Are Bump Keys a Threat to Locksmiths?

 

The public knowledge of bump keys did not make the locksmith industry happy. It opened up public scrutiny and negative images for locksmiths because it spread open knowledge of how vulnerable the public can be with the locks that are on the market. Privacy was made insecure and uncertain.

Bump keys gained popularity and gave the public a glance into the world of the locksmith. The glance, however slight, made the job seem easy. A locksmith faces many challenges aside from the types of locks that can be opened with bump keys. But the public knowledge brought forth both positive and negative attention to locksmiths. In some aspects, it showed that more credibility needed to be gained from those legitimate in the business to ease public concern over those who are not. It caused more work for locksmiths in some ways because of the amateur criminals who adopted a belief that they could get away with more wrong-doing in an easier way. It also showed many ways our modern locks were failing us.

Locks are designed by locksmiths, manufactured in factories, sold for public and private use, and then worked on by locksmiths who must pick the locks for people who lose keys or leave them locked inside the building or vehicle. It’s somewhat of an amusing circle that moves from the locksmith and back to the locksmith.

Not everyone, of course, was willing to take the bump key attention to the heart. It lost popularity after the initial shock was over. Locksmiths are still a respected group who are much needed; in some ways, the attention brought by the bump key information enhanced business for locksmiths.

Bump keys are certainly not the only way a criminal can enter your home, business, or vehicle. If a person is determined to enter and is persistent, there are many other ways to accomplish unlawful entry. Not every criminal would want to take the time to learn the proper way to make and use the bump key.

Locksmiths will continue to flourish in their trade, and if the truth be known, have had occasion to use the bump key as well. The real threat to the public is in not taking responsibility for their own safety and not taking criminals seriously. Lock bumping is not new. The Dutch and German locksmiths experimented with it many years ago. It’s just another form of lock picking that was put in the public eye that people had not realized was a threat all along.
So, even though the public and the locksmiths frowned on the bump key knowledge becoming public, it was only a matter of time before it surfaced. The interest died down once the spotlight was removed. Life goes on. Locksmiths are still respected in their field and will continue to be such. Lock manufacturers didn’t suffer enough for it to affect them on a large basis.

The bump keys are only a small part of the tools that fall into the wrong hands. There is no way to keep every tool that could possibly cause unlawful entry out of the criminal’s hands. Hence the job security of the locksmith will remain secure!

Games for Locksmiths

 

Being a locksmith is not necessarily a boring job. There is a limited interaction with the customers to keep a locksmith in touch with the human side of the business. The work gives the locksmith focus. Travel provides stimulation. The technological changes and education to keep up with the times provide mental growth. So, what about the fun? Even these mechanical minded members of our community like to have fun.

The challenge of picking locks is viewed as a game for some locksmiths. As they grow in their experience, they are able to take on more complicated tasks. It is said that a locksmith sees a lock as a puzzle.

A locksmith plays a part in the game called World of WarCraft, unlocking boxes on the trade screen. A game called Crack the Code allows the locksmith to click on numbers and enter until the combination is correct. Cleaner Scrape is an online game featuring Bob the Locksmith. There’s also a Kensington Lock Picking online free flash game. Gridlock is another fun online game for lock pickers that offers three levels of difficulty to accommodate beginners to the more experienced.

A board game that relates to the locksmith trade is called Break the Safe. It’s a fairly new game created by Forrest-Puzan Creative. Players have to work as a team to find the keys, disarm the traps, and evade the guard dogs.

On a bigger scale, locksmiths can join in a Dutch Open lock-picking competition in the Dutch village of Sneek. This offers intellectual stimulation and fun for any locksmith or lock picker lucky enough to participate. Some of the world’s most accomplished lock pickers attend this event.

Another large event for lock pickers and locksmiths is held by Locksport International. DEFCON 14 held workshops, talks, sales of tools, speed competitions, toolmaking, and demonstrations for the enjoyable event that welcomed amateurs as well as professionals.

A Lock Picking Pogoda will be held in Cleveland, Ohio in April of 2008 for locksmiths and lock picking enthusiasts. Featured will be your regular American locks, Chinese knock-offs, cabinet locks, and high-security locks. Safecracking is also on the agenda to present a challenge for those who are brave enough to give it a shot.

Locksmiths aren’t the only ones who enjoy the locksmith events, games, and clubs. There are people who enjoy learning about locks and how they work just for the fun of it. It can be gratifying to bust the secrets of the lock companies and manufacturers. This isn’t necessarily a bad idea. It provides a challenge to show these businesses where their vulnerabilities lie so that improvements can be made. People who learn how to pick locks are not just criminally-minded individuals.

Although this possibility does exist, it is only a part of the group of people interested in this trade.
Locksmiths do, of course, enjoy other activities besides lock picking games and events. Just as doctors want more fun than just playing the board game called Operation, the locksmiths are going to be unique individuals who will want more fun than just that which revolves around their craft.

