Leading Russian Lock Manufacturer - Mettem Lock Produces Virtually Impregnable Locking Solutions

Mettem-Production LLC are well known as one of the leading lock and security product manufacturers in Russia and the Eastern hemisphere.

Established in 1992, they quickly became an established name in the greater Russian region, for their super-high quality range of unique door locks and electro-mechanical security solutions.



I realize that in many parts of the western hemisphere, some people harbor negative thoughts about Russia and Russian products, with some political regimes choosing to enforce trade sanctions to attempt to harm them financially. We choose to not enter into the political debate herein and prefer that this site continues it's core objective of informing you about products and services we recommend, offer, discuss and like.

Mettem produce leading products in the mortise and rim lock range, electro-mechanical, mechanical, cylinder operated, mortise key operated, combined cylinder and electronic operated, code operated even specific locks tailored for fire-proof doors.

Mettem locks are made using high-quality alloy steel construction that complies with and often exceeds the strict Russian Governmental standards regime. (which arguably exceeds the Underwiters Laboratory regime in America).
Mettem reapply for the Government certification every 2 years to maintain their supremacy in the market. Their products are factory warrantied for two years from date of sale.

• 1 HEAT-TREATED ROD
• 2 PROTECTION FROM DRILLING
• 3 FALSE SLOTS
• 4 SPECIAL LATCH
• 5 ACTUATOR FOR VERTICAL RODS

• 6 REPLACEABLE FRONT PLANK
• 7 SPECIALLY WEAKENED COG
• 8 ARMOUR PLATE
• 9 CORROSION-RESISTANT COATING
• 10 PROTECTIVE BUSHINGS

Mettem locks use a variety of protection methods to augment the quality of their offerings. Some of which we have listed below in their mortise lock product.

You may notice a resemblance to the well known Hooply range of products that we have written about often.



The wide range of products in their offerings indicate their desire and ability to provide second to none options in their local market. You can see the great range of available models in the source below.

We will show a few of their products below, to give you an idea of their fabulous and varying range.

Pictured here is the Mettem Leader product.
You can see that this is an 8 or 10 lever high-security mortise (skeleton type key) product.

Stainless steel bolts with long throws sit inside an all-steel housing that is very very strong, almost to the point of bullet resistant.

One of the bolts is made from extra-hardened steel to prevent saw cut attack.

The Mettem 318 is a combination 3-point locking solution that offers conventional Euro pin tumbler cylinder control, meaning you can use your high-security restricted and patent controlled keyway cylinders, that you use in your commercial master key systems.

The tabs top and bottom (of the casing) connect to rods inside your door frame to enable top and bottom reinforcement.

The Mettem Rim Lock range also varies in models. This particular unit is a rim lock with top and bottom rod connections for 3 point protection and extra security.

This model shows the inside keyhole, which would not comply with many jurisdictions in the western hemisphere where you are required to have a turnbutton for emergency panic escape.
This is also a 10 lever high-security virtually pick proof mortise (skeleton type key) cylinder.

The Mettem ZV EM 01.01 is a unique product that is hardwired (with battery backup). It is a mortise lock with no visible keyhole on the outside, making this unique solution virtually impossible to defeat with conventional lock breaking tools. It operates using remote controls.

The Mettem ZKP is a surface mounted RIM latch that is easily installed and uses a mechanical combination keypad.
1000 possible codes that can be changed easily on the fly.

Users can recerse the latch easily for outward or inward opening desire in the field.

The GSM control unit is a fabulous piece of technology that allows you to operate your lock or locks via a cellphone or PC (landline too).

Completely controllable via sms or pc, a manager can modify, set up new users, remove or block users easily on the fly.

This product operating with one of the high security invisible mortise locks will create extreme security for communal entry doors in apartment complexes and corporate environments where multiple different people require access across different times and locations. they can also be programmed to allow the remote control credentials to operate separate locking units in the same environment, meaning you only need one remote for multiple different locks.


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Amazon Alexa Shown To Be Spying On You - Rendering Your Smart Locks or Connected Security Products Vulnerable To Exploitation

Amazon are reeling recently, from reports (like the Engadget article in the source below) indicating that the AI (artificial intelligence) built into this modern day search porthole, is actually listening in to all your private conversations in your home or office.

The article in Engadget goes on about a couple in Oregon whom have been directly affected by this "storm in a tea cup".



Apparently the AI used by Alexa listens continually for it's activation keyword, in all conversations within earshot of the devices microphone.
The couple in question were luckily alerted by the husbands employee, who called him and shared the recording of the conversation sent to the employee by the Amazon Alexa AI.

The couple immediately reported the issue to Amazon and through their investigations and testing of the devices logs (stored in the cloud), determined that the events as dictated in detail, indeed occurred.

Amazon released a statement saying,

"Echo woke up due to a word in background conversation sounding like "Alexa." Then, the subsequent conversation was heard as a "send message" request. At which point, Alexa said out loud "To whom?" At which point, the background conversation was interpreted as a name in the customers contact list. Alexa then asked out loud, "[contact name], right?" Alexa then interpreted background conversation as "right". As unlikely as this string of events is, we are evaluating options to make this case even less likely."


