5 ms·

This kind of dynamic exists in a few professions. About a year ago I was locked out of my house and had to call an emergency locksmith - the cost was around $1

by ladon86 14y ago

This kind of dynamic exists in a few professions. About a year ago I was locked out of my house and had to call an emergency locksmith - the cost was around $150. He turned up and inserted a piece of rigid plastic into the gap between door and frame, opening the lock. The process took 5 seconds, and I immediately realized that, given the knowledge that this would work, I could have opened the door myself using a credit card. But I didn't possess that knowledge, and the value of gaining access to my home was worth what I paid. I had paid not for hours worked, but for experience.

Swizec 14y ago
You obviously don't watch enough sitcoms if you didn't know that would work. Ok, granted, I saw this and until I visited the US I didn't believe it would work (it wouldn't in most doors I've seen). But in the US, we tried, it opened every locked door in the house. So yeah, the lesson to be learned from this is next time to at least try some hair brained ideas before calling someone. :)
- PakG1 14y ago
  I have watched enough mechanics open a car door locked with the keys inside. I still can't do it on my own though. Call a professional, the guy gets it done in seconds (plus the time it takes for him to travel to wherever I am). Some things, even if you possess the knowledge, you may not possess the skill.
patio11 14y ago
Locksmiths are sort of a weird case: you can learn to open 95%+ of commercially relevant locks with $100 of tools and less than an hour of training. The biggest reason it costs $150 and not $25 is that your locality makes it illegal to advertise as a locksmith, and illegal to possess locksmithing tools, without certification. There's a nebulous security rationale for this, because apparently normal people can be allowed to own credit cards and compressed air cans but if we allow them to open locks for money as well then they'll burglarize every house in sight.
- illuminate 14y ago
  "The biggest reason it costs $150 and not $25 is that your locality makes it illegal to advertise as a locksmith, and illegal to possess locksmithing tools, without certification." I'd say the number of shady "locksmiths" in the phonebook that only know how to drill and replace locks should alter that assumption somewhat.
- tomjen3 14y ago
  It very much depends on which locality you are in. In plenty of places it is legal to own locksmithing tools. You can find many videos of lockpicking on youtube.
  - illuminate 14y ago
    Right. I do not believe these operators are certified.
- mikeash 14y ago
  If locksmithing tools are outlawed, then only outlaws will have locksmithing tools. From that perspective, the ban makes sense, kind of. If the police catch a burglar with locksmithing tools, then he's automatically a criminal, even if they can't prove he broke into anybody's houses. What if he's not a burglar? Well, law-abiding citizens by definition wouldn't have those tools, unless they have the appropriate certification, which the police can of course check. It serves as a convenient filter to lower the bar to being able to arrest burglars. Of course, there's the question of whether there are legitimate reasons for non-certified people to have these tools, and whether the tradeoff is worth it (I'd certainly lean toward "no" there, since it seems like a big restriction of freedom for a minor gain), but on its face the prohibition is not completely absurd.
tocomment 14y ago
I was charged $750 last time I used a locksmith :-( They did change the lock though ...
tripzilch 14y ago
... and for the knowledge that you should probably replace your front door lock if it can be opened with a credit card in 5 seconds ... I would. But fortunately my lock's a bit more secure than that :)

by ladon86 14y ago

Swizec 14y ago

You obviously don't watch enough sitcoms if you didn't know that would work. Ok, granted, I saw this and until I visited the US I didn't believe it would work (it wouldn't in most doors I've seen). But in the US, we tried, it opened every locked door in the house. So yeah, the lesson to be learned from this is next time to at least try some hair brained ideas before calling someone. :)

PakG1 14y ago
I have watched enough mechanics open a car door locked with the keys inside. I still can't do it on my own though. Call a professional, the guy gets it done in seconds (plus the time it takes for him to travel to wherever I am). Some things, even if you possess the knowledge, you may not possess the skill.

patio11 14y ago

Locksmiths are sort of a weird case: you can learn to open 95%+ of commercially relevant locks with $100 of tools and less than an hour of training. The biggest reason it costs $150 and not $25 is that your locality makes it illegal to advertise as a locksmith, and illegal to possess locksmithing tools, without certification. There's a nebulous security rationale for this, because apparently normal people can be allowed to own credit cards and compressed air cans but if we allow them to open locks for money as well then they'll burglarize every house in sight.

illuminate 14y ago
"The biggest reason it costs $150 and not $25 is that your locality makes it illegal to advertise as a locksmith, and illegal to possess locksmithing tools, without certification." I'd say the number of shady "locksmiths" in the phonebook that only know how to drill and replace locks should alter that assumption somewhat.
tomjen3 14y ago
It very much depends on which locality you are in. In plenty of places it is legal to own locksmithing tools. You can find many videos of lockpicking on youtube.
- illuminate 14y ago
  Right. I do not believe these operators are certified.
mikeash 14y ago
If locksmithing tools are outlawed, then only outlaws will have locksmithing tools. From that perspective, the ban makes sense, kind of. If the police catch a burglar with locksmithing tools, then he's automatically a criminal, even if they can't prove he broke into anybody's houses. What if he's not a burglar? Well, law-abiding citizens by definition wouldn't have those tools, unless they have the appropriate certification, which the police can of course check. It serves as a convenient filter to lower the bar to being able to arrest burglars. Of course, there's the question of whether there are legitimate reasons for non-certified people to have these tools, and whether the tradeoff is worth it (I'd certainly lean toward "no" there, since it seems like a big restriction of freedom for a minor gain), but on its face the prohibition is not completely absurd.

tocomment 14y ago

I was charged $750 last time I used a locksmith :-( They did change the lock though ...

tripzilch 14y ago

... and for the knowledge that you should probably replace your front door lock if it can be opened with a credit card in 5 seconds ... I would. But fortunately my lock's a bit more secure than that :)