Being a Locksmith; How Do You Like It?

[cledry]

You've not seen me.

Are you deformed or harmed in any way?

Yes, the lead has made me quite mad. I am due to have the heavy metals in my blood tested next month.

Why do you think brass keys are no longer available in some countries?

[Squelchtone]

You've not seen me.

Are you deformed or harmed in any way?

Yes, the lead has made me quite mad. I am due to have the heavy metals in my blood tested next month.

Why do you think brass keys are no longer available in some countries?

cledry, are you just f*ckin with the new guy? I honestly cant tell...

[KJVSoulWinner]

I think if you are serious you should get a website & start advertising. I recall when my Dad was first starting out, he couldn't leave his regular job to do his lockwork, so the calls he could do after hours, he took & the rest he would let go. Eventually he found there was enough lock work to keep him busy.

My idea would be to start out working for someone else, preferably in an apprenticeship. What wpupd by your outlook on that?

Also, I am not yet married. I likely will not get married for the next 4-6 years, and will not have children for another uear or so after. Do you think tgat a minimum of four years would be enough to start making a good enough salary to sustain a larger family?

I am also open to the idea of doimg freelance wprl out of a van, if someone would suggest that for down the road, although some pointers would be appreciated.



Very, very great advice you guys. Your are helping shape lives here. I appreciate it.

[KJVSoulWinner]

cledry, are you just f*ckin with the new guy? I honestly cant tell...

I was wondering the same thing.

If you are serious about the hazards, has the industry changed enough to be less of a hazard since you started?

Also, are there any protective measures you could take to reduce or avoid harm? (Gloves when touching certain things, a certain mask when using certain solvents, etc.?)

[KJVSoulWinner]

I apologize for the horrible spellings on that above post. I did not go back to review it. My thumbs are too large for great accuracy.

[stratmando]

Tinkering with locks since a Kid. Learning picking and bypassing as I ran into them, Ended up being a State Certified Security/Fire/Electrical Contractor, Electronics Technicinan even before that, Used Lockpicking to Service Pinball Machines, Jukeboxes, Access Control,, or anything needing access where Owner or Management can't find keys at the moment. I pick the lock, repair whatever, then lock back up, good deal for them as it usually takes less than 5 minutes to pick, and they don't have to schedule And pay full price for a locksmith, I just include in my time. Plus I enjoy it and a challenge. Auto Lockouts I started as a Teen where I opened. Cadillac by, if I remember right, turned ignition on(keys left in), hit door unlock, handed me $100 bill which was a lot back then ~1977?. I now have Access Tools Complete Lockout set I called them a year or 2 back and asked if their are any Cars their tool won't open. They said Range Rover, just break the window. I prefer Non Destructive, so I found Lishi makes not only the tool that picks, but decode as well. Got Locksmith License because of people complaining of Overpriced guy from up North. I don't do Masterkeying, Transponder Programming, or copy keys. Besides the Auto Lockout kit, I have Tackle Box with pins for Schlage, Kwikset, and Master, followers, shims to key cylinders that have no keys. And rekey or key alike. Restoreing old locks that have no keys. I would be dependent on a locksmith many times if I did not do myself. Not for the money, but Convience for my customers. Good Luck

[Sinifar]

How do I like it? Good question. After 50 years in the trade it has made a living, well sort of. When times are good, you roll, when times are bad, you starve. There is no happy medium. Having said that - it did send the kids to private school, paid off several trucks and cars, and paid off the mortgage. Having said all that - it does provide a basic living. Food, clothing and shelter. Do not think you are going to get rich in this biz.

As far as what the future holds, see the locksmith ledger this month on why the general locksmith is going away, and you need to know electronics, access controls, electric strikes, door operators, and more.

As far as the old school. find a niche and stay there. Seriously. There is a shortage of specialists in this trade, especially in interchangeable core work, extensive master keying, and complex installations of access controls and their wiring. Having a ham license would help and provide you with the credentials that you know something about electronics and electricity.

CARS on the other hand have become their own specialty. Due to the extensive outlay, over $20,000 today to get into it from the get go is out of sight for most, and unless you have a steady supply of car work from dealers and the local auto auction, you won't make a living at this one. I know one smith around here is making over $250,000 a year doing auto work. But that is all he does and is extremely professional and good at what he does.

Not to discourage anyone, but the reality is that this trade is slowly dying as far as the retail market with the big boxes doing a lot of the work we used to do, like rekeying locks and selling locks at below wholesale cost. I ran into a job the past week where the lady had purchased Kwikset locks on Amazon for $14.00 a lock - deadbolt - and wanted us to install them. Only problem was they were in 26D and she wanted US 5 -- so she sent the locks back to Amazon, and I sold her some LSDA locks for $15.00 a pop. I made only about a buck on the locks, but got the 5 re keys, the 2 installations and the service call out of it, so I made the sale, and a few bucks, and Amazon did not.

If you are thinking of getting into the trade to open things, you are on a fools journey. There is not enough open anything out there to even come close to a total of a day's wage in a week or more.

As far as trying to get clients, this is going to be a long and hard pull. Most of us have clients from way back and like me are today picking up clients from smiths who have either retired out or passed away. Your reputation and word of mouth from other people will be your ticket into this one.

For example. We did a fire department this past spring and they were pretty happy with the job. When the next community over was looking for a replacement smith they called the village we serviced and they recommended us. Nother client made.