More troubling however is a report that surfaced recently about hackers from Zheijiang University in China, who discovered a flaw in  voice control products including Siri, Google Assistant, Samsung S Voice and Alexa, naming the attack "The Dolphin Attack" 

The Dolphin Attack has shown that the flaw can allow for malicious action including operating the Smart Lock on your front door or opening web pages to malware sites.

The Dolphin Attack was shown to be effective in exploiting the vulnerabilities in items like smartphones, iPads, Macbooks, Amazon Echo even an Audi Q3 - all up, about 16 devices and 7 systems in total.
The researchers even claimed they were able to alter the GPS navigation on the Audi Q3.

The Dolphin Attack works by sending commands in ultrasonic frequencies that are too high for humans to hear.

Interesting too, I have personally witnessed the effects of activation of the Google Assistant function on my Android Smartphone, when it was plugged into my vehicle hands-free cradle as I was driving while operating the Google Maps function. A segment I was listening to on NPR (National Public Radio) was playing on my vehicle radio and when the reporter mentioned the activation command "Okay Google" or "Hey Google", my phone (which was running the Google Maps app), picked up the command and recognized the sound as another command (by me) and began executing that command.

These revelations are especially troubling today because many consumers are opting for the convenience of IoT (Internet of Things) connected devices, to augment their lives. The security flaws accompanying many of these modern devices could potentially make our homes, our vehicles, our workplaces significantly less secure than bygone times.

Working with your local locksmith to install mechanical or hardwired security products, that are not connected to vulnerable "smart" devices, may be the simple and yet still affordable/competitively priced solution to protecting your family, your workplace even your vehicles.

Most locksmiths around the world, will offer no obligation security appraisals and advice to keep you secure. they are just a phone call or email away. Your family, your colleagues and even your vehicles will likely appreciate your desire to keep them secure and protected.

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Installation Of Upgraded Gate Locks From Standard To High Security Using D&D Technologies Lokk Latch Deluxe And Bilock Extreme Security Bump Proof And Virtually Pick Proof, Copy Proof Keys

 Recently we were called to upgrade a clients gate locks to double cylinder high-security and expand the already secure Bilock Extreme Security Key System. The system is a few years old, but it has been very effective in preventing her nosy neighbors and other vagabonds from getting in to her house.

But these would-be opportunists continued to play games and were accessing her perimeter gates by simply picking the simple wafer/disc tumbler key cylinder found on the cheaper version of D&D Technologies gate lock.

Following is a description of the process involved in dismantling the locks, installing the Bilock cylinders into them and then installing the new locks to the requested gates.

This is what we saw on first time arrival onsite. The original lock installed to the gate and post shows the existing wafer/disc tumbler keyhole.

Original D&D Gate Lock On Front Gate

Deadly Attack Feared As Hackers Target Industrial Sites

Following up to our post of a few days ago, the left leaning news site, The Hill, have written a new article determining that foreign cyber hackers appear to be targeting industrial sites, with deadly consequences feared.

The article in the source below, tries to predict where these criminals are aiming their espionage.



The wonders of the modern Internet of Things (IoT) age that we currently are living in, is not immune to the efforts of the nefarious among us, who try repeatedly to develop methods and means for disrupting our lives and causing havoc to our sense of security and well-being.

I'm a 35 year veteran of the locksmith industry, with experience gleaned from having worked on 4 continents.

During the many years of exposure to security needs and wants of various customers around the world, I have found that many just desire to use quality products that operate easily, are competitively priced and above all, long lasting with little to no maintenance.

Electronic security products have been evolving over many years. Originally, finding battery powered security products was difficult, because good security requires stable power systems and batteries that continually need replacing, inhibit a product from performing to a sufficient standard continuously and without maintenance.

There are a great many AA and AAA battery powered door locks, cameras, door bells, alarm systems etc, that offer wide choices and features to whet our appetites. Unfortunately, to be able to offer the convenience of battery power, many of these products require to reduce the security elements inside, including the security of communication connections that "talk" to our home routers, Bluetooth devices etc. The article on Thursday and this follow up, point to this too.

When you consider that for many hundreds (if not thousands) of years, we have been securing our homes and businesses with mechanical products, that stood the test of time, doesnt it make complete sense that we should continue to use the mechanical security products to protect us?
Especially considering that mechanical products are often single purchase, come with significantly longer warranty periods, require significantly less maintenance and are (for the most part) significantly more competitively priced than electronic products of the same genre.

I understand some consumers desires to enjoy "Keyless Convenience". But in reality, a code can be shared more easily than a key and often you cant know how many different people "know" your entry code.

Whereas with a number of mechanical key products, you can be all but completely assured your entries are virtually bump proof, copy proof and extremely pick/bypass resistant. Providing you the security your home, family, office and colleagues deserve, while being super competitively priced compared to electronic and battery operated products. The maintenance costs alone are significantly less.

And with the increasing number of cyber warfare attacks, being reported across news sources (and how many are going unreported?), just how can we protect ourselves, if not for quality mechanical security products?

