PJ Slauson

A key machine cutter doesn't last forever. Every key cut takes a little off the cutting edge, and the change is easy to miss until a customer comes back with a key that doesn't turn as smoothly as the original....

Every locksmith who picks locks eventually runs into the same frustrating moment: the lock is picked open, but the plug won't turn. It's stuck, rotated the wrong way, and re-picking it from scratch feels like starting over. This is exactly...

A car lockout looks simple from the outside: someone is locked out, and the locksmith opens the door. In practice, a professional automotive lockout is a sequence of decisions. Each one affects speed, safety and whether the vehicle is left...

When a locksmith needs to make a key without having the original, getting the cuts right matters; guessing can waste a key blank and still leave you with a key that doesn't work. This is where space and depth keys...

Rekeying interchangeable core cylinders is a common job for any commercial locksmith and the tools used to do it directly affect how fast and how consistently that work gets done. Ejecting old pins, selecting new ones, and capping the core...

Every working locksmith knows these two common service calls: the customer who’s locked out with no key and the customer whose key just snapped off in the cylinder. Different problems, same urgency, and both demand the right tool the first...

If you're specifying, stocking, or installing commercial door closers, the Ryobi D-4550 Series by Detex is one of the most versatile heavy-duty closers on the market. It's built to handle high-traffic commercial doors, meets ANSI/BHMA Grade 1 requirements, and —...

Kwikset's SmartKey Security technology is one of the most common lock systems locksmiths encounter on residential and light commercial service calls. Unlike traditional pin-tumbler rekeying, which requires disassembling the cylinder and physically swapping pins, SmartKey locks use a patented sidebar...

Tubular locks are a routine part of a locksmith's workload. Vending machines, bike locks, elevator panels, alarm boxes, file cabinets, and coin-op equipment all rely on this compact, circular pin design. When a client is locked out, or a business...