| There is a lot more than what meets the eye to the casual consumer when shopping for locks and locksmiths. This page is a glorified FAQ section where common questions and misconceptions are cleared up with a significant amount of explanation. Take the time to read this material and your decision making upon choosing a locksmith and/or products should become easier. |
Safes
Service Calls
Auto Transponders
High Security Locks
SmartKey / SecureKey
Safes
| The first thing a person who is shopping for a safe (or for any security product for this matter) is that no product is burglar-proof; only burglar-resistant. Remember this very true and simple rule: Security Buys Time. The time and resources needed for a thief to be successful will increase with greater security. With safes, there are fortunately many options, and we strive to keep a large variety of safes in stock. This simple safe guide is intended to help you narrow down you decision upon making a purchase. U.L. Listed Fire Safes: U.L. (Underwriters Laboratory) listed fire safes are containers that undergo specific stress tests to meet or exceed an approved rating. Typically these ratings are labeled as a duration of time (i.e. 30 minutes or 1 hour). What this actually means is that a container will keep the temperature on the inside under 350° during a fire with a temperature of 1850° on the outside. These temperatures are not arbitrarily chosen; 350° is the threshold temperature for when paper beings to char, and 1850° is the average temperature of a house fire. Generally these safes are used to protect sentimentals and important documents. They do offer protection against mild attacks, but keep in mind that it's not advised to store high-dollar valuables. Burglary Rated Safes: Burglary rated safes are containers that meet certain guidelines to resist a potential break in. These safes will typically have a piece of hardplate behind the lock to resist drilling. They will also typically have an external relocking device, which when triggered, locks the bolt-work with a secondary spring-loaded pin. The body of the safe will typically have 1/8" thick steel, which is surprisingly thicker than safes without a burglary rating (i.e. fire rated safes). Keep in mind that these safes do not offer any fire protection (except for BF safes, which is described next). BF Rated Safes: BF simply stands for Burglary-Fire rated safes. They are a combination of the two separate types of safes described above. The only minor drawback of these safes is that the fire rating is usually limited to 1 hour (whereas many of the U.L. fire safes offer 2 hours). This is due to the thickness of the door and body; there is more steel and hardplate than fire retardant. However, a 1 hour fire rating is substantial enough in urban and suburban areas. Gun Safes: Gun safes can come in many styles and sizes. These safes are tall in order to accomdate rifles, shotguns, etc. Size can range from as few as half a dozen guns to more than 20. Styles refer to fire rated or BF rated safes. Most casual gun owners only require a safe to keep kids from handling the guns, therefore a fire gun safe would be substantial. However, gun owners who invest the time and money into their guns may want to consider BF gun safes to help protect their investment. Depository Safes: Depository safes, or drop safes, are commercial burlgary rated safes to allow employees to insert money (or other small items) into the safe, but are unable to retrieve what has been dropped without the combination or keys to the door. These safes usually come in two styles: a pull-down door on the front of the safe, or a rotary hopper on the top. Other styles include pull-out drawers, reverse doors, and through-the-wall drops. The major drawback of these safes is that they are not designed to hold cash overnight. Why? Because these safes technically have a "hole" (the drop), and cannot be regulated as a true burglary rated safe. However, there are drop safes that come with an extra compartment that is separate from the drop compartment which would be suitable for overnight storage. TL/TR/TX Rated Safes: Tool, Torch, and Explosive resistant safes, respectively. Safes with any combination of these ratings will offer the highest protection you can receive aside from a vault. A typical home owner will not need a safe of this caliber. Generally these safes are purchased by jewelers as insurance companies will require the owner to have a safe with one of these ratings. Bolting Safes: Almost all safes are pre-drilled on the bottom or the back of the container so that they can be bolted to the floor or wall. If the safe weighs less than half a ton it is highly recommended that the safe is bolted. It's very hard to believe that a thief can walk away with a 700 lb. safe, but remember that there may be more than one thief. Having a safe that offers all the protection in the world against drilling and torching is useless if the thief can take the safe to a convenient location to get it open at a leisurely rate. Remember that security buys time, and bolting the safe securely will give you the upper hand. |
Service Calls
| Service calls are an initial charge that is included on the invoice upon completing a job. The amount will vary depending on the location of the jobsite (see Pricing). We do not gain any profit from this charge. It is required to cover the costs to have a technician drive to a jobsite. This includes, but not limited to: the tech's hourly wage, the gas, the insurance of the vehicle, and the maintenance of the vehicle. Other service companies, locksmith related or not, may not charge a service call, but this doesn't mean it's not included one way or another. Any service company will have similar overhead, but may include the service call into the labor. It's always best to compare the total bill for the work that was performed. We prefer to keep the service call as a separate charge so that everyone is charged at the lowest possible rate given the location. |
Auto Transponders
 |
 |
| Transponder keys have become so popular for automotive manufacturers that they are considered a standard on new vehicles. What is a transponder key? They are keys that contain a chip inside the head of the key. This chip is passive and communicates with the vehicle's computer wirelessly to verify whether the key has been programmed into that specific vehicle. The purpose is to prevent a thief from hot-wiring your car. If the computer does not receive a properly programmed key, the engine will not start. Even if the key turns in the ignition and operates the doors, if the chip is absent, not programmed, or programmed to a different vehicle, the engine will not start. Although transponders are now standard in most, if not all vehicles, the technology has been implemented since the 1980's. The first generation of transponders were known as VATS keys and were produced by GM. The picture above on the left is an example of a VATS key. They are easily recognized by the pellet at the bow of the key. There were only 15 different pellets each having its own resistance value. Today, transponders have a chip that is unseen inside the head of the key (picture on right shows a cutaway view of chip). These chips are much more sophisticated as they need to be programmed to the vehicle, and there are millions of different values. Virtually all major automotive manufacturers have their own unique modern transponder system that works solely for their vehicles. There is one major drawback: the keys are expensive. If you are unaware that your key has a chip then you will most likely be sticker shocked when requesting a duplicate. On the plus side, we at Economy Lock strive to keep our transponder keys cheaper than the dealership. We can do most transponders at a flat rate, however there are some vehicles (primarily higher-end vehicles) that we cannot do and you will most likely need to go to the dealership. |
