Josh-the-Locksmith
25 Years Experience
Austin, TX
Male, 46
I've been a locksmith since 1998. I did automotive residential & commercial work from 1998 to 2008. From 2008 to 2018, I did some residential, but mostly commercial work. I have been project managing & estimating since 2018. I used to locksmith in the Chicago area, now the Austin area.
Not to break in, no. My boss at my last job let someone into a business they didn't own, but since he had gotten all the proper documentation, he wasn't liable. They were caught though. I had an old man call me out to change the locks on a house once, & after I got there I could tell he wasn't all there. Turned out it wasn't even his house! It was a friend's who was in the other room. She came out & said she didn't even want me to do it, but he insisted she did. It was 9 oclock at night, I didn't feel like dealing with it so I just walked out.
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I'm sorry to say, but our Industry has been saturated with phony locksmiths. There are national companies that subcontract people and pay them by commission. When you called that locksmith, you were probably talking to someone in call center in another state. They quote you the base price, and when the subcontractor comes to you he quotes you however much he wants to make. This is not typical for a 24 hour locksmith. I've worked for two companies in the 13 years I've been a locksmith. Both of them were 24 hours, and we never did anything like that. These phony locksmiths put a bunch of ads online and in the phone book to make themselves look local. They even have fake Company names, they use local addresses that go to peoples houses and other businesses, so people think they're calling a local company. I recommend that you find one or two reputable local locksmiths and store the number in your phone.
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I can get in pretty much every lock. I might do some damage, but I can get in! I can't get into vaults & a lot of safes. Just because I've never actually been trained for it.
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I broken into a few safes, & bypassed more deadbolts than I can count. Unfortunately no exciting stories. I did manage to get a door open that had a multi-point lock system installed that broke in the locked position. Not fun!
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I think if it was illegal, they probably wouldn't be able to sell them. I think they have to give that disclaimer so they can sell them legally. I never had to buy them online or sell them, so I'm no expert on the subject, that is just my opinion.
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I have never seen any tools designed to specifically unlock the chain locks. I would assume the reason would be that they're not difficult to cut and easy and cheap to replace.
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You can credit card a door knob or lever handle if they aren't installed correctly, & if there's enough slop in the door. Generally speaking, credit cards are too thick and stiff anyways.
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