An undercover reporter apparently sniffed around to check on nationwide locksmith pricing, and found us to be a worthy "Deal of the Day" feature.
Read her full story here: http://www.smartmoney.com/dealoftheday/index.cfm?story=20060327
Monday, March 27, 2006
Monday, March 20, 2006
Proximity Readers
Proximity readers are among the simplest access control systems to install and use. The principle is simple: they are encoded to read and respond to electronic signals from access cards, and only to cards that are specifically authorized. Unlike the swipe cards used at ATM readers at groceries and other stores, most proximity cards don’t require contact with the reader or a Personal Identification Number (PIN) to work. Proximity is enough, with sensitivity limited to as little as an inch or two or expanded to over a foot – especially useful for handicap-access doors, parking garages, etc.
Full article can be read HERE.
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Magnetic Locks
Magnetic locks, like electric strikes, use electromagnetism to control the locking mechanism. They rely on electric power, whether from a building current or a battery, and as a result they’re as dependable as a refrigerator, TV, or bedside alarm clock (though like any other household appliance they can also be vulnerable to power failure). But because no key is needed to operate magnetic locks, mag-locks can’t be picked – and you’ll never be locked out because you’ve lost the key.
The core of a magnetic lock control system is an electromagnet made of advanced metal alloys. When electric power activates it, the bolt slides in or out, up or down, along its U-shaped channel to lock or unlock the door. Some mag-locks also incorporate timing mechanisms that allow them to operate only at certain times – during business hours, for example. Others have “transaction memory,” which can record every use or attempted use. This function can be especially valuable with locks that use number-pads rather than coded cards: if an unauthorized person tries to gain access using incorrect codes more than twice, for example, the lock can automatically set off an alarm.
To read the full article, please CLICK HERE
The core of a magnetic lock control system is an electromagnet made of advanced metal alloys. When electric power activates it, the bolt slides in or out, up or down, along its U-shaped channel to lock or unlock the door. Some mag-locks also incorporate timing mechanisms that allow them to operate only at certain times – during business hours, for example. Others have “transaction memory,” which can record every use or attempted use. This function can be especially valuable with locks that use number-pads rather than coded cards: if an unauthorized person tries to gain access using incorrect codes more than twice, for example, the lock can automatically set off an alarm.
To read the full article, please CLICK HERE
Monday, February 13, 2006
Of Barn Doors And Horses
There’s nothing more important to most people than protecting their family. The safety of your loved ones, your sweetheart or husband or wife or children, matters more than money, status, or the kind of car you drive. After all, if your loved ones aren’t safe, do material things really count for that much?
Many years ago, I lived in a brownstone in Cobble Hill,
A fireman at the firehouse across the street had happened to see someone climb through our first floor window and alerted the police, who had hurried over without sirens, entered the same way, and were now searching the house.
Upstairs, they caught the man in the landlady’s bedroom – holding her at knifepoint while he prepared to rape her. The knife was from my kitchen.
The read the full story, click here.
Monday, February 06, 2006
"Safe" Storage
The most sophisticated security system can sometimes be defeated by stone-age technology: a brick thrown through a window. Using such a simple tool, a house-burglar can get in, grab your valuables, and get out again before help arrives, even if your home alarm system is connected to the local police station.
But for that kind of burglary to succeed, time is of the essence, and that’s what a secure safe provides: time that the thief can’t afford. That’s why it’s so important to make sure your real valuables can’t be found quickly or easily.
Read full article here: http://www.mr-locks.com/news.php?id=47
Monday, January 16, 2006
Locks – A Short History
by Andrew Reed for Mr. Locks, Inc
Mechanical locks work according to two fundamental principles: incorporating fixed obstructions to keep the wrong keys out, or using movable pins or tumblers that have to be put in the right positions by the key to move the bolt. The ancient Egyptians invented primitive tumbler locks that held a bolt in place across a door; their tumblers were wooden pegs up to two feet long. The Old Testament suggests that ancient keys were also very large: “And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.” (Isaiah 22, xxii) While other civilizations have incorporated brass, bronze, silver, gold, steel, and carbon composites into their locks since those early models, many people in theMiddle East still use the Egyptian wooden model – 4,000 years later!
