Brief history of a locksmith

Before locksmiths there were blacksmiths who crafted steel and metal objects like armor and swords. Before long an arm of the blacksmith trade grew out into a locksmith profession which grew in popularity with a human need for more security. The locksmith focused their skills on making locks and locking systems to provide for home and commercial security. As with improvements in the configuration of locks there was an improvement in the art of picking locks from criminals. This further fueled the need for locksmiths who developed more technical locks throughout the 1900s.

The first of the new technical locks was the mortis lock which requires the mortis, a pocket that is usually made in the door frame and the lock body which is installed inside the body of the door. To enable it to work you then need a strike plate where the lock bolt sits and is operated by the keyed cylinder. With more locks being made, it came with more job creation for the locksmith. The trade was usually a family business passed on from generation to generation but due to the increased need of lock experts the locksmith service expanded into larger businesses. Locksmiths were needed for lock repair, lock picking, lock installation and the continued involvement in creating more secure locking systems. Over the years locks have evolved from variations of the mortis lock, the Yale cylinder, and the combination lock to tackle the perceived threat of breaking and entering.

Today locksmiths can learn their profession through trade schools and even take degrees in this field. The locksmith industry is now expanding with a locksmith being able to focus on different parts of the trade like risk assessment and optimal security measures for commercial and home security. Advances in technology have meant that technical terms for the locksmith industry involves other specialist fields including an electronic security specialist which plays an important part in electronic locks like those found on vehicles. As long as there is a need for security and more importantly improved security, the locksmith trade will keep expanding and growing into different areas.

To British standards when purchasing locks for security, locks should fall under BS 3261 or BS 8261 and should have the standard number and mark of certification agency.

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