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Deadly Inconvenience - Modern Day Vehicle Key Fobs Are Being Found Complicit In Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Deaths

Pictured here is a typical example of a modern day key fob for a vehicle. This particular fob is for a Ford brand of vehicle.

An article in the New York Times (see the source below) talks about the commonplace issue of modern day vehicles, that use key fobs as opposed to the old ignition keys, we all previously had to use, where the ignition systems on vehicles are inadvertently left running, even after a homeowner has parked their vehicle inside their garage.

Today there are about 17 million vehicles on the road in America, about half of which use some version of a key fob to operate the vehicle ignition system. This system was designed (in part) to increase the security of vehicles and provide convenient and simple to use access control.

But perhaps the inventors of this technology did not account for the issues that have surfaced. Specifically, that many ignition systems are being left on by accident. Because many of these key fobs, only require to be within a certain proximity of the vehicle to operate, a number of people are failing to adequately switch off their ignitions, resulting in carbon-monoxide poisonings. Vehicles are often left inside a closed garage and with the great number of quiet engines today, people may not be hearing their engines running.

According to the New York Times article titled, "Deadly Convenience: Keyless Cars And Their Carbon Monoxide Toll", 'more than two dozen people have been killed by carbon monoxide since 2006 and dozens of others have been injured, some with brain damage, after keyless ignition vehiles were inadvertently left running inside garages'.

According to the article, Toyota vehicles including Lexus have featured in about half of the carbon monoxide fatalities and injuries. Many modern day Toyota vehicles run a lot quieter today than in previous years and this is proving to be a concern for many elder people who may drive those brands of vehicles.

The article goes on to discuss lawmakers approaches to countering the problem and discussions by safety boards, but no legislation has been enacted to force vehicle manufacturers to comply, at this time.

Some manufacturers have added safety features like timed cutoff's and warning buzzers in later model vehicles, but many of the older vehicles are subject to this flaw that could be a matter of life and death.

The article (in the source below) makes some interesting reading.

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D&D Technologies Continues To Lead The World Of Gate, Fence Locks And Hinges

We have been extolling the virtues of this world leading company for many years now and as the new summer swimming season beckons in the northern hemisphere, we continue to sing the praises of the leading life safety products that D&D Technologies produce.

This fine example of Australian Ingenuity, continues to impress the entire world with it's superbly constructed and high quality range of locks, hinges and alarms.

D&D incorporated high security key cylinders into many of their range of products to satisfy the growing commercial market and the desire to include these fabulous locking products in high-security restricted key systems like (but not limited to) our fabulous Bilock Extreme Security Keying Systems. 

Bilock are another Australian designed high-security products manufacturer that have been around since the 1970's. We have been working with Bilock products for almost our entire career in the locksmith trade (now approaching 35 years). We continue to be one of the largest Bilock dealers in the Midwest of the USA, still representing the product since we first kicked off operations here in 2006.

We have been called periodically by customers across our geographical region to offer services and key duplication or origination for some of the D&D Technologies products, specifically their Magnalatch product and a number of their Lokklatch products. Our ability to include these gate locks in our Bilock systems only increases the security of the applications.

D&D Technologies products are recommended by many AHJ's (Authorities Having Jurisdiction), life safety officers, local government building inspectors around this country and the whole world. They are not just beautiful in their design, but simply installed and very easily operated.

We have been selling their products for many years in Australia and now here in the USA.

See our range of articles about D&D Technologies products

Bulldog GD400 Heavy Duty Garage Door Lock And Installation

 Earlier this week we completed an unusual request for a customer. The customer needed to secure his garage door with much better security than the flimsy standard garage door lock and assembly to protect substantial value in tools and inventory.

There are many options available to suggest for this type of application and I remember that the Bulldog GD400 is definitely one of the better products out there.

The unique strength of The Bulldog GD400 is it's best quality. Made from treated 3/8" (10mm) thick steel plate and using another 3/8" (10mm) thick steel plate for internal anchoring and held to the door with stainless steel hardened carriage bolts and pressure nuts, the product not only looks great but is very, very strong.

The strike plate is a 4" (100mm) long hardened steel tube that is anchored into cement.

Following see our install procedure...

The first step is to mark the holes in the door and drill pilot holes through the outer skin and into the aluminum rail that makes the internal frame of the door.

Drill a couple of holes to hold the plate to the door. We only drilled two of the four holes just to line up and level the product and prepare for the next installation steps.

Once we attached the plate to the door, at the right height, we rested the plate on the strike tube and penciled around the bottom plate.

Now that we have marked the spot for the strike tube location it is time for the hard part. Drilling a 5" (125mm) deep hole in the cement garage floor base. This is quite an older home in an older part of our region and the original builders laid a 6" (150mm) thick concrete floor with heavy gravel embedded within their mix.

Drilling the hole took 2 hours alone using a heavy masonry drill bit and hammer drill as shown below and we used a cold chisel to help with the finer hole adjustments. 

Working slowly and constantly measuring and remeasuring to maintain accuracy, and you eventually end up with the correct sized hole, to the necessary depth.

