How To Become a Locksmith

Dec 15

So you want to become a locksmith? It’s more than just a job and the tools. To be a locksmith takes a particular personality. There will be times when you’re in dangerous situations, and you’ll need to be aware of your surroundings. Sometimes it’s knowing when to back away from a lock. Being a locksmith in 2022 can be challenging, but can also be rewarding.

What does a locksmith do? There are a few main services a locksmith provides. There are other more niche things, but largely being a locksmith consists of:

Lock Outs
Rekeys
Repairs and Installations
Vehicle Keys or Remotes
Safes or Vaults

For most day to day locksmithing, these will be the main tasks you’ll be doing.

Lock Outs

This is my favourite part of locksmithing. In many places a normal person isn’t allowed to carry lockpicks. As a locksmith you get to join the special club of people who get to carry lock picks almost anywhere. It is also extremely satisfying when a lock turns over, and the client is relieved to be back into their property. Lock picking is a journey really. As you dive into picking locks, you’ll want to keep challenging yourself, picking harder and harder locks.

Rekeys

While not as thrilling as lock picking, rekeying locks is the backbone of a locksmith business. People move and lose their keys everyday. To be a locksmith you’ll have to be happy taking a lock a part and putting it back together lots. It’s not always going to be a fancy high security lock either. It’s going to be a lot of low end residential keyways from big box stores. If it’s a small job I like to take my pinning kit in, you’ll have a fascinated client peering over your shoulder. Most people never get to see inside their lock, they' get curious, so be ready for an audience.

Repairs and Installations

This is one of the times where you might want to pull your hair out. This can also be the time to know when to run. The only way to truly get comfortable here is by experience. The better you understand the available products, the easier this becomes. This is also a breaking point for whether you’re the right type of person to be a locksmith. Rekeys and lock outs are great, but you have to be able to operate power tools. This is a core service, and can’t be left out of your repertoire. At the very least you have to be able to operate a drill. Ideally an angle grinder and die grinder should be in your hat of tricks too.

Vehicle Keys and Remotes

Now this is an aspect you could possibly get by without doing. Vehicle keys and remotes are becoming increasingly difficult to get into, and that’s largely on the dealerships. It’s not that difficult to do, but you’ll need to be comfortable using computers. The days of just cutting a key are gone. Transponders and OBD programming are essential to providing this service.

Safes or Vaults

Safes and/or Vaults are the beginning of niche work. Truth is, at a local level most safes you’ll run into are going to be Costco specials or S&G floor safes. A big reason you may not see this much, if at all, is your pricing isn’t going to make sense. The cost of the tools, and the price you’ll need to charge isn’t really worth it for the client. You or the business you work for may have a contract to do several floor safes for multiple locations of a business. Gun safes are a common occurrence too. Vaults though? You probably won’t ever see one as a general locksmith. Vaults are getting into the hyper specialized services. Most banks work directly with the vault manufacturer or have a contract with a maintenance company. Does this mean you’ll never work on one? No, but don’t get into locksmithing expecting to do vaults everyday right out of the gate. This is something you work up to.

Are you a locksmith?

We’ve talked about the work itself. What we’ve yet to reach is why your personality matters. Locksmiths are dealing with sensitive security matters. When it comes to lock outs you’re walking a fine line between service and felony. You would think no one would be stupid enough to call a locksmith to illegally break into somewhere, but they do. Before becoming a locksmith you need to understand you’re going to end up in dangerous situations. It’s rare, but it happens a couple times a year. You’ll also run into bad break ups and divorces. You’ll need to navigate through a client who may be traumatized, and that takes the ability to keep yourself calm and collected.

Still want to be a locksmith?

Start by visiting a local locksmith shop. In most places it’s an apprenticeship program. You’ll need to spend so many hours on the job gaining the experience, generally speaking two years at full-time. Then you’ll need to write an exam. Some areas also require a security worker’s license. Which means passing a background check. Some places require none of this, in that case brush up on your YouTube, buy the tools, get your vehicle and business license and go to town. Though you may still want to work for another locksmith for a bit before you dive that deep.