to drill or clip the padlock and replace it with a brand new one, especially if they've lost all theirs. If I spend time picking the lock (and assuming it's not rekeyable) and then have to make a couple keys for said padlock, it's just not economically viable.

by **plot** » 21 Mar 2004 16:08

if you're there becuase of a padlock, why don't they have the key? more then likely they've lost all the keys... so it doesn't matter if the lock is clipped off.

like varjeal said, it'd be cheaper to buy a new padlock then to rekey it.

by **swiftden** » 2 Jul 2004 7:01

ive been reading through all of the posts on this site and came across this one . I too approached my local locksmith who is more than willing to share his knowledge with me and also is in the process of putting a practise kit together for me

Before you buy practice locks, why not just ask for free?

Before you buy practice locks, why not just ask for free?

Re: Before you buy the practice locks, try this first

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