“You guys are still around?” 

I’ve confessed that I’m a new-products geek. At the recently concluded ALOA convention, I got another chance to get my geek on, and it was fun to see and handle a few things: That’s really small, isn’t it; that’s way heavier than it looks; I see how that works now. 

ALOA also was the first show where I finally got a chance to meet the publication’s target audience — locksmiths. I’ve chatted with dozens but had met only a few before the convention. 

At ALOA, however, I met a veritable who’s who of locksmiths as well as a few who came by the Locksmith Ledger booth and shared condolences and stories about Gale Johnson and talked about the magazine. 

One visitor informed me that he recently had been going through an issue from the Forties. Another told me his boss keeps old issues as reference in the shop. 

And then there was the visitor who almost whimsically uttered the phrase: 

“You guys are still around?” 

I don’t believe he was being hostile, just genuinely surprised that there still was a magazine devoted to locksmithing. He grabbed a copy of our August issue and stuffed it into his swag bag while I assured him that not only were we still were around, but we also were working on some things that would make our presence more public. 

We’re still hashing out some of the details, but one of the things that Locksmith Ledger plans to do in the next year is provide education. 

We used to do this a long time ago under the banner of Ledgerworld, an ALOA-like convention of instruction. We aren’t bringing back Ledgerworld just yet, but we’ll be starting in the fall with online webinars presented by Wayne Winton on various locksmithing techniques and products. We hope to have more to say about this in another month or so, so stay tuned to LocksmithLedger.com for the latest information on that. 

These webinars also will be part of a larger, more ambitious project called Locksmith Ledger University. This is more of a long-range vision, so a lot of the parameters have to be set, but the idea is the university would be a collection of classes, installations, techniques, etc., that locksmiths could access — sort of like reaching for an old issue of Locksmith Ledger off your bookshelf but through your smartphone. 

We also plan to bring back a few bygone features. One that came back this year was Locksmith Ledger’s annual price report in our July issue. We received some great insight and feedback, and we hope to make it bigger and better in 2023. 

Another old favorite is the van contest, where we ask locksmiths to show their best tricked-out work trucks. Details remain to be figured out, but the goal is to name winners in the February 2023 issue, so, again, be on the lookout for more information about that in the fall. 

Speaking of ongoing features, Locksmith Ledger’s annual State of the Industry survey is open to locksmiths. This survey makes up the data for the annual State of the Industry report in our November issue. The survey asks about business and products over the past year and should take about 15 minutes to complete. We thank everyone who participates in this important research in advance. 

“You guys are still around?” 

 You bet: 83 years and counting, and you’ll be hearing more from us in the future. 

— Will Christensen