Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1886-03-05
The Locksmith's Art.
From the Chicago News.

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| From the Chicago News. s.,- ~
"Tell you something about lock.
smiths!' exclaimed an old craftsman,
dolefully; "there are none any more,
The trade is dead. Locks are all made
now by machinery, except, perhaps,
sale and prison locks; those are
handmade because they afford great
er security than the other kind. Time
was when the lockmaker was a smith
and bellhanger as well, and the trade
was a good one; but it is all changed
now, and we do nothing except repair
ing, or occasionally duplicating a key
that has been lost.
"The factory-made lock has taken
the place of the hand made article and
driven us out of business. Now per-
maps twenty men are required to
make a lock which formerly was the
work OF one man. These men super
intend machinery by which certain
parts OF the lock are made. One man
handles a punch, and cuts out the
tumblers; another makes the sliders;
the springs are made by another, and
SO on, until all the parts are ready to
be put together. None of these men
could make a lock without assistance
from other workmen, and they have
no knowledge OF the principles of
locks.
"Before the era of machinery all
locks were made by hand. That is
why old lock-smiths understand their
business so we'll: But there are very
few smiths of the old school in the
business now. Most of them have
quit making locks, and are making
sewing machines. The principles on
which sewing machines are made can
be easily understood by any locksmith,
and there is more money to be made
in the new business.
eyes, the modern lock is superior to
the old-fashioned one, and for this
reason harder to pick. The old lock
was made toaccommodate q large key,
SO that no matter how fine the CON
struction inside, an accomplished
craftsman could always get an idea
OF the works. The key-hole being
large, he would insert a
wire, the end OF which being
covered with wax, would receive an
impression of the style of key required
to open the lock. 1t was an easy mat.
ter to make q key after this model in
wax, SO that almost all the old locks
could be picked with but little difficult
ty.
''The patent lock OF to- day, requir~
ing flat key, deties any attempt at
picking the works, because the key
hole is SO small and the slots are too
numerous. For that reason skeleton
keys are useless to thieves nowadays,
and cracksmen rely for success prin-
clpally on their possession Of duplicate
keys:
"'Jail work. as it is known to the
rade, Is the only branch of our bust
ness where machinery is not used
"All the locks for jais and peniten-
tiaries are made OF wrought iron, and
constructed with from two to five
tumblcrs finished off smooth on the
inside and held together by steel screws
and brass clamps. The parts when
thus joined are absolutely alright
and the only opening in the lock is the
key-hole. Such q lock is as durable
as can be made.
1.-The principle of the modern lock is
very old. / have a book here which
gives description Of lock found
among the ruins of the great temple
OF karnac, and which was in use more
than forty centuries ago. The leading
principles of this lock have served as
a foundation for most of the inven-
tions of recent times. The locksmith
of China, we are told, had, centuries
before the birth of Christ, perfected a
lock out OF which a sharp bamboo
thorn would dart and strike the
hand OF any one wrongfully tamper-
ing with it. The end OF this bam-
boo thorn was stepped in a poisonous
decoction, and, should the luckless
thief escape death, he would be mark
ed for life. But this story is hardly
entitled to full belief for the reason
that, as the Chinese themselves claim,
gunpowder was manufactured by them
at the time, a Celestial safe blower
could easily render the patent lock
harmless by the aid of few CRANES
of powder.
1.-THE medieval locks were among
the most deliberately and delicately
contrived specimens OF these articles
ever produced. They were enveloped
i'll steel, covered with beads and floral
designs, and were mostly found on
the doors OF the ancient cathedrals or
in the magnificent cabinets that have
been the marvel Of succeedings ages"