Famous Locksmiths

If you aren’t familiar with any famous locksmiths, it’s no surprise. Many locksmiths prefer to keep a low profile except to gain a reputable business. There are famous locksmiths within the locksmith community known for their skills as lock pickers and dominate the hobby. But as for the famous locksmiths who take their profession more seriously, little is put in the public eye.

Schneider Locksmith of New York City is famous in their area of the states. But this is a famous company, not an individual. An Englishman named Robert Barron was an individual of the olden days who was famous for the locksmith skills. He improved the security of the lock itself with the invention in 1778 of the double tumbler lock. There was no modern-day security, no electronic technology to help him. He used the impressive skills of his mind and hands to create his masterpiece of the era.

Another famous locksmith was Jeremiah Chubb. He patented a detector lock back in 1818. This particular lock had six levers and won him a monetary award as well as ongoing fame. Mr. Chubb was located in London.

Locks were made from wood long, long ago. They have amazed, confounded, and frustrated people over the years. They have made some people and companies rich (the inventors and manufacturers) and made others secure. No longer made from metal, these mechanical contraptions have come a long way over the years.

One famous locksmith known for other talents was Houdini. He was a magician who thrived on escape tactics. The escape tactics depend on locks of some form or fashion. Houdini was an expert lockpicker who captivated audiences with his skills.

The King of France, also known as Louis XVI, was a very famous locksmith. He was known for his reign as a bad king, but his passion was with locks. He had unusual and outstanding skills as a locksmith. This may not have won him any medals of love amongst his followers, but it did put him in history as a famous locksmith.

It used to be that one had to be an apprentice to learn to be a locksmith. Being an apprentice has great benefits, one of which is a recommendation from the mentor. Passing on the trade can be as rewarding as learning it from a master of the trade.

One famous locksmith was Arthur C. Smith. He specialized in ship locks in the late 1800s. Located in Wolverhampton, which is in the English West Midlands, Mr. Smith put his mark on the world.

French locksmiths were known for their artwork on their locks. Resembling fancy scrollwork, these locks were fashioned in the true French elaborate designs. The French liked beauty in many areas of their lives, and their locks were not left out.

A famous American locksmith known for his bank locks was Linus Yale, Jr., of New York. James Sargent, also of New York, patented a time lock mechanism, which made him another important locksmith.

As you can tell, locksmiths are important all over the world and throughout history. They are an important breed of human in our society, and yet one of the most overlooked. Locksmiths are constantly put to the test and should be famous for their endurance!

Tools and Equipment for Locksmiths

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Locksmiths have to put several thousands of dollars into their tools and equipment investment. They may start out in the hundreds, but the cost will grow as the business grows. If a locksmith is interested in specializing in several areas, there are different tools for each area.

Aside from the normal tools of the trade, such as key blanks and a key making machine, a locksmith must break down the types of key blanks into different categories and buy other items to go along with these. Key blanks come as at least six different types of residential blanks (from $5 to over $50), ten brands of commercial key blanks, and automotive key blanks for domestic and foreign vehicles.

How is the locksmith to keep up with all the different keys? He/she must buy key tags, drawers, and key towers (tower only with no blanks, $500). These keys require key cutters. There are at least six different kinds of cutters. A manual duplicator costs $400-$600. A semi-automatic duplicator costs $655-$1600. An automatic duplicator costs $800-$1300. A tubular key duplicator costs $400-$1200. Code cutters cost $1900-$3100. Then there are your cutter wheels which cost in the range of $33-$340.

A locksmith must buy pins, pinning kits, picks, pick sets, tension wrenches, and many different locks. There are hospital locks, government locks, gate locks, electronic hardware, furniture locks, biometric fingerprint locks, and electromagnetic locks ($200-$700).

Every locksmith who has trained with a distance school will know about Kwikset locks and IICO key making machines. These are standard equipment for locksmiths-in-training. There are academies that teach courses on a course-by-course basis to further educate the craftsmen.

There are also transponder keys that require a code machine to code the key for the vehicles to work in the ignition. Newer model vehicles with added security methods use electromagnetic fields of energy that are sent to a computer in the car. (This is an example of technology and computers sneaking into yet another area of our lives.) Coding keys in this manner is a way to increase security for the automobile owner as well as reduce costs for the insurance companies.
There are older vehicles still in operation that require the simple use of the Slim Jim tool, so a locksmith must keep older tools around as well. Besides accommodating people who can’t afford the newer, more sophisticated vehicles, there are collectors of antiques who won’t want their cars damaged. So, the locksmith must know how to open the vehicles in a way that causes the least amount of forced entry. Even people who don’t own expensive cars are proud of what they own and won’t appreciate damage.

As is evident, there is much for a professional locksmith to learn. Much of it can be retained by repetition. There are many locks that use the same tools and methods to unlock. But for the loads of information that can’t be retained, the locksmith must rely on paper tools. These exist in the manuals and written information that must be kept for reference purposes.