At one time, the job of a locksmith was viewed as a science and art the involved making and defeating locks.
A lock is used to describe any mechanism for securing a building, room, cabinet, object or storage facility.
While a key is typically used to open a lock, modern locks can now be opened by a combination of system including a key, key card or biometric scan of a body part such as the eye or finger.
The locksmith developed one of the earliest known forms of security engineering.
The first method designed for bypassing security systems was lock picking.
The oldest known lock was made in Egypt about 4,000 years ago.
The lock was found in the ruins of the Emperor Sargon II at his palace in Khorsabad.
This lock used the same pin tumbler principle in most modern locks.
At one time locksmiths were responsible for making the entire lock.
They spent hours to day's hand cutting the screws and doing the file works themselves.
Today, most locks are mass-produced in factories and there are only a few expert locksmiths who still continue to do sophisticated repair and renovation work.
Locksmith work now focuses more on helping people who are locked out of their car or home.
As modern technology progresses more locksmiths are becoming trained in working with electronic locks.
This is especially true with the transponder-equipped vehicle keys.
While the jobs of a locksmith continue to change with technology, the skill and experience of the profession remains the same it did when the field first started.