Hardware Manufacturers

[1mrchristopher]

There are a number of lock manufacturers I see listed by suppliers that I have no personal experience with, and am interested to know what those more experienced think of some of them. The one that have peaked my curiosity at the moment is PLS. Specifically their offerings in deadbolts. Anybody have a horror story for me, or an "I was pleasantly surprised," etc?

[2octops]

Hencho in China, just like all the other import stuff. It's in line with Cal Royal, LSDA, US Can, etc.

Not bad stuff for the money and holds up pretty well.

[cledry]

What he said.

A note, their Grade 1 deadbolt is really a Grade 2, their Grade 2 is a Grade 3.

This stuff is the same as a slew of other imports. I won't lie, we use the import stuff and it often holds up extremely well. Grade 1 levers and Grade 1 knobs seem to work well. It just depends on the customer. Some customers want the best and some want good but economical.

[victorylocksmith]

At one point I was mighty keen on Cal Royal and other affordable locks. However, now that I have found a very cheap source of Arrow locks, it just doesn't make sense anymore. Believe me, I am the king of cheap locks and I got to say, not only are these locks awesome and look awesome (the have arrow and assa abloy etched into the face of their deadbolts) but, at the supplier I have, the are even cheaper than the competition. If you give me the choice between cheap Chinese import locks and even cheaper legit Assas Abloy manufactured Arrow locks, I'd probably pick the cheapest anyways, regardless of quality. In this case they happen to be better and cheaper! And they make the big commercial grade cuff lever handle locks that cost so much as well as come with both ar1 and sc1 keyway options with the additional choice of ar icore options. PM me man for more details

[Sinifar]

LSDA and the rest of them are okay. They hold up very well in commercial service. We have used them for just about 15 years in all applications. They have a good 10 year warranty which works well. Most hold up extremely well. If one dies, I just return it to the supplier and get another one.

Lately, LSDA has come out with a deadbolt which is the exact copy of the old Schlage B160. This unit is as good as the old one, and you can substitute any "C" series cylinder in it. Last night I took one, slipped a Kwikset cylinder in it, and plugged it into a 1 1 /2" hole with no problems. Keyed to the set, one would never guess it wasn't a Kwikset.

The best part of using a lock like LSDA is one does not have to carry tons on inventory. Just the basic lockset, and a box of cylinders. Now I can "make up" any lock out there to match the existing. Very cost effective. Okay it looks different, but in the end it works okay.

Finally from what I have been told, and I may be wrong, but there are only 3 factories today "producing locks" - One in Korea, One in China, and one in Taiwan. So why pay for the name brand when you can get the exact or close for half or less? In the set I was rekeying last night, there was several Dexter by Schlage lock which had the same internal markings as the LSDA, right down to "Made in China" and the same stickers showing the carry bar position for installing. You tell me what the HEY?

Your call, for my money, I will take the LSDA any day - they hold up, they install easily, especially the L100 series which don't need the extra holes for the thru bolts. One can put in a lever in the 2 1/8" hole alone and get on with stuff. the L300 series needs the holes which magically match Schlage's - use their jig to drill your two holes on top and bottom.

Sinifar

[cledry]

At one point I was mighty keen on Cal Royal and other affordable locks. However, now that I have found a very cheap source of Arrow locks, it just doesn't make sense anymore. Believe me, I am the king of cheap locks and I got to say, not only are these locks awesome and look awesome (the have arrow and assa abloy etched into the face of their deadbolts) but, at the supplier I have, the are even cheaper than the competition. If you give me the choice between cheap Chinese import locks and even cheaper legit Assas Abloy manufactured Arrow locks, I'd probably pick the cheapest anyways, regardless of quality. In this case they happen to be better and cheaper! And they make the big commercial grade cuff lever handle locks that cost so much as well as come with both ar1 and sc1 keyway options with the additional choice of ar icore options. PM me man for more details

Interesting. This could mean you have been overpaying on the imports rather than getting a better deal on the Arrow. I buy pretty large quantities, usual week will be 24 Grade 1 levers and about 48 Grade 2 levers and almost as many Grade 2 single cylinder deadbolts and none of my suppliers come close on Arrow prices to that of LSDA, or General.

Example cheapest Arrow Grade 2 Sierra lever I get regularly is @ $49, I can get the LSDA for @ half of that.

Looking at the RL it appears to be the same as all the other imports.

[victorylocksmith]

At one point I was mighty keen on Cal Royal and other affordable locks. However, now that I have found a very cheap source of Arrow locks, it just doesn't make sense anymore. Believe me, I am the king of cheap locks and I got to say, not only are these locks awesome and look awesome (the have arrow and assa abloy etched into the face of their deadbolts) but, at the supplier I have, the are even cheaper than the competition. If you give me the choice between cheap Chinese import locks and even cheaper legit Assas Abloy manufactured Arrow locks, I'd probably pick the cheapest anyways, regardless of quality. In this case they happen to be better and cheaper! And they make the big commercial grade cuff lever handle locks that cost so much as well as come with both ar1 and sc1 keyway options with the additional choice of ar icore options. PM me man for more details

Interesting. This could mean you have been overpaying on the imports rather than getting a better deal on the Arrow. I buy pretty large quantities, usual week will be 24 Grade 1 levers and about 48 Grade 2 levers and almost as many Grade 2 single cylinder deadbolts and none of my suppliers come close on Arrow prices to that of LSDA, or General.

