Where Locksmithing Began
For over 4,000 years, there has been craftsman, locksmiths, devoted to the making and defeating of locks. The first locksmiths lived under the rule of Emperor Sargon II.
A lock was found at the site of Sargon’s palace that used a sophisticated tumbler pin system. The tumbler pin system is still used today on a regular basis.
Tumbler pins are located inside of the lock and are different heights. When the pins are pushed up by the grooves in the key to the correct height, the lock can be turned.
In The Odyssey, Homer references a lock key system that was common in Greece. It used a bolt, but for the most part was very crude.
The Romans improved upon the Greek design by using iron for the working parts and encasing the entire lock in iron. The keys were either made of iron or bronze.
Romans wore there keys as decorations or jewelry. Locksmiths became artisans and because of this aspect, very few advancements were made in actual lock security at this time.
1,500 years later a locksmith named Joseph Bramah invented a lock using the pin tumbler philosophy. This lock was leaps and bounds above other locks and started a rapid movement forward in the area of locksmithing.
In 1798, another Locksmith named Robert Barren improved upon the design of Bramah by making the pins uneven. This prevented unscrupulous individuals from using wax to get a mold from the keyhole. The mold could have been used to create replacement keys.
Shortly after Barren’s improvement, locksmith Jeremiah Chubb based on Barren’s design that was thought to be pick proof. After extensive testing by locksmiths and criminals alike, it was deemed the most secure lock the world had ever seen.
In 1851, an American locksmith shattered that belief when he picked it the first time he saw it in under thirty minutes.
Since the time of Chubb, his design has been improved upon hundreds of times and many of the modern day locks used today can be partially credited to him.
Locksmiths continue to make advancements in the science of locksmithing. Today, some of the worlds most secure locks are virtually impossible to pick.