Read full article at: http://www.mr-locks.com/news.php?id=45
Mechanical locks work according to two fundamental principles: incorporating fixed obstructions to keep the wrong keys out, or using movable pins or tumblers that have to be put in the right positions by the key to move the bolt. The ancient Egyptians invented primitive tumbler locks that held a bolt in place across a door; their tumblers were wooden pegs up to two feet long. The Old Testament suggests that ancient keys were also very large: “And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.” (Isaiah 22, xxii) While other civilizations have incorporated brass, bronze, silver, gold, steel, and carbon composites into their locks since those early models, many people in theMiddle East still use the Egyptian wooden model – 4,000 years later!
Read full article at: http://www.mr-locks.com/news.php?id=45
Friday, January 13, 2006
Mr. Locks Demands High Standards For Locksmith Profession
When Mr. Locks was established in 2001, most of the public thought of locksmiths as small, shabby hole-in-the-wall storefronts where you could get a duplicate key made or get help when you were locked out of your car. In the eyes of corporate executives, home-owners and renters, and even many other small business owners, locksmiths were in the same category as others in the “mechanical” trades – air conditioning repairmen, plumbers, and the like – men doing dirty work in dirty overalls. For their part, most locksmiths themselves were not particularly interested in presenting a professional appearance.
Read full article here.
Read full article here.
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
Answers to Frequently Asked Questions
1. Where can I get a lock pick set?
Try a locksmith supply house. Look under "Locksmiths' Equipment & Supplies" in the Yellow Pages. Your locality, State or the company may have requirements, such as having to prove you are a locksmith or showing a drivers license; call and find out. Look for mail order houses in the Appendix. You can also check on the Web for suppliers
2. How can I make my own picks and tension wrenches?
You can file or (more easily) grind picks out of spring steel. It is best to use spring steel - sources include hacksaw blades, piano (music) wire, clock springs, street sweeper bristles (which can be found along the street after the sweeper has passed), metal from a plumbers "snake", etc. In a pinch safety pin steel, or even a bobby pin (much worse) can be used. When grinding, keep the steel from getting so hot as to anneal (soften) it. You may have to re-harden/re-temper it. (See a book on knife making, gunsmithing, or machine shop practice for a discussion on heat treating steel. Spring steel is hardened and then tempered/drawn so as to retain some hardness and to get quite a bit of flexibility.) Some people prefer a rigid tension wrench and just bend a small screwdriver for this, but many prefer a slightly flexible wrench and use spring steel.
The "MIT Guide to Picking Locks" and the "Eddie The Wire" books (see below) cover making these tools. There are many places you can buy picks and tension wrenches. See the appendix.
Steve Haehnichen maintained an archive of GIF and JPEG images of picks located at ftp://ftp.vigra.com/steve/locks/ which are useful guides for those making their own picks. But this link isn't working right now - this is being checked.
Another archive has some pickes illustrated, but does not show the rake pick.
3. What books can I get on locksmithing?
Bill Phillips has written a number of locksmithing books. For the beginning or aspiring locksmith here is an excellent and practical introduction and overview:
Locksmithing
McGraw-Hill 2000 ISBN 0-07-134436-5
paperbound 7 1/2" x 9", 550 pages, $34.95
An excellent encyclopedic reference:
The Complete Book of Locks & Locksmithing, 4th ed.
McGraw-Hill, Inc. 1995 ISBN 0-07-049866-0 $24.95 (Paper) USA
and another one:
Professional Locksmithing Techniques, 2nd Edition
TAB Books/McGraw-Hill 1996
ISBN 0-07-049867-9 (Paper) $36.95 (Paper)
also many people think highly of:
Eddie The Wire: How to Make Your Own Professional Lock Tools
"Eddie The Wire" Loompanics Unlimited
ISBN 0-685-39143-4 4 Volumes $20
Your local book store should be able to order these for you. You can find other titles under "Locksmithing" in the Books In Print Subject Index, which any decent bookstore should have. Also see the Appendix.
