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Have there ever been famous locksmiths in history? Of course there are. Most of them aren’t that popular because we tend to take locks and locksmithing for granted. A few names will ring a bell, though we tend to take their names for granted this time.
Robert Barron – patented the first double-acting tumbler lock in 1778. His patent gave a reasonable boost to lock and key security.
Joseph Bramah – patented the first safety lock in 1784. For 67 years it remained “unpickable” and was considered the epitome of lock security. A.C. Hobbs finally picked it in 50 hours.
Jeremiah ; patented the detector lock in 1818. This type of lock could only be opened using its own key. The US government offered him a reward.
James Sargent – invented the first successful key-changeable combination lock in 1857. This type of lock became popular with safe manufacturers and the United States Treasury Department. In 1873, his next patent for the time lock mechanism became a prototype for contemporary bank vaults.
Samuel Segal – in 1916 he invented the first jimmy-proof locks.
Harry Soref – founder of the Master Lock and patented an improved form of padlock in 1924 with a patent lock casing constructed out of laminated steel.
Linus Yale, Sr. – invented the pin tumbler lock in 1848.
Linus Yale, Jr. – improved his father’s invention in 1861. Yale used a smaller, flat key with serrated edges. This became the basis for modern pin-tumbler locks. Yale also developed the modern combination lock in 1862.
A.; the person who finally picked the unpickable lock in 1851. The same person who gave closure for locksmiths on the “Issue of Full Disclosure” as to whether certain weaknesses of locks should be made public or not. According to Hobbs in a book, Locks and Safes: The (Virtue & Co.), full disclosure of such issue should be made public because thieves and burglars are fully aware of these weaknesses long before locksmiths knew about them.
The locksmiths in Chapel Hill, NC from Mobile24-locksmiths may not be as famous as those mentioned above, but, they show the same, if not more, professionalism and innovation in their noble locksmithing occupation.