You can see how deep we were required to drill to fit the strike tube into the concrete floor

You can see the mixture of gravel in the cement in this next image.

We poured a little sand and stone mix into the hole to get the strike tube to sit at the appropriate height and then filled our hole with new cement mortar, anchoring the strike into the concrete.

We deliberately made the cement into a little hill, so that when it dried it would lessen the chance of a tripping hazard.

The end result of the fitting looks good. All that's left is the mandatory 48 hour drying time. It is a good idea to keep the application wet while it is drying, to assist with curing. 

 2 days later we returned to square up the fitting, drill the extra holes and secure the inside mounting bracket.

 The end result is a nice and square (plum) fitting that is super strong.

The completed installation shows the stainless steel hardened 7 pin tubular (Ace) cylinder locking body, that secures using stainless steel ball bearings inside the strike tube. In the first image at the top of the article, you can see a rubber cap that fits over the cylinder. This protects from rain, dirt and grease entering the cylinder and it is recommended to use it for increased product longevity.

Visit the manufacturers website in the source below to purchase.

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New Articles Across The Web Point To Increasing Media interest In Amazon Key Service

We have written a few articles in recent months about the recent Amazon takeover of Ring and their intention to meld it into their Amazon Key Network of Smart Home products.

The Ring product has seen stellar sales in recent years, after failing to score a deal on the very popular television show, Shark Tank.

I find it especially interesting that this recent acquisition by Amazon arrives on the heels of a patent infringement lawsuit by Skybell, who maintain that they are the original patent holders of the technology (see our article).

According to an article on Cnet (see article), the Amazon acquisition of Ring was finalized in February. The article reports that Limp ( a Seattle based company) and Siminoff (from Ring's California head office), took the opportunity to discuss some more details about the acquisition after the deal closed. The article alleges (unconfirmed) that Amazon paid about $1 Billion to acquire Ring.

Another article appearing in The Guardian (UK), also confirms the deal details and also indicates (like Cnet) that Amazon will continue to let Ring trade in it's own right (like Bezos does with the Washington Post), but that as a result of the Amazon takeover, Ring drops its price for it's award winning product to US$100 from US$150 and £89 from £159.

It is no secret that we are not impressed with this offering. With the amount of customer data issues, across the news today and Amazon being one of the largest acquirer of customer buying/purchasing data, combined with the attempts to infiltrate the residential and commercial physical  and electronic security markets with sub-par quality products, we feel that allowing companies like these to enjoy unfettered access to your private dwellings, even outside of regular business hours is opening you and your family up to increased security issues.

I would expect insurance companies to jump on these changes and no doubt increase insurance premiums because you allow more access to your properties than normal.

As a concerned security products installer and locksmith services provider, I feel it is my responsibility to inform you of the shortcomings and security issues surrounding the use of services like Amazon Key might bring.

Far be it from me to tell you what to do and whom you choose to give access to your doors, but I will continue to refuse to open myself and my family up to the possibility of unauthorized and uncontrollable entry to our home and properties.

What will you do?

Man Arrested In 8 Home Break Ins In Maryland Height, Creve Coeur Area; Residents Were Home At The Time

Pictured above is a Google Maps cropped image of the Maryland Heights and Creve Coeur, Missouri area.

According to a recent article in the St Louis Post Dispatch, a man was arrested in connection with 8+ alleged break ins in the Creve Coeur and Maryland Heights areas, where the opportunist broke into residents homes while the residents were at home.

Apparently this opportunist simply walked in through unlocked doors.

The article goes on to name the alleged offender and more details on bail etc. (see the source below)

Crimes of opportunity occur when confident yet brazen opportunists will take advantage of unsuspecting residents who may be home asleep at the times of their crimes.

As a professional locksmith and security products installer, I have been installing and repairing doors and security products across 4 continents for about 35 years now and have seen many and varied aftermaths of crimes involving break in. Many homeowners and residents incorrectly assume they are still protected even when they are home, often by their alarm systems. Unfortunately, in many cases the alarm systems are not turned on if you're home. Vigilant and concerned residents will lock their doors at night and sometimes set alarms to protect their families and their properties.

There are many and varying products available today to enhance and increase the security of our homes and businesses. Many people already have deadbolt locks installed on their doors, but these are useless if the locks are left unlocked. Thankfully, many modern day electronic and battery operated deadbolt locks include a self locking feature which is usually a motor driven bolt mechanism that automatically throws the deadbolt 10-15 seconds after the door is closed. And while this can be a great feature to have, many residents find that their doors are often not aligned correctly to allow the deadbolt to throw fully or suitably.

Other security features can include handle sets that are set to be locked externally all the time (an option that can be manually switched on and off as desired, depending on the brand of lock set).

In bygone years, before the modern day knob and deadbolt became resurgent, many residents used a surface mounted rim nightlatch as their primary lock on entry doors. The nightlatch simply locked every time the door was shut (unless snibbed open)...

Yale were the original creator of the famed modern day nightlatch.








In later years many manufacturers improved the simple night latch design by creating Rim Deadlatches similar to the Yale No.1 (pictured here)

Other brand like the Lockwood 001 deadlatch (Australia) became synonymous with almost all front doors in Australia and New Zealand.