4. How do I continue learning about locksmithing?
There are several things you can do to continue learning more about locks and locksmithing. One, of course, is to subscribe to a locksmithing magazine. Some years ago I compared the National Locksmith to the Locksmith Ledger and felt that the latter was a bit better on technical info. Call yourself a Student Locksmith, or perhaps a Security Consultant (surely you have given some advice to *somebody*!). Also read The Complete Book of Locks & Locksmithing, 4th ed. by Bill Phillips which was mentioned above.
Lock companies are starting to use the Internet to distribute information. See the on-line resources section below for many lock related web sites.
But all this reading can help only so much, so you have to continue buying various types of locks, taking them apart, figuring out everything about them, and installing, removing, modifying them. Buy some key blanks, make up a master key scheme, and file the keys to fit (assuming you don't have a key machine yet) - filing may take a few minutes, but it does work. Maybe buy a re-keying kit (kit of different size pins, with a plug follower) and do some re-keying for your family or friends (the same size pins fit, I think, the familiar Kwikset and Schlage pin tumbler locks) so that their deadbolts can be opened with their normal front door key. (Hint - when disassembling a lock you may want to do it inside a transparent plastic bag. Then the small pieces and springs will be trapped and won't go flying across the room, leaving you with a sad look on your face.) (A follower is used to push the plug out, when the pins are at the shear line, therefore keeping the top pins and springs in place. Then the rekeyed plug is used to push out the follower, again keeping the top pins and springs in place. Similarly the follower can be used when loading new springs and top pins, keeping the loaded ones in place.)
Or buy a deadbolt installation kit (hole saw plus template - I think that Black and Decker makes a good inexpensive one, available at better building supply places) and put in a few deadbolts for your family and friends - charging them only for the materials plus a couple of bucks towards the installation kit - and re-key the deadbolt for them, too.
Buy or make a pick set, and use your practice locks to practice picking. Do you have a good locksmith supply catalog? If not, give a call to a local supplier. Help people at work who have been locked out of their desks or filing cabinets. Desks usually have wafer tumbler locks which are *much* easier to pick than pin tumbler locks. Filing cabinets are not as easy to pick, but are pickable (actually some are very easy to pick - they vary greatly) and also can be opened by pushing a flexible plastic ruler between the side of the sliding drawer and the cabinet body - carefully inspect some working cabinets to see what I'm talking about.
5. How do I open a car door with a Slim Jim?
Besides picking the lock, one can open a car door with a wire coat hanger. Open the coat hanger by unbending the wire, leaving a small loop at one end. Insert the looped end of the wire hanger between the rubber weather stripping and a side window. Hook the looped end of the wire around the button of the door lock and pull it up to the open position. Many lock buttons are without a lip, an anti-theft measure, so that the wire coat hanger slides off without lifting it. One can also try to snag the door handle and pull it open.
The Slim Jim, a thin strip of metal with a notch cut at the bottom side, slides down the passenger window into the door. The notch tries to catch a rod running inside the door that connects the lock and the lock buttons. Pulling on this rod pops the lock into the open position. Many modern cars have the rod shielded from this access. Most cars today have many wires running through the doors to control such things as power windows, power locks, heated side view mirrors, lighted key ways, and burglar alarms. Some newer cars have airbags in the doors - setting them off is a very dangerous and expensive mistake! The Slim Jim can snag one of these, or a mechanical part and cause damage. Most locksmiths advise against using a Slim Jim except on old cars. The pros often use wedges, lights and manuals of parts locations to avoid damage and increase their success rate.
6. What is a jiggler key?
A thin piece of metal cut in the general shape of a key, the jiggler slips into the keyway of many locks and most car locks. The jigglers in the set come with a variety of general cuts that vaguely resemble cuts on keys. A jiggler is slipped into the lock and moved around, much as using a rake type pick, until the lock opens. If one jiggler does not work then the next one in the set is tried. Probability of success depends on the skill of the user and on luck.
