Visiting the local locksmith

[dauce]

I just moved into town. Fresh out-tha-box.

I'm driving around and I see a locksmith store. Considering the new hobby, I'm thinking of stopping in to simply see things such as:

1. what kind of setup they have; tools (manual and auto) and gear and such

2. get ideas of how much they rely on manual tools, etc.

3. maybe they could offer practice tips and such... I realize I could find that on here - but just for conversations sake as I'm new to the area.

Think its worth it? Has anyone stopped in and asked for a min-tour or something?

(I will just mention that I do not plan and have no ambition to be a locksmith, so I am in no way trying to be competition lol)

[globallockytoo]

In my opinion, many locksmiths are a little guarded in what they want people to know. I think if you approach in the right way, perhaps showing an interest in a particular product and wish to discuss the pro's and con's with them and acknowledge their opinions (for what it's worth), you may be able to build a friendly enough rapport, that they might invite you to "look around".

[dauce]

In my opinion, many locksmiths are a little guarded in what they want people to know. I think if you approach in the right way, perhaps showing an interest in a particular product and wish to discuss the pro's and con's with them and acknowledge their opinions (for what it's worth), you may be able to build a friendly enough rapport, that they might invite you to "look around".

Thank you for your response. Have you tried before? Just curious. I'm just interested in what they do and how they do it.

[Squelchtone]

I got really friendly with the shop in my old neighborhood and I'd go in there at least once a month for a year, finally walked in showing this nice old lock i needed keys for and the guy sold me 2 blanks, so I went home and hand filed a key for it and it worked, so i brought it in to show off and then asked for more blanks and the guy looked sketched out and politely told me "we normally dont sell blanks to the public" (this was an old Yale safe deposit box key in a very obscure keyway) and he suggested I open an account with Commonwealth Lock in Cambridge if I need more bulk or wholesale locksmithing gear. I think he was ok with my unhealthy obsession with locks, but he just couldn't make heads or tails of why someone who isnt a locksmith is hand filing keys and picking locks.

Dont seem too excited, dont talk about picking, say you collect locks or something like that. ORRR you could say you learned how to pick at a security conference and want to upgrade your home locks and see what he has. DO NOT talk about bumping.

good luck
Squelchtone

[globallockytoo]

In my opinion, many locksmiths are a little guarded in what they want people to know. I think if you approach in the right way, perhaps showing an interest in a particular product and wish to discuss the pro's and con's with them and acknowledge their opinions (for what it's worth), you may be able to build a friendly enough rapport, that they might invite you to "look around".

Thank you for your response. Have you tried before? Just curious. I'm just interested in what they do and how they do it.

I have been in the trade nearly 30 years and worked in 4 continents......so your question is not so relevant to me as I am but one locksmith

[Solomon]

Yeah, you definitely don't wanna walk into a locksmiths and start asking about the tools he uses etc right off the bat lol. I've gotten friendly with a few and we do talk about picking, different tools etc, but you need to get friendly and show them that you're not sketchy beforehand. They probably won't talk about their tools or anything until they're sure you know what you're talking about first, and obviously you're gonna need to gel with them in general like any other person. Some guys you just won't get on with, that's life.

You'll probably wanna talk about locks in general, different mechanisms etc before you get into the picking side of things. It's understandable to most lockies that you pick locks because you're interested in the trade, or even just how everything works and the puzzle aspect of it, but if you just walk in and start talking about picking locks as this new hobby you discovered then they're most likely gonna raise an eyebrow and get a bit cagey cos most of them don't really get why anyone would just want to pick locks for fun. As for walking in and just asking about their tools... that's probably gonna get you put on some kind of list.

Also, I'd stick to smaller shops. They're not as busy when they're in the shop so they actually have time to talk, and they tend to be less suspicious. I remember years ago I was looking at dimple locks in a locksmiths in town which belonged to a chain, asked the guy if the garrisons were pin-in-pin (cos I didn't know at the time lol), and he looked at me like I had 2 heads. He gave a very short answer, disappeared behind the counter, then everyone else working there started giving me weird looks. Made me a bit uncomfortable. I don't wanna think about how they would've reacted if I asked if I could have some old locks to "play with".

One last thing... they're not worried about competition unless you're a cowboy. If they respect you as a person and for your skills they couldn't care less, lockies pass work between each other all the time. I tell them about jobs I've done for friends and stuff all the time and they think it's cool. They're not gonna be all "stop stealing my business you little mofo".

Best of luck mate, and be smart! In all honesty though, I'd wait a while until you have some knowledge or something to offer before you start trying to get friendly with the lockies in your area, I didn't really start talking to them until I'd been into locks for a few years so I already knew my stuff. To some degree anyway. Very few guys are gonna be cool explaining things out of the blue to some random guy who they don't know from adam, when he doesn't seem to have any research for himself beforehand. If the conversation is very one sided and Q&A oriented, they're gonna get fed up pretty quick. They can tell if you're genuinely interested or not, but yeah. If you have questions, try to make them specific and talk from experience if you can. That's the best advice I can give ya.

Ooh, one other thing. If you wanna talk specific tools, show them some pics of what you use or at least talk about them. Don't bring any tools to the shop with you though, unless it's something specific that they haven't played with before and they actually wanna see. You don't want them thinking you carry picks around with you, that'll raise a red flag immediately. Ok, I'm going now. For real this time.

