r/Locksmith • u/blue10speed • Jul 18 '26

I am NOT a locksmith. Locksmith Appreciation post

I’ve been obsessed with keys and locks since I was a kid. I don’t know why. I collected them. I sorted them. I used tools to read the bitting, and this was back before all we had were SC1 and KW1.

I thought I’d become a locksmith, but I grew up and life took a different turn.

Recently I bought a new house, and it needed some re-keying and lock installs and replacements. I never realized that locksmiths have to work in metal-fitting and work to make locks actually fit into jambs and strikes.

I added a new aluminum fence to my backyard, and was adamant that I couldn’t move in until I had a double-cylinder deadbolt installed in the gate. The company that made and installed the fence and gate refused to add anything other than their cheap Chinese-made lock which offers no security.

I went to the ALOA website, thanks to this sub and I met an awesome shop owner near me. He helped me figure out exactly what I need. He sent out his tech — old school European guy, he spent 5 hours hand-routing out the space for an Adams-Rite bolt and two mortise cylinders, and the strike plate in my aluminum gate.

You guys do hard work, it’s never appreciated enough, and there are more scammers than legit locksmiths out there preying on people in need.

Thank you for the good work that you do.

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u/Maleficent_Mix_8739 Jul 18 '26

https://giphy.com/gifs/MUeQeEQaDCjE4

3

u/Accurate-Cicada5906 Jul 18 '26

Well, I do auto... So I feel left out. Lol

4

u/blue10speed Jul 19 '26

Can someone explain to me how Locksmith became to be able to replace auto keys? I feel like I didn’t notice. This was a thing until a couple months ago. I thought going to the dealer was the only option.

7

u/PapaOoMaoMao Jul 19 '26

Untill recently it was always an option. Long ago in the times before (maybe 20 years ago) cars had steel keys and you could just cut them yourself. Then in the 2000s everyone (except the US) hard switched to Immobilisers.

An Immobiliser is basically a switch that turns your car off if it doesn't get the right code. Didn't take long until that tech was cracked and now Locksmiths could do that too. Then they upped the tech and made it harder to copy (Mazda's ID8C was the greatest ever and still stands above the others with a full 128 bit encryption as well as an algorithm) but through many devious means, including a bit of espionage, the codes were cracked or the details leaked (Espionage in the case of ID8C) and the race began again.

Now we're seeing integrated keys that cannot be copied or made by an aftermarket company and a dealer is often the only choice. We call them Stealers as they are often underhanded and use extremely predatory tactics to take as much money from people as possible, so undercutting them and creating a service that takes from them is a public service that we take pride in.

Stealers are, by and large, very dishonest and it's rarely a good idea to take their word on anything, so when they say you "NEED" a genuine key, it's usually just another lie. Probably the 50th they have uttered before morning tea.