Just a 'normal' lock

When I hear somebody say they want just a normal lock, I have to put that in a context they can not. Firstly, I need to know if it is a home or business and if they want it on a door or something else.

I guess I should deal with the homeowner first. They mean normal as in common and that means an entrance set. It has a key to open it from the outside and the inside knob is always active. Also, on the inside is a button or some other method to lock the outside knob. These are the door knobs which allow people to lock themselves out of the house when...
... take your pick here cuz we heard them all ...
(a) walking the dog
(b) getting the post
(c) going to the corner store
(d) hanging out laundry
(e) or any number of other minor chores.

We know by normal the homeowner probably means common and does not mean good. Mostly these locks do not meet the fire exit standards for commercial locations since the inside knob is often locked when the outside knob is locked and a two stage process is needed to unlock it. Also, the lock sits within the outside knob connected to the door by a spindle of about 3/4 of an inch. These 'normal locks' fail when hit with a hammer or grabbed with a pipe wrench. (Since the latch is so weak, the door is often forced leaving the knob alone. Thieves are sometimes efficient.)

This gets us the lock function as we say in the trade call it. It does not say what style it is and for that you need to see it. There are just too many to do a match any other way if that is valued by the customer.

Increasingly, new houses here have deadbolts over passage sets. A passage set is just a knob used to hold the door closed in the wind and the security function is given solely to the deadbolt. Given a chance, this is the way to go. Additionally, get a lever set to do this. If you place your hand on most knobs you can easily hit the weatherstripping. We learn to hold our fingers in and after a while habituate that as a coping mechanism. Get a lever. As soon as you get any arthritis in your hands you will be happy you did.

If somebody wants a normal lock for a file cabinet, you have to see it. If somebody wants a normal lock for a desk, you have to see it. A normal lock is not so normal after all.

I guess I should say about businesses. The fronts of stores have common locks too. They are almost always Adams Rite MS bolts or latch locks or import clones of these since they fit in the same holes in the doors. Also, these locks are in three common sizes and are not interchangeable so you have to see the door to know which size. (A bad after hours call is when you have a failed lock of a non-standard size. The kinds which you know are not even in the warehouses in town tomorrow and certainly not in your truck tonight.) The actual cylinder which goes into a storefront is a bit easier to know. If you talk to the customer and it is a glass door with an aluminum frame, the cylinder is a mortise cylinder and they are generally interchangeable. Common here means SC1 or SC4 ... a Schlage or clone. This is basic or standard security but is fine for many applications.

Late again. I hope I have said something insightful.

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Laux Myth ... Thoughts From a Locksmith
By MartinB, Found @ http://lauxmyth.blogspot.com/