A Locksmith Challenge…

Harry Houdini 1899

The Challenge:
Name a Famous Locksmith Who is Not More Famous for Something Else

While I wait for your nominations, I will point out that King Louis XVI of France had outstanding skills as a locksmith. However, his legacy as the last king of France, (and the only one to have been executed), outweighs his reputation for having a passion for locks.

Linus Yale, Jr., is more famous for his patents of pin tumbler and bank locks, than he is for his locksmith skills.

Harry Houdini, born in 1874, was a Hungarian-American magician and escapologist, stunt performer, actor and film producer. He was an expert lock picker who captivated audiences with his skills.

Houdini became widely known as “The Handcuff King.” He would free himself from jails, handcuffs, chains, ropes, and straitjackets, often while hanging from a rope in plain sight of street audiences. Because of imitators and a dwindling audience, Houdini put his “handcuff act” behind him and began escaping from a locked, water-filled milk can. The possibility of failure and death thrilled his audiences. Houdini also expanded his challenge escape act — in which he invited the public to devise contraptions to hold him — to include nailed packing crates (sometimes lowered into the water), riveted boilers, wet-sheets, mailbags, and even the belly of a Whale that washed ashore in Boston. Brewers challenged Houdini to escape from his milk can after they filled it with beer. Many of these challenges were prearranged with local merchants in what is certainly one of the first uses of mass tie-in marketing. Rather than promote the idea that he was assisted by spirits, as others did, Houdini’s advertisements showed him making his escapes via dematerializing, although Houdini himself never claimed to have supernatural powers.

In 1912, Houdini introduced perhaps his most famous act, the Chinese Water Torture Cell, in which he was suspended upside-down in a locked glass-and-steel cabinet full to overflowing with water. The act required that Houdini hold his breath for more than three minutes. Houdini performed the escape for the rest of his career. Despite two Hollywood movies depicting Houdini dying in the Torture Cell, the escape had nothing to do with his death.

On October 31, 1926, Harry Houdini died of peritonitis, secondary to a ruptured appendix, at the age of 52. At least he died on Halloween! Still not good enough for Hollywood, I guess.

Yes, Houdini was a famous lock picker. But famous locksmith? I’m afraid not.

So far, there are no nominees.

(Much of the information for this blog came from Wikipedia.)

Anderson Lock is committed to LEED standards

Anderson Lock is committed to conserving our natural resources.

Ways we reduce our impact on the environment include: recycling, using lower energy light bulbs and adding reduced energy vehicles to our service fleet.

Anderson Lock is also committed to reducing the amount of energy your facility consumes by helping you find doors and security door hardware that meets LEED standards.
• LEED is a third party, Green Building Council, certification program and a benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green buildings.
• LEED certified projects are at the leading edge of building design and construction, and are raising the bar for the entire industry.
• The “green building” process significantly reduces the total cost of ownership through energy savings, while using natural resources responsibly.

Schools and hospitals, in particular, have realized the long-term benefits of going green. And both customer groups rely on Anderson Lock to supply doors and hardware that meet their eco-friendly specifications.

20th Anniversary of Americans with Disabilities Act

Anderson Lock's ADA Catalog

On this date, July 26, 1990, President George Bush H. W. Bush signed into law the Americans with Disabilities Act which is “An Act to establish a clear and comprehensive prohibition of discrimination on the basis of disability.”

Regulations supporting the law were issued in July, 1991, and Anderson Lock Company published a catalog which featured door hardware that met accessibility guidelines, and also included a summary of, and excerpts from, the legislation. The quote on the cover reads, “If your business is open to the public, then it must be accessible to people with disabilities…”

Doorknobs require more dexterity to operate than levers, and accessible doors “should have hardware that is shaped so that it is easy to grasp with one hand and does not require tight grasping or pinching or twisting of the wrist to operate. Lever-operated mechanisms, push type mechanisms and U-shaped handles are the acceptable designs of the ADAAG.” As a result, Anderson Lock replaced thousands of knoblocks with levers at area schools and other public facilities in the nineties.

Door closers can also create a potential architectural barrier to a person with disabilities. It is important that the pressure setting on the closer is not beyond that which has been established as the maximum that a disabled person can operate. Anderson Lock estimators and sales representatives are trained to know how many pounds of pressure exterior doors, interior doors and fire doors are allowed to have to meet ADA guidelines.

Thresholds were also addressed in by the ADA, with the rule stating that “no door threshold shall be over 1/2″ high in its profile (with specific exceptions.) If a threshold is over 1/4″ high, a beveled profile must be provided for wheelchairs to bump over and to lessen the risk of tripping.”

Existing facilities, defined as public accommodations, were required to take steps to remove “architectural and communications barriers” by January, 1992. Priority was given to measures that enabled individuals with disabilities to “get in the front door” followed by measures providing access to goods and services and providing access to restroom facilities. Anderson Lock has always been known as more than a source for door hardware. We are a resource for expert technical advice. Our sales representatives are trained to know building codes, and other applicable regulations, like the Americans with Disabilities Act, celebrating its 20th anniversary today.

…some people are obsessed with doorknobs!

A man who claims he is obsessed with doorknobs was sentenced to three years in prison for a burglary spree in which dozens of doorknobs were taken from construction sites, along with tools and other materials. The thief told police he took the other items to disguise his addiction, “so that it would look like a typical burglary rather than someone just stealing doorknobs.” In addition to the prison term, the pilferer was ordered to pay restitution. The crimes occurred in December, 2004, in Wisconsin, and were reported by the Associated Press.

Cover of book about antique doorknobs

Gene Anderson, who founded Anderson Lock fifty years ago, has a small collection of books about locks. One is a paperback, titled “The Antique Doorknob.”  It was written in 1976 by Maud Eastwood, who collected and researched doorknobs. Maud introduces her book with a sentimental poem, which doesn’t qualify for my collection of excerpts of “Locks in Literature” but it does set a properly nostalgic tone for the antique doorknobs.

The Knob on the Door
Only one house was home to me
Only one house was home
The door of the house spoke “Welcome”
The knob on the door said “Home.”

Only one love was alive to me
Only one love was alive
Although I have had many a love
Only your love was alive.

Only one memory dear to me
Only one memory dear
When I turned the knob and found you home
This is my memory, Dear!
–Anonymous

Stylish Baldwin Enters Keyless Lock Market

New Keyless Deadbolt

Keyless Entry Locks

Baldwin Hardware just introduced keyless entry locks that provide security, convenience, and Baldwin’s superior quality and styling. The keyless locks are easy to install in standard door prep, and have two customizable access codes, ensuring no lost keys, yet requiring no additional keys for visitors or service personnel.

Two styles are offered, the contemporary Soho in four finishes, and traditional Boulder with popular dark finishes as well as polished brass. The deadbolts are ideal for garage or side entry doors, or can be installed with a handleset for a keyless entry front door with access control.

Keyless locks designed for commercial applications have become more streamlined in recent years, and some other decorator hardware manufacturers have already added keyless designs, but Baldwin’s new designs are the first really attractive keyless entry locks, in this blogger’s opinion.

There is an initial six week lead time for ordering, but that will be reduced to three weeks in the near future.

Anderson Lock’s showroom displays a wide selection of traditional decorator hardware, in many popular designs and finishes. Stop in and browse, put your hand on the handles, and think about what a new shiny brass or dark bronze entry lock could do for your front door!

Let me give you a hand with this door…

Welcome Home

http://therepublicofless.wordpress.com/2010/07/05/come-in/
This door handle photo is found on the blog “the republic of less”–
check it out for more fascinating door handle designs!