Blog Archives
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New Challenges Ahead
By Gale Johnson - Friday September 14, 2012
Electronic security is quickly making its way into every corner of the security industry. What began as a trickle twenty years ago has now become a steady stream of new product introductions. The first noticeable change happened in the hotel industry. Card access has become a normal part of hotel locking systems except for the very smallest rental cabin units deep in the back woods. Electronic automotive security quickly followed and few new cars sold today do not have some type of transponder security. It is a must in Canada. Electronic safe were first introduced in quantity approximately twenty years ago. Every popular safe manufacturer now offers the option of furnishing either an electronic or... -
Hardware Finish Choices Blog
By Jerry Levine - Monday September 3, 2012Be careful of your customers' choice for the door hardware finish, especially if your customer chooses a BHMA category B finish, 613, 640, or 704 which are like US10B, the nearest former U.S. Equivalent. A category B finish is not stable, the final color varies depending upon the hardware's base material, the manufacturer's processing methods, etc. Visible finish variations can occur if the door hardware purchased is from different manufacturing lots. Oil Rubbed Bronze BHMA 613/US10B base metal is bronze. The finish is produced by oxidizing the hardware in a special solution, which is then heated to a temperature that produces the desired appearance. Then a mixture of oil and wax is applied. This final product is an applied finish... -
We Have Come a Long Way
By Jerry Levine - Monday August 20, 2012I received a copy of "Locksmithing and Miscellaneous Shop Information", a one hundred-eighty page soft cover book. The copyright date is 1927, arranged and published by H. W. Routson. Printed onto the cover following the title is "The only Real Book on the Subject that has ever been Published." At that time, mortise, rim and cylindrical locks were being manufactured, along with exit devices and door closers. Locksmiths worked with skeleton keys, flat steel keys, and cylindrical keys. The electric strike had been around for four decades. Yes, Virginia, locksmiths have been working with electricity for many years. Locksmithing was a mature profession; keyed different, keyed alike and master keyed locks provided all of the access control... -
Pride in One's Work
By Jerry Levine - Monday August 6, 2012A friend was telling me about a horrific rainstorm that not only destroyed his vegetable garden, lightning severely damaged a tree next to his home. He went on to tell me his friend, a tree trimmer had removed that tree and several more very tall trees from his property. The tree trimmer after removing the largest tree, well over one hundred feet tall with a four foot plus diameter base, said removing that tree was the proudest moment of his career. This started me thinking about having pride in the work we do. I asked my friend what his proudest moment was as a locksmith. He said, the day he stood next to Mary May at the 2006 A.L.O.A. Convention as he was receiving the Instructor of the Year Award. Since then I have asked a number of... -
Selling Yourself
By Jerry Levine - Monday July 23, 2012As Kanga and I were going for our morning walk, we stopped before the sidewalk to not interrupt a man who was walking. After he passed, we began our walk in the same direction but at a somewhat slower pace in order to satisfy her K9 obligations. The man had stopped at the rear of a box truck, covered with water heater service and installation signage. The work was professional and there was even a water heater man logo. As we came up to and past him, there was no interaction. I wondered why the man did not just say "good morning". Who knows what might have developed from there. I could have had problems with my water heater and he could have possibly made a sale or offered an inspection. From my experience, it has never been easy to... -
Repair or Replace Revisited
By Jerry Levine - Monday July 9, 2012I received different answers from a number of locksmiths. The Repair or Replace predicament was there was no definitive reason for the cause of the broken tailpiece. The majority of locksmiths chose to replace the deadbolt lock. A few would replace the lock cylinder and some would replace the broken tailpiece. The reasons were divided. The locksmiths who chose to replace the tailpiece or the lock cylinder believed that if the problem re-occurred, the customer would call them back. They would discuss the situation. The less expensive tailpiece replacement may not be solution versus lock replacement, the more expensive solution. Some said they would leave the choice to the customer. The locksmiths who chose to replace the lock believed... -
Repair or Replace
By Jerry Levine - Monday June 25, 2012A customer calls you for service. An auxiliary deadbolt lock becomes inoperable and they cannot gain access through the door. According to the customer, the deadbolt lock cannot be unlocked from the exterior. When the key is inserted and rotated, the bolt does not retract. However, the deadbolt lock can be locked and unlocked by turning the interior turn knob. The price for the service call is agreed upon and the different price ranges are discussed for a replacement auxiliary deadbolt lock. You go out to the jobsite. The deadbolt lock operates as previously explained. The key slides in and out of the lock cylinder smoothly and rotates in both directions without any hesitation. The lock is removed from the door. You realize the... -
IN IT TOGETHER
By Gale Johnson - Thursday June 21, 2012Sometimes old news makes the best reading. Ken Dunckel wrote a letter to the editor in our August, 1992 issue where he complained about locksmiths who do safe work. His argument was that only the "consecrated few" should be doing safe work and "authorized locksmiths" must be willing to turn over their safe change keys to these safe men and never touch a safe again. Meanwhile, the "consecrated few" safe men would agree to never unlock another car. From the tone of the Dunckel letter it is hard to decide whether he was joking, serious, or trying to make some kind of point. Mr. Dunckel is well known in the safe business. He has written safe articles for Locksmith Ledger and other publications. His original complaint was that few locksmiths... -
The Price of Automotive Remotes and Emergency Keys
By Jerry Levine - Monday June 11, 2012The price of automotive remotes and emergency keys are to say the least expensive. I was talking with a locksmith from the East Coast who purchased some used remotes for a 2011/12 Toyota Sienna for between one and two hundred dollars. He said how happy he was and that he had sold them for a good profit. This led me to check out the price of Toyota remotes and emergency keys. I called a number of Toyota dealerships in California and the surrounding states. The first dealer called is charging $336.00 over the counter, just the fob not including the emergency key. Programming is an additional one hundred dollars plus. More than one dealer would not sell a fob without programming. The cost of the emergency key at another Toyota dealership... -
About the Recall
By Gale Johnson - Thursday June 7, 2012A recall election was just completed in Wisconsin. While Democrats and Republicans have tried to read the results in some partisan way, the real issue is how much citizens should expect from their government. In private industry, pension plan money must come from company profits. The government has no part in footing the bill. One company I worked for during my career did have a private pension plan. Workers invested their share and the company invested their share. Due to cost cutting in my opinion, the pension plan was later discontinued and the funds already invested in the plan were returned back to each vested employee. The governor of Wisconsin was subject to a recall under similar circumstances. Earlier...
