Robbers Kick In Door Of St. Louis Home, Shoot Man

A June 19, 2015 article in the St Louis Post Dispatch tells about a homeowner in North St Louis County who was shot by intruders after they kicked down the front door.

Luckily the homeowner survived the brutal attack.

According to the article, the robbers were looking for guns and money.



This story highlights the need for better door protection products, purposely designed to thwart door frame failure.

We have been offering the fabulous Strikemaster II Pro Door Frame protection and repair product for almost 5 years now and have installed a significant number to doors after the door frame has already been damaged. We have sold and installed the product to concerned homeowners who proactively want to protect their homes and families with so far, no reported failures of the product.

We originally talked about the Strikemaster II Pro in this article back in December 2009.

One instance that comes to mind was when a customer called me on Thanksgiving 2010 after her front entrance was broken down by the fire department answering a smoke detector alarm call. She had left some soup on her stove turned down to low, to keep warm while she darted out to the shop. Smoke from the stove got into the smoke detector signalling the fire department who attended very quickly and broke down the door. Because she had a $4000 door, she was quoted by multiple contractors significantly expensive prices to replace her door and frame, however no one was able to come out for a week. She couldnt leave her door unsecure and was put off by the unrealistically expensive estimates. She got on to me through the Home Advisor network and I contacted her immediately, informed her about the Strikemaster II product, sent her to the product video on my website (in the above link), estimated the paltry cost and waited for her return call. She called back 15 minutes later and booked me for the next day. We attended the site, installed the Strikemaster II, which completely repaired her existing frame and covered all the damage, without having to replace her door and frame. Needless to say she was very pleased.

We are currently out of stock of the product, with new supplies expected in the next week.

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Ring - Nouveau Wireless Peephole

I recently came across one of these devices installed on a customers home and it looks like the bees knees.

easy to install and offering multiple conveniences, Ring is quite possibly the answer to entry monitoring/doorbell needs for modern times.

Impressive to say the least.



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246 Padlock - A New Bluetooth Padlock

Locks that operate through a bluetooth connection appear to be the rage today. While we continue to sing the praises of mechanical lock products, many consumers seem to desire an electronic or keyless option.

The 246 Nii Yon Lock is one such animal that looks promising, although I doubt will see traction due to the unrealistic cost and the fact that it's built in battery is designed to last for 180 days.

What do you think?



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Adams Rite Issue Resolved

I was called out late the other night, just as the rain was settling in for an all night torrential downpour, because some ladies were locked inside their shop.
I resolved their issue quickly but couldnt complete the necessary repairs due to the rain. Went back the next morning and produced this fix...





EDIT: 9/1/2015
It seems that the same issue resurfaced after a couple of weeks. The maintenance company called another tradesman who promptly re-installed the screws. According to the manager, it worked for about 1 day.

The maintenance company called us back a week later and we attended under our warranty and repaired the offending door again.

Turns out the pin that signals the locked or unlocked state on the inside of the door, was jamming due to the original installer drilling the hole in the incorrect location. we removed the bent pin and it all works well. Now been 2 weeks and all working fine.

Bricwave - Express Smartphone Charger/Flash Drive

The Express by Bricwave™ is a new product currently seeking funding through Kickstarter (in fact has has exceeded it's goal as of today, with still 9 days to go).

The product makes it to this blog because of it's portability with it's keyring attachment.

I see many benefits with this product. there may be multiple choices across the market, but few are made to similar quality control standards.

This product is available for iPhone (lightning) or Android (micro-usb) devices.

It contains a express function for high speed charging and a 64GB flash drive for storing, transferring or running applications and programs.

A unique product that has many uses.

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Sentry Safes - Vulnerability Detected

I cannot be sure as to how long the above video will be available, but if you are lucky enough to still be seeing this, you may understand why 99/100 locksmiths prefer NOT to sell or recommend Sentry safes (of the electronic variety).

These boxes (I feel i cannot use the term safe, because this vulnerability clearly shows it is not safe) are sold almost everywhere by big box stores like Kmart, Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Lowes, Ace Hardware and many specialty hardware stores. The product is widely distributed online by a great many online retailers.

This technique has been used by locksmiths for some time and until now, not publicly demonstrated (AFAIK).

I realize that many consumers prefer to shop at big box retailers for the convenience aspect without doing their due diligence about the products they are purchasing and the big box retailers will never take responsibility for the products they sell and recommend. But seriously, anyone who calls this product a "safe", really needs to have their head examined, especially in light of this mildly entertaining clip.

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Keys To The City - A Film About A Retiring Locksmith In Brooklyn

An interesting story about a retiring locksmith and his travels in the city of Brooklyn is currently seeking additional funding through Kickstarter.

This unique story is quite heart warming and shown through the eyes of native Brooklynites.

Special thanks to Tom Lynch, founder of The Society Of Professional Locksmiths for making us aware of this undertaking.

Consider throwing your support behind this ambitious project to shine some light on the daily struggles of an American Made Locksmith. Kickstarter link in the source below.

Pocket Door Locks, Flying Off The Shelves

Our very popular Lockwood 7444 Keyed Pocket Door Lock is literally flying off the shelves.

Demand is so strong for this product with no reprieve in sight, that we are now looking to expand our stock holding.

The anticipated release date for the expansion kit, to make installation to 1-3/4" wide doors much simpler has been set back due to the manufacturer of the desired part making a manufacturing blunder.

We have since tailored a work around that we anticipate release before the end of this year, after we complete our testing.

We will provide an instructional video to show how to install with the modification kit.

Because of the strength of the US$, manufacturing costs abroad have increased and we expect that new products (next shipment) will increase in retail cost, so if you're on the fence about ordering at this time think about pushing up your decision before the price rise.