Today, double cylinder (keyhole both sides of door) locks are frowned upon by AHJ's (authorities having jurisdiction), building inspectors, code compliance officers, fire marshals and insurance companies because of the chance to be physically locked inside and unable to escape easily should an emergency occur.

Whereas some police officers and supposed security appraisers will suggest that double cylinder (keyed inside and out) locks increase your security, the reality is that life safety trumps security in all cases.

The improvement in the deadlatches that made them much stronger and better security was because of the deadlatch activator that effectively prevented the main latch from being able to be slipped back easily (you can see the little activator in the picture above - just below the main latch).
Combined with often concealed mounting screws and extra long strike plate screws, security can be dramatically enhanced using a rim deadlatch.

Many of these newer style of deadlatches are also available in a non-internal keyed version and most locksmiths can explain this to you if you ask.

We have been providing premium quality lock and security products and services in our hometown region for about 12 years now (we reside in Creve Coeur) and are called often by residents in the area and the wider areas and surrounding towns to repair and enhance the security of their homes and businesses. We are happy to provide no obligation, free home security inspections and estimates to help you improve your home or business security. We will determine likely areas where your home or business might be vulnerable and suggest cost effective solutions to better protect you.

Most locksmiths around the country and across the world will also provide similar services. I strongly suggest that you make contact with a local locksmith in your town and have them provide you with a security appraisal and estimate that could better protect your property, your family and your friends.

Above all - REMEMBER to Lock Your Door at night!

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How Much Does It Cost To Change Locks

Many enquiries that locksmiths receive, are about the cost to change locks. (UPDATE: Our first cost Increase in six years charges $17.50 per keyhole, nowadays)

Often, clients are meaning to inquire as to just changing the combinations of their existing locks, so they can maintain the same hardware on their doors.

Or when the keys to their house, office or automobile have been misplaced, stolen or even copied unknowingly (suspected), they have the need to re-code their locks.
Also many new home buyers or new tenants want to make sure that previous residents of their property can no longer gain entry.

Locksmiths across the country vary greatly in their fees. There are accepted industry averages published in locksmith publications like The National Locksmith magazine and the Locksmith Ledger magazine annually, but the going rate can vary from around $5.00 per keyhole to as much as $20.00 per keyhole for residential or commercial door locks and from $10.00 to $35.00 for automobile locks. Often this does not include labor for the removal and refitting of locks. (prices determined circa 2012)

Master-keying is another charge that most locksmiths charge slightly higher fees for. Often, specialist products like Medeco or Multlock or Primus or Best or Assa or Abloy or Bilock products can incur significantly increased fees due to the higher cost for the pin or disc tumblers.

Locks210.com charges a standard fee of $17.50 per keyhole to re-key a standard residential or commercial door cylinder sometimes including labor for removal and refitting. Master-keying is $25.00 per keyhole.

We can offer automobile re-keying services but prices are subject to application. There are many and varying brands and manufacturers of automobile lock cylinders, requiring multiple different keying kits. Stocking all possible kits to service all makes and models of foreign and domestic vehicles requires significant amounts of warehousing that directly impacts costs.

If the products are brought to us, we charge the same fees without labor of course.

Most locksmiths will provide the first 2 keys at no charge. For residential or commercial doors (not automotive) we provide the first 3 keys.

As a guide, we charge $29 to attend your site (within 25 miles of our workshop) and $70 for the first hour labor on site, which usually includes up to the first four (4) keyholes rekeyed.

One point to remember, when it comes to selecting the most suitable service professional to complete your project, "if you only want to pay peanuts, expect to get monkeys!"

For an obligation free estimate contact us today on (314)266-1533.

Amazon Alexa Being Built Into Houses In Sydney Australia

Amazon Alexa

 A recent article I read with interest was about the building in of Amazon's Alexa Smart Speaker, being built into new construction dwellings in Sydney Australia by a Perth based IoT company.

We are well aware of these Smart Speakers that have become an almost ubiquitous part of our psyche in recent times.

Amazon, recently approved for widespread marketing in Australia have started selling their Alexa product there and this enterprising company has devised a system to build it into new construction homes.


Google's offering, the Google Home Smart Speaker has also set the world on fire since it's release and is fast becoming a solid competitor to Amazon's Alexa.

Google Home

Amazon and Google are both leading the charge to adoption of Smart Search and voice controlled products including our door locks and security systems with a fervor not seen in many years and is setting the building industry on fire with slews of new Smart Products that can be controlled with just our voices. A Star Trek world inches closer to reality. Perhaps an agrarian mindset is not too far off?

The number of battery powered door locks that are continuing to enter the market are offering consumers wide choice in styles and features and few have integrated Alexa or Home into them at this time. I still believe that battery technology is too inferior at this time to make the investment in battery operated locks in my home. I believe that once we figure out how to conveniently and easily connect our door locks to mains power (perhaps with battery back-up), we will have solved the dilemma of the times. That dilemma? The constant and never ending need to be replacing batteries regularly.

