Articles & Product Reviews
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Our Locksmith blog contains security articles, how to articles, and product reviews for safes, residential, automotive and commercial businesses.
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We’ve been providing locksmith services for over 30 years to the Phoenix valley. We hope you find our articles, and reviews valuable.
Best Smart Locks for Sliding Glass and Patio Doors
There are finally good keyless options for sliding glass and patio doors. The best smart lock for a sliding door is the Lockly Guard, which mounts on the door frame and adds fingerprint, code, and app entry without drilling the…
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Door Barricade Devices & Recommendations
Door Braces, Such as the OnGard, Help Prevent Forced Door Entry The Best Door Security Devices | Types of Door Barricades | Our Evaluation Criteria | Detailed Product Reviews Standard home locks don’t make your door safe from a would-be…
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How Does a Door Closer Work
Inside of a Commercial Door Closer Door closers work by balancing two forces. The first force is a spring, which wants to pull the door back into a closed position. The second force is hydraulic fluid. It is used to…
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When to Replace a Door Closer
Door Closer Leaking Oil When your commercial door has started to slam or close too quickly, a quick inspection that reveals the door closer is leaking oil immediately tells you that the closer needs to be replaced. It is important…
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Replace Your Car Key by VIN
A locksmith can replace your car key from the VIN. Give us the year, make, and model, the VIN, and proof of ownership. We look up the key code, cut the key, program the chip if it has one, and…
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How to Open a Safe Without a Key
You can open a safe without a key several ways, and how easy it is depends on how good the safe is. Cheap big-box safes can often be opened by getting a key made from the code, bypassing the electronic…
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How Much Does It Cost to Open a Safe in 2026?
The cost to open a safe averages about $440 nationally, but ranges from as little as $60 for a cheap safe with a key override and up to several hundred dollars for a quality safe that must be drilled. Price…
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Smart Gate Locks: Weatherproof Outdoor Options That Actually Work
You can put a smart lock on an outdoor gate, but most home smart locks fail outdoors because only the outside half is weather-sealed. The best smart lock for an outdoor gate is a weatherproof-rated model like the Ultraloq, or…
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How to Cover a Door Knob Hole or Deadbolt Hole
To cover a hole in a door left by a knob or deadbolt, the cleanest fix is a metal cover plate (a hole filler plate) that mounts over the opening, far cheaper and tidier than filling with putty, which cracks,…
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Do Portable Door Locks Work? A Locksmith Reviews the Options
Yes, portable door locks work, and a strike-plate brace type is genuinely effective, about as strong as a residential deadbolt. They only work on in-swinging doors, and they hold the door shut even if someone has a key, keycard, or…
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Are All RV Keys the Same?
No, not all RV keys are the same, but the compartment keys usually are. One universal key, the CH751, opens the storage compartments on up to 90 percent of RVs. Ignition and entry-door keys are different from rig to rig:…
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Step-by-Step Arizona Eviction Process
Notify tenant in writing | File an Eviction Complaint Notice and Summons | Serve an Eviction Information Sheet | Get a Writ of Restitution | Serve the Tenant | Rekey the Property For the eviction process in Arizona, there are…
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Can a Locksmith Open a Safe? How Locksmiths Crack Safes
Yes, a locksmith can open almost any safe, and usually without damage. For a dead keypad or a combination that stopped working, they diagnose and recover it. For a lost combination, they manipulate the dial or look up the code….
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How Locksmiths Make Keys for Locks Without the Original Key
A locksmith can make a key for a lock with no working key, a service called key origination. They do it one of four ways: cutting a key from the lock's code, scoping the cylinder to read the cut depths…
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How Do Locksmiths Open Car Doors? The Tools and Process
Locksmiths open a locked car by wedging the door open a crack and using a long-reach tool to press the unlock button or pull the handle, the safest method on modern cars. Other options are a slim jim or multi-car…
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Why Your Schlage Electronic Deadbolt Unlocks When Pushing the Schlage Button (and How to Fix It)
If your Schlage BE365 deadbolt unlocks the moment you press the Schlage button, or your code locks the door instead of unlocking it, the drive cam was installed 180 degrees backwards. It is the most-missed step in the manual. Pressing…
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BHMA Lock Grades: AAA Rating Explained vs ANSI
BHMA lock grades rate a residential lock in three areas: Security, Durability, and Finish. Each gets an A, B, or C, where A is best, so AAA is the top BHMA grade. Unlike ANSI, which gives one number to the…
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Why is Your Ignition Hard to Turn? Causes and Fixes
If your ignition is hard to turn, it is an early warning, that something is failing and one day your key won't turn at all. There are three causes: a worn key (most common), a worn or dirty ignition cylinder,…
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How to Unlock a Bedroom or Bathroom Door (5 Ways)
To unlock a bedroom or bathroom door from the outside, use the small hole or slot in the center of the knob. A privacy lock has no keyhole, just that hole, which reaches the inner turn-piece. Push a privacy key,…
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Best Lock Lubricant: What Locksmiths Use (and What to Avoid)
The best lock lubricant is a Teflon (PTFE) dry lube such as Tri-Flow. It frees the lock without attracting dust, so the cylinder keeps turning smoothly for years. Powdered graphite works on a clean lock but builds up and jams…
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