Locksmith Techniques (good or bad?) | #Lockboss Show & Giveaway

Is your day doing good? If not, or even if it is, grab your Topo Chico as we go through the week's posts, comment of the week, and what is good and bad locksmithing techniques.

POSTS OF THE WEEK

Check this one out. Come on, who among you out there has done this before? I have. I mean, it's just part of life. We have one job to put the lock right. That is a good meme out of our Fail Friday.

Next is Julio D. in his Kiss me, I'm a lock boss shirt. How cool is that? Julio, thanks for sending that picture in.

COMMENT OF THE WEEK

Thanks for sharing and for the great question, Phillip. The answer to that can vary quite a bit. At the base level, if you duplicate the key, and it works, then keep it the way it is. There are many different kinds of random techniques for edge style keys to do that. For the most part, I typically would never adjust my machine. Like I would use other techniques because once you adjust it for that key, and then you're done, it will take the time to bring it back. And I think that one of the best things we can have is a key machine that we know is cutting accurately.

If you're talking about electronic ones, they're not going to decode perfectly. When you put the key in the machine, it will read the cuts, and their algorithm will choose what that cut is. A good tip that you can use to help you is when it decodes a key, check if it did turn that into the actual code in the code series. Because if it did, the chances of it working are a lot higher than if it brings it back. And when the little spot that displays what the code is has an unknown code or question marks, most of the time at that spot, you can know if it has been appropriately decoded or not. Sometimes, you may have to pull out some calipers on the worn ones like that. Do some manual measurement, but as far as the electronic machines go, a computer is only as smart as its programming. And a lot of times, the programming is just splitting the cut difference on that, especially on the lower side. So, keep an eye out for that.

GOOD OR BAD LOCKSMITHING TECHNIQUES

Depending on the circumstances or situation, locksmith techniques can be good or bad. And as we dive into it, let us use the when, how, and what framework to think through why anything can be bad and good.

EXAMPLE 1

Sounds basic, right? But what happens if you can't do that? You can't get a long reach tool in properly because it's too cold. What's the next step? It is to decode the lock using the tool Lishi decoder.

And then someone says that he had a guy unlock his car the other day. You asked how he did that and got that he used a Lishi or some tool, decoded, and picked it in the door. One might say, 'Well, that's dumb. You should just be using a long road half the time. And that's kind of where that baby talk stuff comes in because every method can be the proper method to use in the right circumstance.

EXAMPLE 2

Pretty standard stuff. But what will happen if you can't get the Lishi to decode correctly? Maybe because of sticky wafers or when you decode it, you got that the key is not working. Who knows what the problem is? How would be getting a key code, and what would be to get it from NASTF. See how using the decoder in both situations can be both good and bad, depending on the situation. I'm trying to make today to continually be willing to move past some of the baby talks when it comes to methods and techniques and realize that everything can be both good and bad.

I brought that up and go into this great depth because some of you might ask a question, and others might think that that question isn't necessarily great. Sometimes, opinions or perspectives vary, but it's what it comes down to depends on your skill level, the tools you have, and the time cruncher in those tricks, methods, and techniques will vary. And I hope that's encouraging to you a little bit on your journey to becoming the lock boss you want to be. I'm guessing you had a good time; see you next week!