Undoubtedly, a vast amount of people have had the misfortune of being unable to get back into their houses, when the solitary thought in their mind is a hot cup of tea; or being left frustrated after leaving the keys to your car inside the actual car - made infinitely worse by the ability to actually see the keys sat comfortably on the seat.

These are the moments when you consider locksmiths to be your knights in shining armour.

However, locksmiths have had a vivid and illustrious history. It is perhaps remembered most commonly as an ancient profession - which began with the making and breaching of locks. Every village would have its local locksmith. Nonetheless, a locksmith is still very much a respected profession. With the advent of modern locks, which are increasingly turning to more electronic means, than actual keys, the profession, like many others, has diversified significantly from how it's often visualised.

Due to the nature of our society these days, the art of a locksmith is less involved with everyday locks, and more related to the installation of high-quality locks. The introduction of locks created on a mass scale made it somewhat unprofitable for locksmiths to hammer and chisel away at locks all day. Nevertheless, one mustn't become disillusioned with the knowledge that locksmiths are no longer true to their roots. When it comes to safes and other such vaults - for instance, when it comes to vaults for casinos, the casino itself would spent an exorbitant amount of money in employing locksmiths to custom design the locking mechanisms.

Naturally casino owners would not at all be fond of installing units that were commonplace. The ability to fathom the mechanism of any lock used to protect valuable items, would be a cause of countless nightmares for any person who has something worth locking away. Thus, when anybody has the ability to employ a locksmith, then often this avenue is much preferred over the alternative.
Another interesting direction that the profession has taken is toward that of forensic science. With the advent of forensic science in solving cases that are not "open-and-closed cases", it is imperative to have experts available to solve any circumstance that may arise. Therefore when it was deemed necessary to refer to an expert relating to locks, a new subsidiary in the profession was born - forensic locksmiths.

Every time that a lock is picked - that is, to be opened without its key, the scratches left in the lock tell a unique story about what was used, and which technique was used to open it. This was seen as being an invaluable source of knowledge in many cases. Consequently, due to the nature of this profession, it was also employed as a means of challenging insurance cases. Insurance companies may sometimes turn to a forensic locksmith in order to determine how a lock was picked. In turn, this could lead to a more enlightened picture of the event - and in perhaps some cases, bringing the owner of the car under the spotlight. Whilst this may seem an elaborate attempt to prevent paying the due money to their client, it is another potential path to be taken when suspicion is rife.

Therefore, whilst the ancient profession of being a locksmith has diversified, mostly due to the means of mass production in our society, it has still remained an integral part of many security systems. As technology improves day-by-day, any notable locksmith must also develop with the technology that he or she will be involved with. As for spending hours in the workshop making keys and their associated locks - that is usually left to the factory lines somewhere in China.