[2octops]

Honesty, if a stranger walked into my shop asking what all equipment I had and wanted to see all of the tools that I used, I would think they were looking around trying to see what they could steal and I would ask them to leave.

Go in, be polite, small talk it up a little, spend some cash on a few padlocks or something first. Then become a repeat customer for duplicate keys or other bits and pieces and keep up the small talk. After they recognize you as a familiar face, then you could start talking about more technical stuff.

Y'all know I speak my mind about stuff like this. When my guys are in the shop working, they are being paid to be there earning the boss a profit. They are not paid to stand around and chat a lot about what all's going on. It's a place of business and a little small talk is fine for free. A lot of small talk will require you spending some money.

We do have a few "hang arounds" that simply do that. They come in often and just hang around. They've been doing it for years and we have gotten used to them and they are use to us. They know that we are not being rude when we ignore them if we are working, talking on the phone or dealing with a paying customer.

[cledry]

I wouldn't have the time for chit chat. The shop is running 100% most days and then some. It wouldn't be that I am not interested in chatting or sharing knowledge, there just isn't time for idle time.

[Buzo]

I don't know... I was looking for information on how to become a locksmith so one day I walked into my local locksmiths shop and started looking around at different locks and safes and noticed 2 cut-aways sitting on display. I asked if the were cutaways of X lock and X lock and they seemed surprised I knew what they were so they let me have a look. After checking them out (as I had never seen a cut-away of these locks before) they asked me if I knew anything about them. We chatted about the locks for a bit and he asked me how I knew the stuff, and I told him I was interested in becoming a locksmith. He asked me what kind of stuff I learned, what tools I used, where I learned it, and then asked me if I wanted to fill out an application! Because of my work schedule at the time I couldn't, but I kept the application. When my schedule changed I filled it out and had an interview and will hear fom him on Monday. he also handed me a hpc pick he had lying around and told me to use some real picks!

[cledry]

I don't know... I was looking for information on how to become a locksmith so one day I walked into my local locksmiths shop and started looking around at different locks and safes and noticed 2 cut-aways sitting on display. I asked if the were cutaways of X lock and X lock and they seemed surprised I knew what they were so they let me have a look. After checking them out (as I had never seen a cut-away of these locks before) they asked me if I knew anything about them. We chatted about the locks for a bit and he asked me how I knew the stuff, and I told him I was interested in becoming a locksmith. He asked me what kind of stuff I learned, what tools I used, where I learned it, and then asked me if I wanted to fill out an application! Because of my work schedule at the time I couldn't, but I kept the application. When my schedule changed I filled it out and had an interview and will hear fom him on Monday. he also handed me a hpc pick he had lying around and told me to use some real picks!

Good luck on Monday.

I started in the business knowing far less than you and made a nice career out of it. When I filled out my application I had just left the hospital after getting attacked and had stitches in my jaw, a gash on my head, a black eye and a broken sternum. The owner told me I had the job right then and there because he admired the fact I was looking for work in the condition I was in.

[dauce]

Wow this is all some great advice and insight on how I should (if I choose to) approach this. Thanks much guys.

In short my strategy is most likely gonna be to soley buy locks from them for a while. Perhaps 1 every two weeks or something. Maybe when next year rolls around if I'm still interested I will initiate more in-depth conversations about theory.

Thanks again

[grundrakkon]

It's not that locksmiths can't understand why someone would be interested in picking, it's that they don't WANT you to know how to pick a lock. You are not viewed as a potential competitor, you are viewed as a spy and an interloper stealing away their KNOWLEDGE and their SECRETS. Locksmiths as a whole are a pretty tight-knit bunch and are not fond of their specialized skills and techniques being made public. Think Master and Apprentice, where the knowledge is handed down to the chosen successor.

On the flip-side, however, I have heard and read several praises for the locksport community... for doing the hard work of finding all the security flaws when a new lock and/or HS sytem is released. It's a love/hate, and a blind eye is turned for now. Just don't draw too much attention.

That's my two cents... maybe two and a half.

[cledry]

Most locksmiths I know could care less if you can pick a lock. Sure they might not share trade secrets but they don't mind that you can pick locks. Most just find it odd that people make a hobby out of what for them is work.

[raimundo]

too much interest in the guys equipment before you are familiar with him and before he knows where you live is considered " caseing"which is a burglars way of shopping. in larger urban areas locksmith shops and especially their mobile shops are targets for burglars.

spend some time getting to know the guy, no one is going to open up to a stranger on the first meeting

you just moved in? don''t know any mutual aquaintances, that pegs the needle on the sketchy meter.

You jsut moved in and want some advice or work done to secure your new place, thats what he want to hear.

a one man shop is more paranoid than a shop with several apprentices and journymen, like everyone else, secuity is in numbers, they are less likly to fear someone is going to rip them off if they see themselves as a group looking out for each others back.

a multi worker shop is probably harder to become "friends" to, since they have each other to talk to and as someone stated above, they have work to do.

figure out how to know one of them when hes not working, a mutual friend is the best intro. dont stalk the guy to his lunchcounter.

everybodys different, some are introverts some are extroverts,