It goes on like that -- getting in can be hard to find clients today and a newbie is not going to just go out and start working for the public.

The old yellow pages is just about gone, and the internet presence is very large. You will need a large presence out there to even get on the same page as the scammers, who are also trying for the public dollar. Trust me it takes years to get that presence. Once you get it do not let go of it.

I know getting long. But at 70 I am still going strong and solid. Working every day, servicing many old accounts and generating new ones. With every new account you need to prove you can do the job and do it well. So there is no let up in the learning curves of the trade. There is always something new coming along and you had better get a handle on it before somebody else does.

To sum up - find a niche, get to know all about it and learn everything you can about it, and be honest about knowing so you do not get caught by a client. Then push that niche everywhere. in time it will come.

Hope this helps, YMMV

The Sinifar

[billdeserthills]

I think if you are serious you should get a website & start advertising. I recall when my Dad was first starting out, he couldn't leave his regular job to do his lockwork, so the calls he could do after hours, he took & the rest he would let go. Eventually he found there was enough lock work to keep him busy.

My idea would be to start out working for someone else, preferably in an apprenticeship. What wpupd by your outlook on that?

Also, I am not yet married. I likely will not get married for the next 4-6 years, and will not have children for another uear or so after. Do you think tgat a minimum of four years would be enough to start making a good enough salary to sustain a larger family?

I am also open to the idea of doimg freelance wprl out of a van, if someone would suggest that for down the road, although some pointers would be appreciated.



Very, very great advice you guys. Your are helping shape lives here. I appreciate it.

Apprenticeship eh? I 'apprenticed' with my Dad for years and I was paid $5/hr for most of that time. During those years I made less money than anyone I know, certainly not enough to have paid my rent and other expenses--I'd sure hate to see some poor guy go through that in an attempt to support his wife & kids.

Also you are wasting your time listening to cledry. He doesn't seem to like folks becoming locksmiths, unless they go about it his way

[cledry]

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3814711/

https://www.pksafety.com/blog/addressing-occupational-safety-for-locksmiths-protective-equipment-must-haves/

I haven't found a specific article regarding why European keys are now made from a soft machinable steel rather than brass, but I recall talking to a Silca rep and it was mentioned that it had to do with lead contamination.

I personally cannot say whether lead has caused me issues with my health. I do have a few unexplained health issues that the blood testing is hoping to tell one way or the other if it is lead related. I certainly have high blood pressure and that could be caused by the lead or by me being genetically prone to it.

Either way, if you are still entering the industry it is something to be aware of. It is too late for me now.

[jeffmoss26]

Today marks one year at my locksmithing job and I can honestly say I enjoy just about every day. It is always something different and I am constantly learning. I am mostly in the shop, we get a steady stream of walk-ins along with regular customers calling in orders, preparing jobs for the field techs, etc.

[KJVSoulWinner]

I personally cannot say whether lead has caused me issues with my health. I do have a few unexplained health issues that the blood testing is hoping to tell one way or the other if it is lead related. I certainly have high blood pressure and that could be caused by the lead or by me being genetically prone to it.

When you get your results back, if you can remember, I would greatly appreciate your input. Nonetheless, even so far, you have been very helpful. Thank you.

[KJVSoulWinner]

Today marks one year at my locksmithing job and I can honestly say I enjoy just about every day.

How did you land the job?

What did you know going in?

How much are yoy making?

Any idea how much your pay will increase with time / experience?


I do not mean to interrogate you, but all this would be good to know and take into consideration. I appreciate your time and response greatly.

[jeffmoss26]

locks have been a hobby/passion for a long time. I worked in hardware stores when I was in school and learned to cut keys, rekey locks, etc. I have always been mechanical, working with tools and tinkering since I was a kid.
I studied IT and worked in that field for 6 years after college. My most recent job before this was in IT for one of the NSPs that many of the guys talk about, based here in Cleveland. I wanted to do something directly in security but it just wasn't happening there. I called up one of the local locksmiths that has been in business for 50+ years, met with the owner, and the rest is history. Not going to say what kind of money I make, it's nobody's business but I am certainly not starving.

[billdeserthills]

I think if you are serious you should get a website & start advertising. I recall when my Dad was first starting out, he couldn't leave his regular job to do his lockwork, so the calls he could do after hours, he took & the rest he would let go. Eventually he found there was enough lock work to keep him busy.

My idea would be to start out working for someone else, preferably in an apprenticeship. What wpupd by your outlook on that?

Also, I am not yet married. I likely will not get married for the next 4-6 years, and will not have children for another uear or so after. Do you think tgat a minimum of four years would be enough to start making a good enough salary to sustain a larger family?

I am also open to the idea of doimg freelance wprl out of a van, if someone would suggest that for down the road, although some pointers would be appreciated.



Very, very great advice you guys. Your are helping shape lives here. I appreciate it.

I will answer your question more honestly-- I apprenticed with my Dad for 4 years & during that time he paid me $5/hr. After the first few months, he allowed me to take over his weekend calls and I got to keep the labor money I made. Even so during much of those 4 years I made less than everyone I knew. He finally retired after the 4 years and that next year I grossed $88K & I had put much of my money back into the business, so when the IRS demanded everything in my checking account I was pissed and swore to make less in the future--Even so the next year I made $93k. Following that I rolled my p/u truck and started working lots less and making lots less too. I'm single and continue to work only a few hours a day, if even that. I have no interest in working more than I do and as I don't have expensive tastes I don't need to.