December 19, 2017
Locks, Lockpicking, and Locksport
Locks are fascinating mechanical devices.
It is interesting to learn and understand how they work.
It is even more interesting (and fun) to develop the skills to work on them.
Locksport
This is a word coined to describe the activity of lock picking as a hobby
with care taken to avoid illegal activities.
The central rule is that you never pick locks that you don't own, or that you
don't have permission from the owner to pick.
Locksmithing tools
Depending on where you live, it may or may not be legal to purchase (or even possess)
locksmithing supplies and equipment. In Arizona, the last time I checked,
there were (thankfully) no such restrictions. Lots of things are available
on the internet. Here are some sources:
It does not look like LAB sells direct, but they list an outlet in
Tucson:
IDN West, which in Tucson is at
4500 East Speedway, Suite 62, 520-322-5625.
Rekeying locks
Here is a copy of the
Schlage Lock rekeying manual
To rekey (in my case) Schlage locks, you need a supply of "bottom pins".
The best deal I found (and ordered using paypal) was a set with 50 of each
size (there are 10 sizes, 0-9) for $14.99 from
Ebuilder pin kit.
Have any comments? Questions?
Drop me a line!
Tom's locksmithing notes / tom@mmto.org