I was working at a customer's home today, who was suffering from a malfunction to her new battery operated door lock. Her door had dropped due to weathering, causing the bolt mechanism to bind in the strike hole making the battery operated motor driven bolt work far too hard to release. After trying multiple times, the batteries died and she was locked out. I came out, picked the lock and put a wedge under the door to lift the whole door allowing the bolt to travel correctly.

I convinced her to carry her house key "just in case" in future. I also installed a long screw in the top hinge that re-adjusted the door to the correct level, allowing the deadbolt motor to operate the way it is supposed to.

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Price War Begins - Customers To Win Big - Lockwood 7444 Keyed Pocket Door Lock Price Drop - Now only $133

A price war has begun. A new player has entered the market and selling on Amazon.

They have dropped the price of The Lockwood  7444 Keyed Pocket/Cavity Door Lock to $135, so to combat them we are dropping to $133.

We have been selling this product for 7 years and honor the manufacturers warranty, unlike other re-sellers who don't.

The impending tariffs to be imposed by the current USA administration are expected to hit all consumer  prices in the coming months/years.

Besides inflation, which has been on the rise for years now (not according to Wall St though) and evident on Main St, seeing many manufacturers prices increases, some 3 times in the last 12 months, we small businesses are less immune to the price volatility than our bigger competition.

I know many colleagues in my industry who have not raised their prices (on service and labor) in many years. Some are still charging similar prices to the late 1990's.

It is not like we enjoy raising prices but when our competitors are vying in a "race to the bottom" mentality, we have no choice but to join or fail. 

Labor is and always has been a fixed cost, that rises with the CPI (Consumer Price Index), but for many years labor rates/wages have not increased while costs of consumer goods continues to increase rapidly. Businesses today find that they cannot compete with the eBay's and Amazon's and Wal-Mart's and Home Depot's, Lowes, K-Mart's, Target's etc in retail prices. The customer is the only beneficiary of  cheaper prices and while this is a good thing for them, the fact that many/most smaller businesses (the largest employer sector of the wider economy) continue to lose market share, is a really bad omen for the future.

I have been a continuing professional locksmith for almost 35 years, having worked on 4 continents and delivered service to many and varied customers. Quality and professional expertise can be costly, but what do you want? What do you expect? I know that when I call a service professional, I demand the best quality products and services at fair value prices.

Remember this, "If You Only Want To Pay Peanuts, Expect To Get Monkeys!"

Breaking News: Ring Acquired By Amazon

Ring, the IoT (Internet of Things) company who manufacture a unique doorbell product in the Smart category of home furnishings products space, have announced their acquisition by Amazon.

Amazon continue to diversify their portfolio of companies, in attempt to upgrade their delivery services, with the purchase of Ring. Amazon developed a system recently called Amazon Key to help with the delivery of orders to customers without leaving packages outside homes or offices.

We recently wrote an article about Ring and their relationship with Skybell, the inventor of the technology and holder of integral patents that form the basics of the technology. The article describes a patent infringement lawsuit filed by Skybell, that now increases the interest in this story with this news about Amazon's takeover.

We have written a few articles articles over the last 10 years, informing about various peepholes and camera products aimed at the entry door markets. Some of these products have seen market success, but few on the level that Ring have achieved.

The IoT phenomenon has seen a great many new products enter the marketplace over the last few years and the physical and electronic security industry has become an area that many new producers are flooding the markets with all kinds of products, aimed at simplifying our lives.

A great many manufacturers are producing many varieties of digital electronic deadbolts and door locks, many of them battery powered and wireless. The functions and appearances of the various products vary considerably and likewise the quality.

Products like Yale, Lockitron, August, Kevo, to name a few have made deciding on the appropriate product for your home or office use, tricky indeed.

New wireless and battery powered products appear to be coming to market almost everyday lately. The Smart Lock industry is valued at $30 Billion + and it stands to reason that many providers are aiming for a slice of the pie.

Not to devalue the burgeoning industry, we have found that many of the available battery powered lock products suffer from power issues. Specifically the continuing requirement for end users to regularly replace batteries to keep their products in perfect continuous operation. We find that a great many customers, who installed the latest battery powered products, tend to replace batteries about twice in the early use of the products and then revert back to using the mechanical key portion (override) because they get tired of the constant need to change batteries, adding significantly to the cost to maintain their products, effectively diminishing the value of their expensive battery powered lock product. Mechanical and key operated products are largely maintenance free.

Other issues not considered before purchasing can include, door and frame weathering, where doors and frames move with the changes of season preventing their motor driven products from aligning correctly into the strike hole (frame), adverse weather conditions - hot or cold temperatures affect battery life of externally mounted products.

Many users enjoy the ability to continually operate their locks, manually (mechanically) by using the mechanical operating key.

Many locksmiths across the world continue to supply and install great quality hardware that stand the tests of time and continue to provide almost maintenance free operation.

I realize that many homeowners like the idea of keyless lock systems, but in reality a keyed lock system provides increased security over combination entry systems especially when you cannot control the number of people who may have shared or continue to share your door entry codes.

What type of product have you on your doors?

