Locksmithing is the science and art of making and defeating locks. Locksmithing is a traditional profession and in many countries requires completing an apprenticeship. The definition of the modern era states that a lock is a mechanical device or an innovation used to hold any physical entity. This lock is activated and released with the use of an object called a key.
Nowadays, we have many different types of locks and keys that are accessed through combinations of codes, fingerprints, access cards and others. But there's a long story behind how locks and keys came to be in the first place. Most people in the 21st century are unaware of the long history of locks and keys that they take for granted today. Premodern history has a lot to say and convey to people in the modern era about the origins of locks and keys.
In medieval times, locks and keys became even better. In the Middle Ages, the manufacture of locks was already an established profession. Some of the improvements introduced to locks in the Middle Ages included the addition of increasingly complex pavilions to the locking mechanism and the incorporation of swivel glasses within the locking mechanism. The modern era came with inclusions and exclusions of perfect locks and greater strength, durability and also attractive design features.
The start of the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century led to precision engineering and the standardization of components. The locks and keys of the modern era were manufactured with a much greater degree of sophistication and complexity. There are several different types of locks and they all work in a slightly different way. Room locks are among the oldest and simplest.
From the outside, they look a lot like any other lock. Inside, they have curved pieces of metal that protrude inside (called fences) that align exactly with the holes in a particular key. Other keys can be inserted into the lock, but the gates will prevent them from turning. Since they are relatively rudimentary and fairly easy to open, room locks are no longer in common use, except for very low security applications.
Locksmiths can be commercial (working in a store window), mobile (working from a vehicle), institutional or research (forensic locksmiths). Although the installation and replacement of keys is still an important part of locksmithing, modern locksmiths are primarily engaged in the installation of high-quality lock sets and the design, implementation and management of key and key control systems. Protected locks marked an important point in this history of locksmithing, as their production required specialized mechanical and metallurgical skills. Combined rotary locks, such as those used in today's safes, were developed by two important figures in the history of locksmithing.
The challenge lasted for more than 67 years until, at the Great Exhibition of 1851, the American locksmith Alfred Charles Hobbs was able to open the lock and, after some discussions about the circumstances in which he had opened it, he received the prize. Many locksmiths also work on any existing door hardware, such as door closers, hinges, electric locks and frame repairs, or repair electronic locks by manufacturing keys for vehicles equipped with transponders and implementing access control systems.
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