Gilbert García and Son
LOCKSMITH SERVICES
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History of Locksmithing
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History of Keys and Locks
History of locks and keys goes back for several thousand years, reaching the very first moments when modern human civilization established their reign and started developing sciences and technologies that enable birth and growth of our modern way of life.
Even in those ancient times some 4000 years ago, people wanted the ability to safeguard their possessions and store them in places where nobody else can get access to them. For that purpose, engineers, designers and scientist created first examples of locks and keys. Originally created using wood and other easily accessible natural materials, locks and keys offered small manner of protection against theft or intrusion, but they (as well as complicated rope knots) at least provided clear indicator if someone tampered with the lock.
First models of wooden keys and locks originate from Ancient Egypt, where they first managed to take advantage from the technique of falling pins to control the movement of the security bolt. The bolt could be freed from locked position by inserting large and cumbersome wooden key into the lock, and manually lifting it upwards, displacing the pins that were held down by gravity.
Roman age brought many improvements upon original Egyptian designs, but the expensive nature of the locks, their inability to sustain large external forces and easy picking made them to be a symbol of wealth, influence and nobility. Small keys made from metals (iron, bronze, silver, gold) were often viewed as one of the most effective ways of publicly showing your wealth (only very rich people could afford to have personal safes or doors with locking mechanisms).
After the fall of Roman Empire, locks and keys remain relatively unchanged for over 1500 years. Locksmiths who painstakingly created locks and keys by hand continued to be employed only by the rich, who demanded more and more protection that simply could not be delivered. To combat thieves and trespassers, locks of that period became more and more complicated, often featuring complicated key designs, multiple locks, fake locks, and anything else that could force thief to spend too much time picking device and before eventually giving up. Safes during that time were made form elaborately carved wooden or iron reinforced chests and large locking mechanisms that were housed in the lid.
With the arrival of 19th century and the great expansions in industrial manufacture, new metallurgy processes, better tools and ability to create small and durable lock components, industry of locks, keys and safes entered into its renaissance. Countless inventors focused their careers of solving the problems related to weak locks, breakable materials and improved protection against outside influences (fire, chemicals, explosives).
Over the period of just 100 years, locks and keys received drastic upgrades, mostly with the work of famous inventors such as Robert Barronin, Joseph Bramah, Linus Yale, Sr, James Sargent and Harry Soref. All of their innovation enabled creation of modern locks, safes and other protective mechanism which today surrounds us wherever we are (house doors, bicycle locks, padlocks, car locks, magnetic hotel locks, personal safes, panic rooms, bank vaults, and more).
While industrial manufacturing has taken over the production of 99.9% of modern locks, profession and art of locksmithing went through significant changes. Locksmiths are now more repairmen than creators of brand new locks, often expanding their work on repairing numerous metal items that are used in common household (metal hinges, caps, frames, etc.). However, locksmiths can still provide their input in creation of high-end and expensive locking mechanism that are used in vaults and personal anti- burglary safes.
HISTORY OF LOCKSMITHING
Locksmithing is a profession and an art of designing and producing locks and other protective hardware mechanisms that secures buildings, objects, storage facilities, cabinets, rooms and other places. After a long journey through history, the art of Locksmithing went through many changes. In the for the longest period of time, locksmiths were talented metalworkers who had the knowledge of shaping metal, creating by hand dozens of individual pieces of the locks, forging keys, and doing much of the file-work.
History of locksmithing started in Ancient Egypt and Babylon, approximately 4000 years ago. During that time, locksmith created wooden devices that used tin tumbler principle to prevent free movement of the door bar. The pins could be moved only with the use of large and cumbersome wooden key (created in the shape of modern toothbrush) that was inserted into lock and pushed upwards, which moved internal pins and unlocked doors. The oldest of those simple locks currently known was discovered in the ruins of the Assyrian Empire, in the city of Khorsabad near Nineveh. Scientists and historians agree that this wooden lock was created around 704 BC.
After the adoption of advanced metallurgy in 18th century Europe, locksmiths were finally able to create much more durable locks and keys. During that century, many famous locksmiths managed to improve upon designs that remained largely unchanged ever since the fall of Roman Empire.
With the arrival of more and more successful designs and industrial mass production, locksmithing went through drastic change. Cheap industrial locks took the lucrative market of locksmiths away, and they were forced to become specialized in two fields –work as repairmen of industrial locks (fine tuning of damaged gear or replacing broken parts with those created in factories), replicate keys for people who wanted more of them available for personal use, or work for large security companies who design and build safes for banks and governments.
Today, locksmiths work from their shops (often working with all door-related hardware, such as closers, frame repairs, hinges, electric strikes and more), security institutions (designing and creating several layers of locks that protect against theft or intrusion), investigational institutions (forensic locksmiths), security consultants or are focuses on one aspect of a skill (locksmith working in a car company, designing only car locks).
Who Invented Keys?
Today, keys are one of the most commonly manufactured metal objects in the entire world, enabling us to live in the modern civilization that has many of its features safeguarded and locked behind billions of locks. They are easy to manufacture, small enough to be carried and offer intuitive (though imperfect) way of operating mass produced lock that guard our physical properties such as cars, buildings, doors, safes and more.
History of keys started at the same moment when first locks appeared in ancient Babylon and Egypt, some 6 thousand years ago. These simple wooden devices used small pins which were hidden in a small opening near the bolt. By using wooden toothbrush-shaped key, Egyptians could lift those small pins and unlock the blot.
Sadly, this design had several disadvantages – both lock and key were made from wood (material that is very susceptible to external brute-force attacks) and the key itself was very bulky and heavy. The oldest examples of these ancient locks were found in ruins of the Assyrian palace of Khorasabad, in a biblical city of Nineveh. Those locks mechanisms were dated to 704 BC.
The next evolution of keys came in Ancient Rome, whose engineers and inventors managed to greatly improve upon the designs of Egyptian wooden locks. By using iron and bronze, romans were able to create much stronger and smaller locks, with keys that we light enough to be carried on person. As far as their form of the keys was concerned, one great invention changed their look forever.
Introduction of wards into locks shaped the keys from large flat structures with pins on their end to the look of what we call today is “Skeleton key” – simple cylindrical shaft that has one single, thin and rectangular tooth (or bit). This design continued to be used for 17 centuries after the fall of Roman Empire, receiving only minor update in their looks (during all that time locksmiths were more focused on deceiving the thieves or making their work more tedious than innovating new safeguarding mechanisms). Skeleton keys can be found even today in houses that were built before 1940s.
Modern “flat keys” were first introduced to the public by Linus Yale, Sr and Jr. in mid 1800s. Bu using tumbler lock and more sophisticated way of regulating the pins, these flat keys become instant success across entire world. They were easy to manufacture, and thanks to invention of key cutting, easy to replicate in large numbers.
Today, majority of the locks in the world uses flat keys that activate mechanisms invented in 1800s - warded locks, lever tumbler locks and pin tumbler locks. Small amount of keys is based on magnetic signatures, which are most often used in public buildings (such as hotels), government facilities, scientific labs, and similar sensitive locations.often viewed as one of the most effective ways of publicly showing your wealth (only very rich people could afford to have personal safes or doors with locking mechanisms).