Meet the Team: Craig

In the first of our new Meet the Team series, we’re pleased to introduce Craig.

After originally starting his working life in retail, Craig decided he wanted something new. Having heard we were looking for a locksmith, he got in touch and asked for an opportunity and, 12 years later, we’re very happy that he’s still with us.

In this blog, Craig gives his point of view on all things locksmithing.

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How has the trade changed since you started?

Locksmithing was traditional when I first came into the industry, and electronic security and CCTV products were not really a thing. Now technology has evolved through to smart locking systems, CCTV and access control, and you can even unlock your front door with your phone.

If you could give one piece of security advice to every homeowner, what would it be?

I always strongly suggest changing your door locks when you move house, because this is overlooked more often than you’d think. Many people forget that a neighbour or a close friend of the previous owners might have a copy of their door key.

I also recommend that homeowners regularly check the security of all their door locks. Standards change and would-be burglars come up with new methods of attack all the time, so upgrading your locks to keep your home protection up to date is really important. 

What’s the most common job you get asked to do?

When I was training, my main job was making keys to locks and repairing old mortice locks. It was satisfying to hand cut a key to a lock and get it working. Nowadays, I’m usually busy with office work but I still try to find time to get in the workshop and keep my skills in shape.

Is there a particular area (e.g. cars, locks, keys) you especially enjoy working on?

Over the years I’ve put my hand to a lot of locksmithing tasks, but one thing I really enjoyed was hand cutting old cast iron church keys, along with making an old church rim lock from scratch. Manual benchwork is always interesting and rewarding, especially when you make something from scratch and see it working.

I always enjoy helping customers with their requirements, whether it’s making a new master key system or helping them select the right safe. Making sure our customers receive the best service from us is a good feeling.

To learn more about H Harrold & Sons, visit Our Heritage page.