Locksmith Books

[Doogs]

So I decided I'm going to do some Buk Larnin' and picked three of Bill Phillips books from Amazon.


Seems like a good place to start and should be some heavy reading for a while.

What books helped out the good people of KP and what recommendations do you have (if any).

[10ringo10]

I found the lss book a interesting - read all 5,000 pages - as any one hand on heart read every page - all books are good to gain knowledge buddy

[Doogs]

I found the lss book a interesting - read all 5,000 pages - as any one hand on heart read every page - all books are good to gain knowledge buddy

I'd love to own those but at $400 can. it's not going to happen.

[jacobbiljo]

I bought the master locksmithing book and didn't find it much of a help.
To be a master locksmith you need to learn about a lot of different topics, this book quickly glosses over all those topics without giving enough information to be of any real help. It seems like something someone wrote while keeping very aware of a word and book count, I.E. those 3 books.
There seemed to be at lot of copy-paste from supplier documentation to fill up the pages.

I think your money could be better spent, at least on the first book. My next books will be Medeco Open in 30 Seconds and the High Security Lock Encyclopedia

[Werewolf]

I own the "complete book of locks and locksmithing" and found it quite outdated.

the best book on locks (not so much locksmithing) that I have is High Security Mechanical Locks: An Encyclopedia. When it comes to lockpicking Practical Lock Picking is great read.

[MrAnybody]

the best book on locks (not so much locksmithing) that I have is High Security Mechanical Locks: An Encyclopedia. When it comes to lockpicking Practical Lock Picking is great read.

Indeed. Those are the same 2 I'd recommend. The first being a bloody good reference, and the second as the best possible start for someone who wants to get into picking.

[GWiens2001]

the best book on locks (not so much locksmithing) that I have is High Security Mechanical Locks: An Encyclopedia. When it comes to lockpicking Practical Lock Picking is great read.

Indeed. Those are the same 2 I'd recommend. The first being a bloody good reference, and the second as the best possible start for someone who wants to get into picking.

To those two, I would add Keys to the Kingdom, by Deviant Ollam. It is a very well written book about privilege escallation, rights amplification, and other such topics.

Who can neglect to mention Solomon's book Lockpicking Detail Overkill? He is a member here. It is a short PDF book, but it has to be the best book I have come across for explaining how a pin tumbler lock works, how picking works, and how to do it. The password is evva3ks

If you want to learn more about impressioning, would highly recommend Impressioning, by Oliver Diedierichsen. It is hard to beat. Originally written in German, it recently came out in English. The price has dropped dramatically since I got my copy. But that means it is now more affordable for others.

For combination padlocks, Opening Combination Padlocks, by Carl Black is pretty good.

One of our members wrote and published a book on safe manipulation. Safecracking for Everyone is nicely written and helps you to understand how safe locks work and basic manipulation.

Also for safe lock manipulation, The National Locksmith Guide to Manipulation is written in a format more like a training text.

Of course, no conversation about safe manipluation would be complete without mentioning Mike. You really, really should read Oldfast's posts on safe manipulation. He breaks it down and you learn as he learned. He started writing that thread when he was just starting manipulation. So you will see many of the same questions posted and answered that you will have. A really top-notch thread started by a truly top-notch and respect-worthy man.

There are tons of books out there on locks, locksmithing and safes. Some are outstanding, some are hardly worth the paper they are printed on. You might consider posting questions about specific books you come across and might want to buy here in your thread. Chances are quite good that someone here has read it and can give you a review.

Good luck, and keep us posted as to what you find!

Gordon

[gibson]

Deviant Ollam's two books are terrific. Some books that contain a lot of information are the ones published by the National Locksmith. Most of them are available through Foley-Belsaw. Since they are not lockpicks or bypass tools, I think they are available to anyone. They have books on safe manipulation, picking and impressioning, and safe deposit locks. Their encyclopedia of door locks was very useful to me as a road lockie, as was their book on servicing the Kwikset Titan. From time-to-time HawleyLock also has the old Reed manuals for sale, that are still very informational.

[jeffmoss26]

I have 3 of the Bill Phillips books, honestly have not looked at them in years. The books I reference often are the William Lynk and Don O'Shall SFIC books I purchased last year.

[Doogs]

Great response everyone and definitely informative. I will update the thread as i find more material and I hope everyone else does so also. Now off to Amazon (and places beyond) and see what's available.

