Strange Locksmith Facts

Locksmithing isn’t just our job – it’s a true art that has been developed, refined, and improved on over centuries. Here’s a guide to some strange factoids regarding the true art of locksmithing, as prepared by the security experts at Golden Locksmith.

Harry Houdini learned Locksmithing

This iconic and skilled magician unlocked himself out of many locks over the course of his spectacle filled career. Houdini actually learned the art of locksmithing to refine his illusion technique. He learned how to get out of handcuffs, how to pick locks, and how to crack safes. These skills helped him achieve some of his greatest known feats.

A Locksmith Betrayed King Louis XVI

King Louis XVI (the French monarch during the French Revolution) met his downfall after his locksmith Francois Gamain gave him up to the revolutionaries.

Locksmithing is a Combination of Many Skills

Locksmithing is a combination of carpentry, mechanics, machinists, and security expertise. They need to understand the mechanics of many locks, assess the security of a lock, fix and remove locks, and copy keys!

A Dark Soviet Locksmith

Locksmiths are usually known as stand out individuals who help people in their times of need. However, one example contrasts this well won reputation. During the Stalin era of the Soviet Union, around 1936, a locksmith known as Ivan Nogormy was a State executioner. He was known for executing 37 Ukrainian university professors and tutors in a single day. Some researchers have estimated that this man killed over 10,000 people in a year and a half for the Soviet Union.