NorthWest Locksmith Portland Lock Brands (503) 825-2124

Lower Level Locks

It is a fact that if you have a lock that would not protect your property properly, would be useless. Not only it will compromise the security of your home, but also put the safety if you and your family in danger. Most professional burglars have knowledge about common types of locks that can be found in residential homes. They will often know exactly which home to target based on the type of lock there is on the front door. There are many types of locks that may still be in the market that you should become aware of that may affect the security of your home.

Schlage is one of the leading brands in the business when it comes to residential security locks. However, even leading brands can sometimes "miss" when they fire. Schlage made an extremely intense case when it started to advertise their Secure-Key line as bump proof locks. However, in the field, that was not the case and this lock proved to be anything but bump proof along with being easy to re-key. What it means is when a burglar has been successful bumping the lock, he can easily re-key it as well denying your access and allowing his.

The worst thing about the Secure-Key lock that unlike many types of traditional locks in the market, this model was actually marked so it could be easily recognized. This type of lock can be identified by a plus sign that was engraved just above the key-way. Marking the Secure-Key allowed burglars to easily identify and target such lock. Fortunately, the Secure-Key has been discontinued after Schlage realized it had a lot of serious flaws. However, some of these locks may still be securing homes across the country, so if you own one by any chance, know it will not protect your home against bumping.

Now that you are aware of one line of locks that potentially can risk the security of your home, you know what to watch for when shopping for a lock. Here at NorthWest Locksmith Portland we recommend you do a little research online or at least consult with a professional locksmith before making a decision on any type of lock. Security is vital. Assess your situation carefully. There is no such thing as immaculate security; however that does not mean you ought to compromise on a lower grade lock system.

Cutting Edge Locks

The most recent cutting edge home locks permit you to give access to relatives, administration individuals and visitors, and to track passage without requiring additional keys or agonizing over security. Each of these extraordinary locks approaches the issue of access differently, from utilizing a Smartphone style touch-pad to the one touch "enchantment" opening permitted by a Bluetooth Low Energy lock. Adapting more about the sorts of cutting edge home security locks accessible can offer you some assistance with choosing the new type of lock that is ideal for your home.

Looking for the same the security offered by many business and commercial properties? By requesting a numeric code to permit section, touch screen locks permit just those with authorized code to enter the home. The touch screen interface is combined with an intense deadbolt style lock and offers key access also. On the off chance that you are tired of losing your keys or essentially need a better approach to secure your home, then a touch screen lock will work for you. Touch-screen locks like Schlage's line of products for example not just look innovative and jazzy; they make it simple to secure your home, as well.

Open your home using your Smartphone with a cutting edge lock that interfaces with an application. This sort of device uses cutting edge encryption consolidated with a Bluetooth interface to secure your home. An application controlled lock is especially useful in the event that you travel or have household workers, since you can give a devoted access code to various clients. Give a one-time code that will terminate at a given point or a consistent code for service providers and you won't need to stress over additional keys floating around. Some locking frameworks additionally give the capacity to permit remote access when desired; a doorbell camera permits you to see "who's there" from wherever you are and figure out whether access ought to be allowed or denied on the spot.

Regardless of which type of lock you pick, the most ideal approach to really secure your home and prevent unapproved access is to have the new framework introduced by an expert. An expert locksmith can examine your home, the existing setup and your needs and think of an answer that suits your family security needs.

Schlage Primus

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Restricted Key System

There are many ways a business owner can protect his property by choosing different types of security lock systems. There are the traditional ways of standard commercial grade locks and there are the more advanced technology of key-less entry locks. Most experienced locksmith technicians offer installation and maintenance services for most of these commercial type locks. However, most of the time, choosing a lock for your business can depend on other variables such as the type of business and budget. A good locksmith will find a good solution for every pocket.

I remember few years ago I got a call from a customer who owns a small store in the area. he recently got broken into his store and he was inquiring regrading higher security lock solutions for his store possibly to prevent another break in incident. According to him, he suspected one of his previous employees to be responsible for the break in. Luckily, I just re-stocked my service van with many types of commercial grade locks, so I had a lot of options to offer.

Once I got to the customer's location, I went with him over the options I thought would be most suitable for his situation and the store. Unfortunately he did not have a large budget, so key-less entry locks were out of the question. He also wanted something more than a Mortise lock since that what he had installed. I told him that the issue probably was the cylinder and a restricted key system might solve the issue. However, that was over his budget as well.

I gave a call to a Portland locksmith co worker of mine to see if he had any other ideas for increasing the security of the customer's store without going over budget. He suggested looking at installing a Schlage Primus cylinder or possibly re-key the existing cylinder if it was a Schlage type. Luckily, the customer did have a Schlage lock installed and I had extra Primus keys with me in stock from previous jobs. I was able to re-key the cylinder to match the Schlage Primus type key that way no one could duplicate the key in the future in the local hardware store and the customer can now enjoy having the security of a restricted key system with the price of a standard lock system.