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Meroni Corporate Video

We are proud to continue representing the fabulous Serrature Meroni product lines to the North American market.

Above find Serrature Meroni's corporate video that shows the region where the corporate office is located, some of the factory and offices and some of the staff that work therein.

Serrature Meroni are one of Europe's leading manufacturers of specialty mechanical and electronic door lock products.

Products like their range of door closers


Unique Access Control products for doors in their electronic door lock range

European style Mortise Lock Cylinders

Ultra Nouveau Glass Door Hinges

Light Commercial Vehicle Lock Systems

Ergonomic and Especially Designed Mechanical Door Locks

Cupboard, Bureau, Cabinet and Furniture Mechanical Lock Systems

Unique OEM Mechanical Lock Systems

A few years ago, we were pleased to be among the initial group of visitors to their new factory located near the fabulous Lake Como, just outside Milan, Italy.

We continue to be the source for Meroni products in the North American markets. For experienced and understanding technical assistance in their product lines and availability, you are welcome to contact us for expert advice and support.

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New Pricing on Lockwood 7444 - Inflationary Pressure And Shipping Cost Increases Force Price Increase

We detest raising prices. Market conditions, especially manufacturer cost increases, import and customs duties increases, even outward shipping costs have all increased recently.

We have been forced to enact our first price increase in 3 years for this high-demand product.

We encourage you to purchase quickly, because this product sells out quickly.

Our last inventory SOLD OUT in 3 months.

The new cost as of today is US$146.75 plus shipping and handling.

We prefer to ship with UPS or USPS. Shipping options include overnight economy air, 3 Day select, Ground to the lower 48. International shipping is by USPS and averages 7-10 days.

In 8 years of recommending and selling this product, we have sold over 2000 units and are yet to have any reported failures. We maintain the manufacturers warranty of 12 months and offer a 30 day refund for unopened packages less a 5% restocking fee, for returns.

To purchase, simply click on the picture at the top left of this site.

Latch - $37 Million In Startup Funding Realizes Contract With AirBnB

An interesting article I read today has sparked my curiosity thanks to the well written, spelled and grammatically correct piece by it's author, Cliff Kuang.

The article tells a story about Luke Schoenfelder, a former Apple junior policy wonk working in their Washington DC office.

Apparently Luke decided, about 4 years ago, to get involved with a startup that was aiming to enter the already crowded IoT (Internet of Things)  Smart-Lock market with an especially new designed product by talented designer, Thomas Meyerhoffer called Latch.

Luke's upbringing from a large and old farm in Pennsylvania where he was reared, motivated him to become somewhat of an infrastructure geek, as he describes himself. The article goes on to tell about his early years and why he decided to get into the Smart-Lock business. You can read more about Luke and his involvement in Latch in the source article.

There are many options today in the current consumer marketplace, offering interesting and useful attributes that are self contained in Smart-Lock products. When people think about Smart-Locks, often they might know about the August Smart-Lock product, which has been heavily marketed over the last few years and especially exciting is the recent news about August being acquired by lock industry behemoth Assa-Abloy. You can read an article we wrote recently about that here.

Luke and Thomas teamed up to produce and market the product known as Latch. The video at the top of this page was made a little over two years ago and adequately shows the concept. Thomas Meyerhoffer is reknowned as another technology engineer who worked alongside Johnny Ive, the talented design engineer for Apple and influential in many Apple products, including the iPhone, Mac and Apple TV products.

What is Latch?

Delaware To Update School And Institution Security Hardware Requirements To Overhauled Policy

Classroom Security has been becoming an alarming and increasing issue across North America in recent years, with the increasing numbers of armed intruders causing havoc to junior elementary (sub-primary), elementary (primary), junior high school and senior high school campuses, as well as a number of higher education colleges and universities.

Intruders, often bullied former students or disgruntled staff members, are fast becoming a major thorn to the security of our children while they are at school.

Delaware State House of Representatives, this week is currently debating and voting on a major policy change and update, aimed at increasing significantly, the security hardware and protocols at all the states schools, colleges and universities.

Many schools across the USA, already use quality door lock systems to secure doors, but many of the existing measures have been found wanting in recent times. This has caused much angst by parents and teachers, concerned with offering quality education to our children in safe, secure environments.

There are a great many products across the wider marketplace that already offer significant strength and security, but too few schools are bothering to spend the necessary investments to protect their faculty, staff and pupils.

There are many different brands of lock systems that provide increased strength and design, to better protect our children, including double cylinder lever entrance sets (called Classroom Locksets), including but not limited to Yale, Corbin, Schlage, Arrow, Assa, Abloy and many others.

Essentially, "a double cylinder classroom lockset functions like almost any other lever or knob entry set, except that it uses an internal keyed cylinder to enable the locking of the outside handle, while ensuring the inside handle remains unlocked and still easy to escape through, if required (maintaining life safety and International Building Code policies and rules)."

Some schools and institutions are spending millions of dollars to increase the security of their classrooms and entrances, but often they neglect to ensure that doors and windows include bullet resistant glass or resistant window films. Many seem to believe that the quality lockset and an alarm system will provide enough security to prevent an armed intruder from wreaking havoc through their schools.

