Antique locks are highly reliable and are considered to be effective throughout time; today most manufactures’ take into consideration that a locks (or any security gadget, for that end) will remain strong and solid for 5, maybe 7 years until its replaced anyway, old locks were manufactured with a different ideology; they are built to stand the test of time and so they mostly do. However, they require a yearly maintenance routine to make sure one loose part won’t damage the whole lock function etc. to learn more about antique locks DIY maintenance click here.