Locks in various forms have been around for several thousand years. In the early 1990s a wooden lock was discovered in Egypt, believed to date back many centuries. Those responsible for the manufacture of locks were called locksmiths. The word ‘smith’ is of Anglo Saxon origin meaning ‘to strike’. Anyone who worked with metals were called smiths, hence locksmith, metal smith and black smith.

In the beginning locks would have been simple mechanisms from basic deadbolt to crude lock and key, also known as a skeleton key. The job would have been a manually hard job. There was no mass production by machinery so each would have to be made by hand, which took time and labour. It was the job of making and also defeating locks. As people learnt how to sabotage them the locksmith would have to invent more intricate systems. This meant that the worker changed from that of a simple artisan to an engineer. It was in the 17^th and 18^th century that the development of the lock systems progressed with devices was being invented on both sides of the Pacific Ocean. In England the Chubb brothers were developing the multi lever lock while in the United States Linus Yale Jr. was working on the pin tumbler lock, expanding on the work started by his father. Both would progress to designing locks used in banks. Chubb would develop the time lock while Yale would design the combination lock. With the industrial revolution came machinery which could produce large numbers in one batch.

As time progressed it was necessary to devise more complicated mechanisms and systems were developed, often for specific reasons. For example master keys were made to operate a set of locks. Alongside this came objects other than buildings which required securing. The invention of the automobile led to the need for an ignition key and the means to protect it from theft. As technology advanced, so did the work of the locksmith. No longer just involved with working with metals the locksmith is now involved with electromechanical systems. The key card lock system is now widely used in businesses and hotels. Using a plastic card the size of credit card information is stored which allows the door to be opened. There are various types of key card from one with holes punched into it to barcode and magnetic strips. The advantage over keys is that should a key card be lost, information can be changed on the computer and block access by the previous key card. It would have been necessary to change the lock before. Some systems are also able to see who has had access to areas. This can be useful should there be security issues though some may see this as being ‘Big Brother’.

The work and skill of the locksmith is wide ranging with lots of opportunities. Some may focus more on the electromechanical while others prefer to work with the metal hardware. Some will work within the commercial side of the industry with others working more face to face with the public. There is the opportunity to be self-employed as opposed to working for a company. One could work on the development of systems or with the repairing and installation of hardware. Although the work of the locksmith has changed since the early days the principles are still the same.