7. Is there an ethical dimension to locksmithing?
Yes. Locksmithing is an old craft, and there is a strong tradition of ethical responsibility. A trainee (apprentice) learned about locks and security, and was supposed to have the personal integrity to avoid abusing that knowledge. This "do no harm" concept has been incorporated into the 'hacker ethic' which is found at MIT (in the "hacking community") and elsewhere.
Try a locksmith supply house. Look under "Locksmiths' Equipment & Supplies" in the Yellow Pages. Your locality, State or the company may have requirements, such as having to prove you are a locksmith or showing a drivers license; call and find out. Look for mail order houses in the Appendix. You can also check on the Web for suppliers
2. How can I make my own picks and tension wrenches?
You can file or (more easily) grind picks out of spring steel. It is best to use spring steel - sources include hacksaw blades, piano (music) wire, clock springs, street sweeper bristles (which can be found along the street after the sweeper has passed), metal from a plumbers "snake", etc. In a pinch safety pin steel, or even a bobby pin (much worse) can be used. When grinding, keep the steel from getting so hot as to anneal (soften) it. You may have to re-harden/re-temper it. (See a book on knife making, gunsmithing, or machine shop practice for a discussion on heat treating steel. Spring steel is hardened and then tempered/drawn so as to retain some hardness and to get quite a bit of flexibility.) Some people prefer a rigid tension wrench and just bend a small screwdriver for this, but many prefer a slightly flexible wrench and use spring steel.
The "MIT Guide to Picking Locks" and the "Eddie The Wire" books (see below) cover making these tools. There are many places you can buy picks and tension wrenches. See the appendix.
Steve Haehnichen
Another archive has some pickes illustrated, but does not show the rake pick.
3. What books can I get on locksmithing?
Bill Phillips has written a number of locksmithing books. For the beginning or aspiring locksmith here is an excellent and practical introduction and overview:
Locksmithing
McGraw-Hill 2000 ISBN 0-07-134436-5
paperbound 7 1/2" x 9", 550 pages, $34.95
An excellent encyclopedic reference:
The Complete Book of Locks & Locksmithing, 4th ed.
McGraw-Hill, Inc. 1995 ISBN 0-07-049866-0 $24.95 (Paper) USA
and another one:
Professional Locksmithing Techniques, 2nd Edition
TAB Books/McGraw-Hill 1996
ISBN 0-07-049867-9 (Paper) $36.95 (Paper)
also many people think highly of:
Eddie The Wire: How to Make Your Own Professional Lock Tools
"Eddie The Wire" Loompanics Unlimited
ISBN 0-685-39143-4 4 Volumes $20
Your local book store should be able to order these for you. You can find other titles under "Locksmithing" in the Books In Print Subject Index, which any decent bookstore should have. Also see the Appendix.
4. How do I continue learning about locksmithing?
There are several things you can do to continue learning more about locks and locksmithing. One, of course, is to subscribe to a locksmithing magazine. Some years ago I compared the National Locksmith to the Locksmith Ledger and felt that the latter was a bit better on technical info. Call yourself a Student Locksmith, or perhaps a Security Consultant (surely you have given some advice to *somebody*!). Also read The Complete Book of Locks & Locksmithing, 4th ed. by Bill Phillips which was mentioned above.
Lock companies are starting to use the Internet to distribute information. See the on-line resources section below for many lock related web sites.
But all this reading can help only so much, so you have to continue buying various types of locks, taking them apart, figuring out everything about them, and installing, removing, modifying them. Buy some key blanks, make up a master key scheme, and file the keys to fit (assuming you don't have a key machine yet) - filing may take a few minutes, but it does work. Maybe buy a re-keying kit (kit of different size pins, with a plug follower) and do some re-keying for your family or friends (the same size pins fit, I think, the familiar Kwikset and Schlage pin tumbler locks) so that their deadbolts can be opened with their normal front door key. (Hint - when disassembling a lock you may want to do it inside a transparent plastic bag. Then the small pieces and springs will be trapped and won't go flying across the room, leaving you with a sad look on your face.) (A follower is used to push the plug out, when the pins are at the shear line, therefore keeping the top pins and springs in place. Then the rekeyed plug is used to push out the follower, again keeping the top pins and springs in place. Similarly the follower can be used when loading new springs and top pins, keeping the loaded ones in place.)