Mods: I now see there's a book review forum which I didn't notice earlier This thread might be more suited there.

[huxleypig]

Ringo, you read ALL of LSS??? Wow mate, that's a lot of info to absorb. The craziest thing is that is aint comprehensive, not even close!

[Oldfast]

I found the lss book a interesting - read all 5,000 pages - as any one hand on heart read every page - all books are good to gain knowledge buddy

Holy hell Ringo! I think that's great. My problem is retention.
I really wish my brain was built differently... but it's not. lol

I bought the master locksmithing book and didn't find it much of a help.
To be a master locksmith you need to learn about a lot of different topics, this book quickly glosses over all those topics without giving enough information to be of any real help. It seems like something someone wrote while keeping very aware of a word and book count, I.E. those 3 books.
There seemed to be at lot of copy-paste from supplier documentation to fill up the pages.....

I'd have to agree with ya on that. Not sayin' it's worthless... there's certainly some useful
information speckled throughout the book. But overall, I just didn't feel it was worth my $.

...Of course, no conversation about safe manipluation would be complete without mentioning Mike. You really, really should read Oldfast's posts on safe manipulation. He breaks it down and you learn as he learned. He started writing that thread when he was just starting manipulation. So you will see many of the same questions posted and answered that you will have. A really top-notch thread started by a truly top-notch and respect-worthy man.

Ah thanks man Really though, I hope my efforts there have helped at least
a few people wet their feet. And yeah, the best time to start a thread is... well,
from the start. This way my stupidity need not be repeated, and my few brief
moments of brilliance can live on forever. Haha!

.....Some books that contain a lot of information are the ones published by the National Locksmith. Most of them are available through Foley-Belsaw..... .....Their encyclopedia of door locks was very useful to me as a road lockie.....

Encyclopedia of door locks, eh? That sounds interesting.



Just to add a big "+1" to some of the books previously mentioned:

Solomon's Book ABSOLUTELY. By the time I read this I had been picking for a few years.
Needless to say I STILL learned some new things and wish I had read it a long time ago. Read it!

Opening Combination Locks - Carl Black Yeah, definitely a worthwhile book & fairly inexpensive.

High-Security Mechanical Locks, An Encyclopedic Reference Oooooooh yeah! Mmm Hmmm.
Be forewarned!! With each passing page... so grows the 'wish list'. A very sexy book indeed.

There's a few others that were mentioned that I do own but
have not thoroughly read so cannot comment on them yet.

[Doogs]

OK I'll give my fellow KP members the background of why I'm here. NOOBs listen up!!! The padlock I have as an avi I found in the dirt floor of a garage! I dug it up and thought why did someone have to destroy this lock and what was it protecting? I brought it home and decided to see if I could pick it. Don't ask me why because I really don't know, I guess I connected with this lock somehow. So after some research and web crawling I came across Solomons book. And this is probably the most important book anyone interested in locksport will ever read. Well lo and behold I ended up joining the best site on the interwebz because of this tiny but incredibly significant bit of literature. Thank you Solomon, thank you Kokomo, thank you Bosnian Bill and thank you everyone else who has made my time here a wonder and my wallet a desolate wasteland. The wealth of knowledge that is available here is priceless (Oldfast this lines for you). I can't think of an online family that is so caring. so giving and so compassionate and there's a few who I haven't mentioned that I tip my hat to. What a wonderful place to be .

ETA: I feel bad because I left out some very talented and skilled artisans. The talent here is comparable to those locks we were looking at last night and don't think I don't respect you guys because, WOW! What can I say other than thank you

Yeah I'm liquored and feelin' sappy but what I said goes.

Cheers
Doogs

[gibson]

oldfast - the actual title of the book is 'door lock encyclopedia'. it's only about two hundred pages long, and it covers the disassembly of some of the more popular knobsets out there. it was really helpful in servicing the Sargent locksets that it seems most of the schools in and around NYC used, as well as Corbin. This is one I'd suggest a locksmith starting out to get his or her graphite stained fingers on, and keep handy in the service vehicle.

[10ringo10]

Ringo, you read ALL of LSS??? Wow mate, that's a lot of info to absorb. The craziest thing is that is aint comprehensive, not even close!

Hell no ? not even close - browsed would be closer to the mark hp lol - & could not find a review on the lss book 4 years back either - I agree about it not being a master piece and skips - key points - at least in a locksmith world