Lockout Tips

Webster’s dictionary defines a locksmith as a professional contractor who specializes in entry systems such as locks, door knobs, and other security features. While locksmiths once handled only locks, keys, and safes, today’s security innovations and technological advances have expanded the scope of the profession to include far more than many people know. Locksmiths have to be knowledgeable about everything security related, from traditional door knobs and deadbolts to high-tech burglar alarms and digital access systems.

The Importance of Locksmiths in Daily Life

In fact, you may not realize just how integral a locksmith’s job is to your daily life, taking for granted the countless doors you walk through each day and all the different locks and keys that protect your home, cars, and possessions. Without locksmiths, we would lack the basic security we have all become so accustomed to having. But before diving into all that locksmiths do these days, let’s take a look at their role throughout history.

Locksmithing dates back approximately 4,000 years ago to ancient Babylon and Egypt. Though ancient locks were much larger and made of wood, the first ones worked in much the same way as locks today. They contained a series of pins and required a key in order to be unlocked

Lock technology spread without seeing many major adaptations for many centuries until the increased use of metal in the 9th and 10th century led to significant advances in security and effectiveness. As new locks were invented and their demand increased, the locksmith trade really began to come into its own.

Locksmiths began as craftsmen making locks for the local community, and many were also blacksmiths and metal workers who became knowledgeable in lock-making. The increased demand for locks resulted in more blacksmiths adopting this side business, which ultimately led to the name of locksmith, the title still used today.

Industrialization produced the next major change in the locksmithing industry as mass production diminished the need for handcrafted locks. Locksmiths were forced to shift their profession from lock-making to lock repair and expertise. Some locksmiths went to work for industrial lock companies and others went into security, doing anything from working as repairmen and key-makers to designing and building custom safes and other security devices.
Today most locksmiths operate out of some form of workshop or mobile locksmithing van. They can specialize in a specific type of locksmithing, such as residential or commercial, or offer more general services and are found in every city across the country, as well as in communities around the world.

All The Amazing Things a Locksmith Can Do

There are only a few circumstances in which the average person thinks to call a locksmith, and 24 HR Lockouts specializes in one of those circumstances: when you are locked out of a house, car, or business. Most people are uninformed when it comes to the broad spectrum of services a locksmith can offer and have no idea that modern-day locksmiths are trained to be security experts as well. Keep our website as a favorite on your smartphone just in case you get locked out. You will be happy and relieved that you called us.