Example cheapest Arrow Grade 2 Sierra lever I get regularly is @ $49, I can get the LSDA for @ half of that.

Looking at the RL it appears to be the same as all the other imports.

I can get the grade 2 arrow leverhandles for about $40 and get free shipping after spending $100 and while it is certainly not as good as the situation you have, I dont have the capability of having anything except a very small inventory on hand. btw where do i get this LSDA cheap lever handle locks amongst others? I have a couple of accounts set up at different places but, I cant get anything that cheap. maybe it is because i cant afford to order that much at a time, also what are the shipping rates like?

[cledry]

LSDA I get from IDN Armstrong but IDN has other distributors. I rarely pay shipping, I just always throw a bit on the order to make it meet the minimum. Some suppliers ship free no matter the order if you do enough business. We are fortunate in that we have some local suppliers so we can send a runner over to pick up stuff that we need quickly.

You are getting a good price on the Arrow. You can more than double your money at that rate and still be competitive.

[billdeserthills]

I ordered a whole bunch of LSDA grade 3 knobs about a decade ago. Back then they offered an adjustable deadlatch a surprising amount that I sold became defective in less than a month. I had been buying the knobs from US Lock before that so I returned all the LSDA junk and began selling schlage grade 2 & 3 and kwikset hardware. I also stick an imitation "tylo" knob in several finishes to make the cheap skates quit whining. I would caution you to never use the deadlatch included in with the import tylo lock, they don't last long for my clients.

[cledry]

I ordered a whole bunch of LSDA grade 3 knobs about a decade ago. Back then they offered an adjustable deadlatch a surprising amount that I sold became defective in less than a month. I had been buying the knobs from US Lock before that so I returned all the LSDA junk and began selling schlage grade 2 & 3 and kwikset hardware. I also stick an imitation "tylo" knob in several finishes to make the cheap skates quit whining. I would caution you to never use the deadlatch included in with the import tylo lock, they don't last long for my clients.

Not sure I am following you. Any grade 3 lock is not that reliable, more-so when you add an adjustable latch. US Lock also offered the same thing.

A Schlage grade 2 lock cannot be compared to a grade 3 lock.

If you use a passage latch you have compromised any security, albeit it was precious little to begin with.

We do sell the grade 2 LSDA, but not with an adjustable latch. LSDA also has their Barons knob which is a copy of the Tylo, perfectly adequate for customers who were going to buy a Tylo. Repo homes and the like.

The US Lock grade 2 used to be an Arrow, it isn't any longer. I suspect it is made at the same plant as Cal Royal, Taco, General, LSDA etc.

The LSDA grade 1 locks, knob and lever are the best for the price of any brand. I have never had a knob break and only 1 lever.

[billdeserthills]

US lock has grade 3 knobs, it's their 2080 series. I have sold them for years & their adjustable latch works allright. The thing I don't like about US Lock is it says "5 year warranty" right on the box. There isn't one that will last 5 years with daily use. US Lock also sells a schlage replacement, but it has unfortunately been dubbed "The Big Duty" and I just can't sell it, not with that name on it. I always think, when I look at one, "is that a 3 flusher?"

[hag3l3]

Ok....
So when do the hardware manufacturers come in to the picture?
This seems about who's is better.
The debate should not be over what lock to use.
this should be about the quality of security we provide.
it takes a little work to get customers back to this mindset in a disposable commodity world. I am thankful where I work, we only sell one line because we all agree it is overall a quality product. It has repeatedly withstood major traffic use. It may cost more than the other places.
and that is fine by me if the customer wishes to go purchase a 10.00 dollar lock. I always hand them our business cards. That way they know who to call when it fails.

[cledry]

Ok....
So when do the hardware manufacturers come in to the picture?
This seems about who's is better.
The debate should not be over what lock to use.
this should be about the quality of security we provide.
it takes a little work to get customers back to this mindset in a disposable commodity world. I am thankful where I work, we only sell one line because we all agree it is overall a quality product. It has repeatedly withstood major traffic use. It may cost more than the other places.
and that is fine by me if the customer wishes to go purchase a 10.00 dollar lock. I always hand them our business cards. That way they know who to call when it fails.

Locksmiths cannot really restrict themselves to one brand. Customers come in all sorts, from the cheap rental property landlord on up to money is no object commercial accounts. The commercial accounts don't really look for the most secure, they want a certain style, finish and duty grade that is compatible with the MK system they have. For example today I quoted one customer $17.95 each for 100 deadbolts with 2 keys and a MK. I only make $10 per lock, but less if I factor in hourly. Then another customer wanted and was quoted for 6 Sargent grade 1 levers LJ design in 625, I make more on the 6 locks than I do the 100 but we sell both to accommodate both customers.

Incidentally the masterkeying of the 100 locks will be done by our less experienced locksmiths when there is no other work for them. They get paid if they are picking their nose, so might as well pay them for masterkeying some locks and it is good practice.