Re-Key Tip

Among the usual services an average locksmith technician does is a re-key services. Normally, these types of services are often in demand by a commercial or residential customers. A customer may call for a re-key if he just moved into a new place, suspect a stranger might have access to his place, or for other reasons. For the average locksmith technician, a re-key shouldn't be a difficult task. It can be time consuming, but it can be completed without any issues. However, since the lock is needed to be taken apart for this type of service, if not careful, parts from the lock can be lost which will put the technician in a jam.

A few years ago I remember getting a call from a customer who just moved into a new place and needed four locks in his home to be re-keyed. It wasn't so busy that day, so I was able to take the job without setting an appointment for later since I knew it would take a while to complete the service. After taking the customer information over the phone, I was on my way.

Once I got to the customer's place, he gave me a tour around the house, so I could take a look at the locks I would be dealing with and I noticed they were just the average standard Schlage doorknob locks. After finishing the tour, I grabbed my tools from the van and started taking apart the lock, so I could re-key them in my van. The way I usually would tackle a re-key job with multiple locks, is by completing each lock one by one.

As I finished the first two locks and moved into the third, I ran into a problem.  When I opened the 3rd lock, one of the springs from the wafers jumped somewhere in my van and I just couldn't find it. That was a problem for me since I didn't have any extra springs I could use instead. Before trying to figure what to do, I decided to complete the 4th lock first before moving on.

After finishing the 4th lock, I decided to call a fellow Portland locksmith friend of mine to see if he was in the area and could help me resolve the situation. Unfortunately, he was not, but he did mentioned something I didn't know. According to him, a new GM door lock should have extra springs in it which are the exact fit with most Schlage model wafer locks. Luckily I did have few of them in stock. Grabbing one to check, I came to find that it was true and the springs were in fact an exact fit. Lucked out, I was able to complete the job as scheduled without any further delays.  

Cylinder and Lock Mix

Being a true professional and problem solver in the locksmith field means thinking "outside the box" most of the time. Not all jobs the professional locksmiths face have the solution written in the books black on white. Sometimes, to find a solution that will save time and money will require to be a little creative. Regardless of the type of job I had to do residential, commercial, or automotive, there were times I had to improvise in order to come up with the best solution and work with what I had available to me.

I recently got called for a big job installing brand new lever handled locks on around 100 units apartment complex in the area. The locks that I was replacing seem to be a mix of older Schlage type locks from A and G series. Since there wasn't any requirement by the management to re-key the new locks, I thought it would be a good idea to use the new cylinders with the new locks. The cylinders were all standard front door high security 5 pin type, so I had to come up with some spacers in order for them to fit with the new locks.

At that point, I figured my only option was to machine these spacers by myself using an aluminum bar I could find laying around in my van. After I bore the bar and started cutting few pieces, I looked at the spacers already made and realized I was making an aluminum faucet washers. Figuring it might be easier to just buy them at the local hardware store than making hundreds of these, I made the short trip to purchase a pack of these which only costed me few dollars. They seem to fit even better then the ones I made, so I was able to complete the job sooner than I expected.

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Schlage Re-Key

During my years as a locksmith technician, I got called many times for a job to re-pin a Schlage type removable cores. Once the cylinder cap is removed on the Schlage removable core cylinders, a Weiser Cylinder Cap Tool with the round notches can be used and should work just fine. However, the hole that is found on the tool, would need to be covered with a finger possibly in order to prevent the retaining pin from flying away in case the tool will get off center. should the tool get a little off center.

When doing a re-key job on these cylinders, it is a good practice to develop a habit to hold the finger over the control pin as the pins are coming out of the plug. Otherwise, it can be a hassle and a waste of time searching for this specialized pin among the scrap brass or the floor of the service vehicle. Quickly, a control key can be made for these cylinders from a standard 6-pin blank by filing the shoulder back to match a 7- pin blank. Next, the customers key can be duplicated, and in the seventh space cut the key to a #6 depth. Now, the cut would need to be ran off the tip of the blank so the tip would be flat.

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Mortise Commercial Lock System

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Residential Locksmith Service in Portland

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Picking Tip for Schlage Lock

A while back I got a call from a fellow locksmith technician to do a residential lockout job. When I arrived to the scene, I saw the door had a Schlage F series key in knob type of lock. I didn't really experienced before working with this lock, but as I did the job I learned something new.

If you need to pick an F series Schlage lock, you don't really have to pick it to the open position, but try picking it to the "locked' position (sometimes it works better to pick it to the "close" side) and then, as you are holding the plug in the locked position, use a hooked poke tool to depress the knob retainer and remove the knob.

You can use a pair of sharp pliers to turn the actuator inside the knob to open the door. If the customers has the keys to the lock within reach, re-install the knob and turn the plug back to the normal position. If the keys are not to be found, leave the plug in the picked position, remove the cylinder from the knob, remove the clip and make a key, or simply re-key the lock, whichever more desirable for the customer. Check out the following link for more useful locksmith tips.