Locksmith

Locksmith

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.

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329 Questions

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Last Answer on June 11, 2024

Best Rated

I am installing a keyless mechanical double sided door lock on a glass door from our pool area into our home. Is a deadbolt more secure/burglar proof then a deadlatch? LOCKEY M230DC vs 210DC. Love auto lock of the latch for kids, but security wise?

Asked by Security Question almost 7 years ago

There’s no question, deadbolt all the way! Deadbolts: 1 inch in length, when installed right, goes into the stud. They are also locked in place when fully extended. Can’t be “credit carded”. 

Latches: 1/2” in length, easier to credit card, easier to crow bar the door open, must be installed just right otherwise it’s very easy to credit card open. Also easier to lock yourself out of the house. Also they only lock into a 3/4” piece of wood. Can usually be kicked open with 1 kick.

None of my exterior doors have latches, all are deadbolted.

Our apartment complex had a master key stolen so we all had our deadbolts changed by building maintenance. But our keys still work the after the change. Was anything done or was the “change” just for show that they did something about it?

Asked by Lewis over 6 years ago

Since I wasn’t there, I can’t answer that. But, I can tell you that if maintenance is going to take their time to pretend to rekey your lock, they probably did it. It’s not worth the liability to fake it. What probably happened was 1 of 2 things. Either the new combination of pins just happened to be very close to your old key (I’ve seen it happen); or they didn’t dump all the master pins out of your lock when they rekeyed it (novice mistake, & not surprising since they’re not locksmiths). In either case, call them back & let them know that it needs to be redone if you’re worried about it.

My wife and i split and she wont give me the spare car key, she keeps takinf my car leaving me stranded is there anyway I could change the ignition key or do you have a solution to make her key not work

Asked by Jp over 6 years ago

With some cars, you can deactivate all keys and reprogram certain keys. Or just plain rekey the ignition so it mechanically doesn’t work either.

I have a 2000 saturn and the original ignition cylinder was removed and lost. i have the original key and purchased new cylinder. how do i code to fix

Asked by Chantel over 6 years ago

A locksmith with a shop should be able to do it.

Morning ,I am not really sure of what's going on. . Eating my food, taking personal toiletries and even took a shower one day.. sounds like the maintenance workers or management because I hear keys on the audio recording....

Asked by Dahh almost 6 years ago

I don't have a good answer for you I'm sorry to say. I think your troubles may be bigger than any lock or security product can solve. I can only advise that you don't stick any more money into it if you have tried cameras, security system, AND locks. I don't know anyone who can crack all of those with no damage, and only to take a shower and eat some food? It doesn't add up.

I hope you can help me... No one seems to know what kind of lick this is... I bought several items at a auction.. and a few of them had drawer locks like this... I spent alot of time removing this lock without damage to the drawer... I'm hoping you can help me identify what kind of lock this is and tell me where I light be able to get replacement keys.. I'd like to save the locks... Thank you in advance... Any help you can give me is appreciated.

Asked by Pete over 5 years ago

Can you send me a couple photos on Twitter? @ATXJoshL

Have you ever seen a Kordex safe? It has 2 drawers w/a key lock & felt lining. 1 small door that swings open and a large one at the bottom that swings open

I have one that came in a storage unit i purchased, but i cant find any information on it

Asked by Vega over 5 years ago

Sorry nope, never heard the name Kordex before.