Or buy a deadbolt installation kit (hole saw plus template - I think that Black and Decker makes a good inexpensive one, available at better building supply places) and put in a few deadbolts for your family and friends - charging them only for the materials plus a couple of bucks towards the installation kit - and re-key the deadbolt for them, too.
Buy or make a pick set, and use your practice locks to practice picking. Do you have a good locksmith supply catalog? If not, give a call to a local supplier. Help people at work who have been locked out of their desks or filing cabinets. Desks usually have wafer tumbler locks which are *much* easier to pick than pin tumbler locks. Filing cabinets are not as easy to pick, but are pickable (actually some are very easy to pick - they vary greatly) and also can be opened by pushing a flexible plastic ruler between the side of the sliding drawer and the cabinet body - carefully inspect some working cabinets to see what I'm talking about.
5. How do I open a car door with a Slim Jim?
Besides picking the lock, one can open a car door with a wire coat hanger. Open the coat hanger by unbending the wire, leaving a small loop at one end. Insert the looped end of the wire hanger between the rubber weather stripping and a side window. Hook the looped end of the wire around the button of the door lock and pull it up to the open position. Many lock buttons are without a lip, an anti-theft measure, so that the wire coat hanger slides off without lifting it. One can also try to snag the door handle and pull it open.
The Slim Jim, a thin strip of metal with a notch cut at the bottom side, slides down the passenger window into the door. The notch tries to catch a rod running inside the door that connects the lock and the lock buttons. Pulling on this rod pops the lock into the open position. Many modern cars have the rod shielded from this access. Most cars today have many wires running through the doors to control such things as power windows, power locks, heated side view mirrors, lighted key ways, and burglar alarms. Some newer cars have airbags in the doors - setting them off is a very dangerous and expensive mistake! The Slim Jim can snag one of these, or a mechanical part and cause damage. Most locksmiths advise against using a Slim Jim except on old cars. The pros often use wedges, lights and manuals of parts locations to avoid damage and increase their success rate.
6. What is a jiggler key?
A thin piece of metal cut in the general shape of a key, the jiggler slips into the keyway of many locks and most car locks. The jigglers in the set come with a variety of general cuts that vaguely resemble cuts on keys. A jiggler is slipped into the lock and moved around, much as using a rake type pick, until the lock opens. If one jiggler does not work then the next one in the set is tried. Probability of success depends on the skill of the user and on luck.
7. Is there an ethical dimension to locksmithing?
Yes. Locksmithing is an old craft, and there is a strong tradition of ethical responsibility. A trainee (apprentice) learned about locks and security, and was supposed to have the personal integrity to avoid abusing that knowledge. This "do no harm" concept has been incorporated into the 'hacker ethic' which is found at MIT (in the "hacking community") and elsewhere.
Tuesday, February 08, 2005
How to protect your home as well as your family.
How secure is your home? How accessible is your home? How often do you ask yourself these questions?
Your home is where you and your family want to be safe from the daily stresses of life and most definitely from crime. A burglary happens every 15 seconds in this country. Though many intrusions are non confrontational, have you ever asked yourself what if I or my family were home during a burglary? Most Burglaries happen during daytime hours because this is the time many of us are working, going to school, etc. The typical burglar is looking for anything of value. Rape and/or sexual assault after a break-in happen almost regularly during the summer months when windows and doors are left open and unlocked. If you try to think like a burglar for a minute, the first step in planning a break-in would be to figure out when the home owners are not home. You would watch the daily routine of the homes occupants. The next step would be to figure out how difficult gaining entry to the house would be.
