Dated Foley-Belsaw

[Kith]

So I ran into some financial trouble (yes, lord knows i'm not alone) and ended up talking to my father, first time in a few years.

Turns out he has a dated copy of the Foley-Belsaw locksmithing course, it's from 1991, and he has the first course, and the second from a four part course. (he does his own lockwork & i've learned a lot from him, but there is stuff covered in the course i've picked up beyond what he's taught)

So my question would be: is the material contained within dated enough to justify saving for the most recent course, or would I be able to get by with what I have access to?

I'm fairly certain the material hasn't changed much, just has had newer things added to the curriculum, but the money that I would spend on the course could be spent on tools in-stead.

If more detailed course information is required in order to make an accurate assessment I could provide the topics of what is covered, but i'm not the first one here to use the F-B course, so looking for opinions from those who have some more experience.

Thanks in advance.

[Buggs41]

Kith,

The information has not changed much. My sister ( R.I.P. ) took the course before I did. And her books are the same as mine.

It was a strange feeling taking the same course she did years before. I would do my lessons, and then check my answers against hers before submitting them. She did very well for a girl!

If you were to take the course for the 'certification' upon completion, then you will have to enroll with F-B. If you want to use them as a referrence source, they are very good for that also.

To keep up-to-date on the latest in the industry, Keep checking back here at LP101.

[vector40]

Bearing in mind that most people consider the FB course mostly a primer anyway, and that its strengths are in the solid hands-on skills which don't change much (as opposed to the nifty new theories introduced in the last ten years about foil impressioning and Schlage Primus and whatever the hell else), I'd say that'd be just fine.

[Shrub]

I am not personally familiar with the FB course but heard many a great thing about it,

I would suggest that locksmithing is 10% knowledge and 90% skill basically what i mean is that once you know how to pick the various lock types, wafer, lever, pin etc it is more or less the same for each lock, the way things are changed is that locks differ in style and size,

You can learn how locks work and what you need to acheive to get them open and these are the same methods that have been used for years,

The bits you need to learn and wont be taught by a book no matter how new are the hands on skills to actually acomplish these tasks, they only come with practice,

As already said the books you have will be fine, any tips and tricks for new locks are disscused on this site and get lots and lots of practice in on as many differant locks you can get your hands on,