Delaware are debating the inclusion of alarm systems, bullet proof accessories and double-keyed locksets.

In our 35+ years of locksmithery across the world, we have installed many locksets to school entrances and classrooms to increase the security of these doors.

In one case many years ago, one school decided to install double cylinder deadbolts to every door, as recommended by their security analyst and architect, before consulting with professional locksmiths, who are deliberately trained in physical hardware that complies with life safety, building codes, insurance requirements to protect would-be users of these rooms.
Our company was asked to install according to the plan and completed the request, against our better judgement, while warning the school officials that their desire was not legal. One week prior to the opening of the new school term, state and local inspectors came in to certify the school for opening, but when they saw the double cylinder locks fitted to all doors, they immediately failed the school because they did not comply with building and life safety codes.
Our company was once again called in to rectify the issues with new "approved" products that met or exceeded the codes, adding significant cost to the project. Our company worked overtime to complete the task prior to the school opening on time.

This reinforces the point that involving your local trained professional locksmith can and will augment your bottom line costs and save you considerable angst and compliance issues down the road.

There are many professional locksmith companies across North America, that provide trained professionals with field experience that are able to provide best-case-scenario advice, that will help any organization to increase their physical and electronic security measures, without breaking the bank.


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Lockwood 303/355 Jemmy Proof Deadbolt Prevents Door Jamb Spreading - Thwarting One Of The Most Common Non-Destructive Door Bypass Techniques

The Lockwood 303/355 range of surface/rim mounted deadbolt locks offers a unique security product that effectively connects your door and frame together, preventing a common door bypass technique known as frame spreading.

You may have heard or seen an old product that has been around for many years known as the Segal Jimmy Proof Deadbolt.

The product has been loved for over a hundred years by many dwellers for its simplicity and its security.

The Jimmy Proof deadlock uses two pins that drop vertically through a two ringed strike plate, physically attaching the door to the frame/jamb. The lock usually holds to the door with 6 screws, 2 for the outer cylinder and four for the body of the deadlock.

The product pictured here is the Australian Lockwood 303/355 Claw Bolt Rim Deadlock, that uses 2 screws though the inside plate assembly to attach to the external key cylinder and a further 4 screws to attach the plate to the door. It also uses additional side mounted screws to attach the deadlock body to the internal plate.

The strike plate consists of a two part unit, with two hardened metal rings and a cover plate that are attached with 3 long screws anchoring the strike to the jamb. The separation of the two parts on the strike adds a laminating effect which further increases the strength of the application.

We also include an image of the Bilock Extreme Security Rim Cylinder, which can be used externally to provide 100% Bump Proof and virtually Pick Proof external keyed access.

The product is a highly sought after incredibly strong deadlock that increases your security tremendously. Not especially beautiful, but available in Satin Nickel or Mahogany Brown, if you dont mind having a large deadbolt on your door, you can rest assured that the security is second to none, worldwide.

Other manufacturers over the years have produced similar products, like Yale and Abloy. The Abloy SuperStopper version was a Black Steel Super-Hardened Body with Stainless Steel Turn Button and Stainless Steel Strike Plate. It was quite expensive and saw few sales in it's time before being discontinued. I have installed both the Lockwood version and the Abloy version during my career. I have also installed the Yale and the Segal a few times too.

If you use hinge pins to secure the hinge side of your door (which will prevent a would be intruder from pulling your door off by simply removing the hinge pins) and a Lockwood 303/355 Jemmy Proof Rim Deadlock, you can rest assured that your door will continue to be physically attached to the door jamb and will provide significantly increased security for your dwelling

Otto - Digital Door Lock Manufacturer Introduced In August 2017 - Closes Up Shop 5 Months Later

Breaking News: OTTO Closes Down.

Otto displayed their new entrant to the digital deadbolt market back in August 2017 with a great deal of hype.

The system purported to be a high quality top end system aimed at the residential home security market.

Promising features and high quality manufacturing priced the new product at the upper end of similar offerings.

The IoT (Internet of Things) industry has brought a great many new players into the market and industry in recent years and home security products purports to be a $20 Billion - $30 Billion dollar industry and constantly growing.

There are no end of new products coming to market to whet the appetites of consumers, each with varying product features and uses. WiFi, Bluetooth, NFC, Deadbolts, Door Handles etc all vying for a piece of the pie.

But to corner a part of the market requires some capital and longevity in an industry that is truly dominated by few worldwide corporations that essentially own the market. Assa-Abloy is well known as the worldwide leader in manufacturing of access control, locking systems, hardware for commercial and residential entry systems. They have many competing companies under their umbrella and are well known as a builder of high quality products. They have the resources to continue to offer many of the leading and most desired products in the industry, across the planet..

Otto have become the latest startup to fall victim to a crowded market. They were just in the process of finalizing a corporate takeover of their company, when the buyer pulled out.
The ensuing damage damned the fate of this Silicon Valley startup, before they could get their product out to the market. They now have a warehouse full of product unable to be sold and are facing complete shut down.