A couple of things comes to mind here; Locked doors and windows, alarm systems, and even surveillance cameras now. Burglars are going to enter your home by walking right thru an unlocked door or open window, using tools to break in or unlock the existing locks, or simply using force to gain entry so let us look the first steps in preventing a burglary.
Door and window locks are the homes initial barrier to be overcome by an intruder. Typically the garage and rear doors of the house are the weakest entry points as well as first floor windows on the sides and rear of the home. These areas may also provide cover for the burglar. You will want to make sure your locks make it very difficult to gain entry. Use a solid core or metal door for all entry areas, Use a quality, heavy-duty, deadbolt lock with a one-inch throw bolt Use a quality, heavy-duty, knob-in-lock set with a dead-latch mechanism Use a heavy-duty strike plate with 3-inch screws to penetrate into a wooden door frame, use multiple locks for your doors as well. Sliding glass doors have blocking bars that can be inserted in the track to prevent the door from sliding open. You can use pins that slide thru the track as well to prevent sliding or lifting of the door. Windows are often left open during the summer months. Blocking devices are necessary to keep the window from opening further. A window should not be left open more than six inches or enough to allow a burglar to reach in and unlock or remove blocking device. If an intruder makes it into your home via door, broken window, etc.
We suggest the next step of arming your home via an alarm system that is monitored and dispatched to police upon an alarm or simply by having detection and sound alarm devices to not only scare off an intruder, but also warn anyone who may be home at the time. Devices such as Door and window sound alarms, motion alarms, vibration alarms, etc. Alarm yard signs and window decals are also a great deterrent, as well as the lighting in and around your home. We suggest using floodlights with motion sensors around the exterior of your home and timers that your lights and appliances plug into and will come on automatically simulating people are home. You may purchase surveillance cameras to help further deter and/or monitor your homes activities when you are not there. These images can be viewed and recorded onto time lapse recorders or your PC with proper software. You can even watch your home while on vacation thru your laptop computer.
These are the basic steps in preventing home burglary as well as protecting your family. For more information on crime prevention and personal self defense call us at: 212-586-3234
Your home is where you and your family want to be safe from the daily stresses of life and most definitely from crime. A burglary happens every 15 seconds in this country. Though many intrusions are non confrontational, have you ever asked yourself what if I or my family were home during a burglary? Most Burglaries happen during daytime hours because this is the time many of us are working, going to school, etc. The typical burglar is looking for anything of value. Rape and/or sexual assault after a break-in happen almost regularly during the summer months when windows and doors are left open and unlocked. If you try to think like a burglar for a minute, the first step in planning a break-in would be to figure out when the home owners are not home. You would watch the daily routine of the homes occupants. The next step would be to figure out how difficult gaining entry to the house would be.
A couple of things comes to mind here; Locked doors and windows, alarm systems, and even surveillance cameras now. Burglars are going to enter your home by walking right thru an unlocked door or open window, using tools to break in or unlock the existing locks, or simply using force to gain entry so let us look the first steps in preventing a burglary.
Door and window locks are the homes initial barrier to be overcome by an intruder. Typically the garage and rear doors of the house are the weakest entry points as well as first floor windows on the sides and rear of the home. These areas may also provide cover for the burglar. You will want to make sure your locks make it very difficult to gain entry. Use a solid core or metal door for all entry areas, Use a quality, heavy-duty, deadbolt lock with a one-inch throw bolt Use a quality, heavy-duty, knob-in-lock set with a dead-latch mechanism Use a heavy-duty strike plate with 3-inch screws to penetrate into a wooden door frame, use multiple locks for your doors as well. Sliding glass doors have blocking bars that can be inserted in the track to prevent the door from sliding open. You can use pins that slide thru the track as well to prevent sliding or lifting of the door. Windows are often left open during the summer months. Blocking devices are necessary to keep the window from opening further. A window should not be left open more than six inches or enough to allow a burglar to reach in and unlock or remove blocking device. If an intruder makes it into your home via door, broken window, etc.