High Security Locks
| Having high security locks is becoming more of a necessity every day, whether on your home or your business. Thieves typically break and enter a location through the front door, whether by manipulation of the lock or by physical force. Having a lock that conforms to higher grade ratings against attacks in all areas not only will slow down the thief, but will act as a deterrent since thieves desire the quick in and out robbery. We offer several solutions to fit our customer's needs when it comes to tightening door security, and a little education will go a long way when choosing what's necessary. Picking: This skill is considered bread and butter for locksmiths. It is a skill we learn, practice, and use every day. There are professionally made tools we use as to facilitate this skill, and for the most part these tools are sold to and used by licensed locksmiths only. However, these tools can be purchased by any person with a credit card, licensed or not. This may come as a shock, but one comforting fact is that in the state of California it's illegal for non-licensed persons to even possess any kind of tool that manipulates a lock for entry (this includes bump keys). And also in California, licensed locksmiths are finger printed and documented with the FBI and DoJ so that if there ever was a discrepancy, our identity is already documented. Keep this in mind when choosing a locksmith, our "LCO" number is listed on the home page of this site and can be verified on California's BSIS page. High security locks are virtually pick proof. This means they are tested using guidelines rated by Underwriter's Laboratories (UL) to resist picking for a certain duration of time. As locksmiths, we do not attempt picking these types of locks when approached with a lockout. It's too time consuming and always results in a failure This means a thief will deter away from even thinking of manipulating the lock. Bumping: Since the bump-key phenomena hit the airwaves and Internet back in 2006, many consumers have tightened the security of their locks. What is key bumping? It's taking a key and modifiying it in such a way that when struck with a blunt object inside the lock, will separate the top and bottom pins and turn the cylinder. This technique has been used by locksmiths for decades as an alternative method to opening locks. With high security locks bumping becomes near impossible, especially since the majority of high security locks offer key restriction, therefore creating a bump key would require having the correct keyway to being with. Key Restriction: The biggest misconception with key restriction is the coining of the key's bow with "Do Not Duplicate" or "Unlawful to Copy". If a key is stamped with something along these lines it does not necessarily mean there are any laws backing this statement. So long as the key is not restricted it can be copied by any locksmith. Retail stores will most likely shake their heads and turn the customer away due to company policy, but most locksmiths will not because we know the difference between true restriction and a stamp on a standard key. At Economy Lock we require the customer to fill out a simple form prior to receiving the duplicate keys. This form is to keep any discrepancies from escalating. True key restriction has two very important elements: 1. The key can only be obtained from the originating locksmith. Every key has what's called a keyway, and this is the overall shape or profile of the key so that it may slide into the cylinder. A key with restriction means that no other locksmith or company can obtain that specific keyway; it is licensed solely to that particaular locksmith. 2. The key is bound to a specific person or persons. When a system is originated the customer gets to choose who is allowed to receive copies in the future. We keep this information on file with the names and ID numbers (State or Driver's license) of those on the authorized list. If a person requests a copy of a restricted key and cannot prove their identity, there's no ifs ands or buts that he or she will receive a copy; the original owner will be contacted and we will require their ID and something in writing stating that the person in question can be authorized. |
Medeco
 |
-Virtually Pick Proof -Highest level of Key Restriction -Pins physically rotate -Sidebar security |
 |
-Virtually Pick Proof -Highest level of Key Restriction -Two stacks of pins -Sidebar security |
 |
-Pick Resistant -Highest level of Key Restriction -Narrow Keyway to prevent pick insertion |
 |
-Pick Resistant -Highest level of Key Restriction -Two stacks of pins -Sidebar security |
SmartKey™ / SecureKey™
 |
 |
| SmartKey™ and SecureKey™ are two products made by two different manufacturers that both allow the end user to rekey their lock without the need of a locksmith. SmartKey™ is made by Kwikset (Stanley Corp.) and SecureKey™ is made by Schlage (Ingersoll Rand). Since 2010 these locks have been becoming more popular, but this is mostly due to the fact that big-box retail stores keep their shelves stocked with these locks, leaving most consumers unaware that they are buying a lock that can be rekeyed without a locksmith. These locks are a great idea for consumers, but unfortunately the cylinders in these locks are not built with the same integrity as "non-smart" cylinders. The classic pin tumbler design does not exist in these cylinders and the construction is almost completely made of pot metal. Due to both designs it can be very difficult to pick these open, which is good, but these cylinders are fragile which make them very easy to break, even accidently. However, on the flip-side of picking being very cumbersome (mostly due to the fear of accidently breaking a spring and rendering the cylinder useless), if you are locked out of your own home and call a locksmith to get you in and have one of these locks on your door, expect the lock to be drilled and the invoice to be higher since a new lock will need to be put in the old one's place. We at Economy Lock will rekey these locks (whether they're brought into our shop or on a jobsite), but we cannot warranty our labor due to the frequent malfunctions. This means, for example, that after one of our technicians rekeys the lock successfully, but a week later the lock fails, this is not due to the work provided by our technician. |
Home | Pricing | Products | Education | Staff | Acme | Santa Rosa | Petaluma
Privacy Policy