At one point or another, every individual will find the need for a locksmith. Interestingly enough a locksmiths was called a locksmith once upon a time because they were blacksmiths who also made keys. A smith is one who shapes or molds metal objects, often times while using a forge or a mould.

Today, however, locks and keys are slightly different. Locksmiths are still used to duplicate house keys, mailbox keys, and office keys, but they are also used for more advanced, high security locks, which involve much knowledge of technology as well. Whether you have found yourself locked out of your home, car, or business, wish to change all of your locks, want to switch your ring of keys for one single key that opens all of the locks in your home, or are interested in installing a high security system in your store, a locksmith can be at your service at practically any time of the day or night.

If you do decide to take advantage of a locksmith's service after standard work hours, you will have to keep in mind that you most probably will have to pay an extra fee. It's a small price to have to pay though, to be able to get into your house or car in middle of the night. Before the locksmith goes ahead and picks the lock, you will have to show him or her, some sort of identification, proving that you are the owner or tenant of the property that is being broken in to.

There are many reasons why a person would want to call a locksmith to change the locks. It could be that the only key was lost or broken, and therefore the lock needed to be picked, and then replaced with a new one. Another reason could be to take precautions. If you are moving into a new house that has been occupied by other tenants, you will want to change the locks. It does not matter whether you are renting or buying the house or apartment. All it takes is an angry girlfriend or a boyfriend, or a dishonest previous tenant, and you can be the victim of an easy theft. All you need to do is call a locksmith and you can have your locks replaced.

A locksmith is not only called in cases where keys are lost or forgotten, or when locks need to be replaced for safety reasons. Locks, like any mechanical instrument, break. A locksmith is also a sort of handyman who can come and fix anything that has gone wrong with the functions of your lock. The most common need for a locksmith to come and fix the lock is when it is sticking. This is usually the problem when your lock works, but occasionally gets stuck, and you need to jiggle it a bit for it to be able to turn. Jiggling the key is just a temporary solution. If you want to make sure that you won't get stuck outside your home, you need to call a locksmith immediately and have your lock looked at.

Locksmiths may have once done one thing only, but today they can work in many different fields. Creating complicated high security lock systems is one of the more common types of jobs that locksmiths deal with these days, but they still make copies of keys, pick locks, and replace and fix locks of all sorts. A lock is no longer a metal object that needs to be opened with a key, but rather, there are electronic key cards, and lock systems that are far more complex than a piece of metal and a hole.