We suggest the next step of arming your home via an alarm system that is monitored and dispatched to police upon an alarm or simply by having detection and sound alarm devices to not only scare off an intruder, but also warn anyone who may be home at the time. Devices such as Door and window sound alarms, motion alarms, vibration alarms, etc. Alarm yard signs and window decals are also a great deterrent, as well as the lighting in and around your home. We suggest using floodlights with motion sensors around the exterior of your home and timers that your lights and appliances plug into and will come on automatically simulating people are home. You may purchase surveillance cameras to help further deter and/or monitor your homes activities when you are not there. These images can be viewed and recorded onto time lapse recorders or your PC with proper software. You can even watch your home while on vacation thru your laptop computer.
These are the basic steps in preventing home burglary as well as protecting your family. For more information on crime prevention and personal self defense call us at: 212-586-3234
Friday, January 28, 2005
The Professional Glossary of Terms Relating to Cylinders, Keys and Master Keying
From: http://www.gpla.org
"In 1982 the LIST Council’s predecessor released to the industry The Professional Glossary of Terms Relating to Cylinders, Keys and Master Keying and the ALOA was the first to publish and distribute it. The definitions and terminology in the glossary have since been adopted by most of the manufacturers, publications and associations as our industry standard and many manufacturers offer a printed version as part of their factory training.
The LIST Council has been asked by ALOA and others to complete what would amount to a Dictionary for Locksmiths. We have begun that work and are pleased to submit for Peer review, by every locksmith interested, the first installment of the remaining 1236 terms which have been identified as specific to our industry.
Our approach to this project was a simple one with a few rules which we hope you will also apply in your review. When making a definition of a term, we applied the following rules to the term:
1. Is the term listed in “Webster”?
2. Is the definition there the same meaning used in our industry?
To us, “Webster”, means a typical pocket dictionary which could be obtained easily and on short notice from any grocery store which has a pocket book display. If the answer to either of the questions above was no, we felt the term must be in our dictionary, otherwise it was common usage which anyone could define.
Because there is generally more than one term in use from one geographic area to another, we established the most popular term which most closely describes what it means as the “primary” term to be defined, unless it has different opposing definitions. All other terms with the same meaning become secondary terms and are only listed in the appendix. With that established, the definitions have to meet the following rules:
1. It must describe the subject of the term without graphics.
2. It must describe ONLY the subject of the term.
3. The term should not be used in the definition.
Click on the title to choose which file type you want to download "The Professional Glossary of Terms Relating to Cylinders, Keys and Master Keying " in.
"In 1982 the LIST Council’s predecessor released to the industry The Professional Glossary of Terms Relating to Cylinders, Keys and Master Keying and the ALOA was the first to publish and distribute it. The definitions and terminology in the glossary have since been adopted by most of the manufacturers, publications and associations as our industry standard and many manufacturers offer a printed version as part of their factory training.
The LIST Council has been asked by ALOA and others to complete what would amount to a Dictionary for Locksmiths. We have begun that work and are pleased to submit for Peer review, by every locksmith interested, the first installment of the remaining 1236 terms which have been identified as specific to our industry.
Our approach to this project was a simple one with a few rules which we hope you will also apply in your review. When making a definition of a term, we applied the following rules to the term:
1. Is the term listed in “Webster”?
2. Is the definition there the same meaning used in our industry?
To us, “Webster”, means a typical pocket dictionary which could be obtained easily and on short notice from any grocery store which has a pocket book display. If the answer to either of the questions above was no, we felt the term must be in our dictionary, otherwise it was common usage which anyone could define.
Because there is generally more than one term in use from one geographic area to another, we established the most popular term which most closely describes what it means as the “primary” term to be defined, unless it has different opposing definitions. All other terms with the same meaning become secondary terms and are only listed in the appendix. With that established, the definitions have to meet the following rules:
1. It must describe the subject of the term without graphics.
2. It must describe ONLY the subject of the term.
3. The term should not be used in the definition.
Click on the title to choose which file type you want to download "The Professional Glossary of Terms Relating to Cylinders, Keys and Master Keying " in.
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