Meet Thomas Boucher | Artist Locksmith

We had the good fortune of connecting with Thomas Boucher and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Thomas, what’s something about your industry that outsiders are probably unaware of?
Making handmade locks and keys is very time consuming. Not only from the actual production side of things, but also researching. Locks and keys from different countries and time periods have different characteristics. I think sometimes people assume I know all of the differences, but with such a broad scope I am still learning as well. A specific job may require me to research what the solution for the proper key might be. I try to do a lot of my work in the same manner as it would have been done before the industrial revolution. Today we take for granted some of the technologies that we have and the speed with which things are done. I choose to work in this way because I find it to be much more enjoyable, but it also produces a facsimile of the original work. If you are restoring an old lock the reproduced parts should match the processes used to originally create it, otherwise it just isn’t correct. I’m constantly studying techniques and period tooling to better my process and my understanding of it.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Most people would call me a blacksmith, but I have set my focus on traditional locksmithing (pre-industrial revolution). Though the appropriate term would be to call me a locksmith, I think that conveys the wrong connotation as we use that term today to describe the contemporary counterpart to the trade. I am quite literally a smith working on locks, but to avoid being confused with the modern locksmith I identify as an artist locksmith. It is a very niche craft to be focused on and not many do this type of work. I do not do this full time. It’s a very hard thing to do and I only know of one person in the US that does, Kevin Moreau. I know of some in Europe, but it’s a little easier there as they have a much deeper history and some of their older buildings still use old locks as well as the amount of older antiques floating around. I do bespoke work from time to time, but my main focus is on sharing the information that I am researching and discovering.

The way I found myself into this work was not a quick journey. My father started his business as a blacksmith, but switched over to welding when I was young. I have memories of him forging and it was something I wanted to do, but as I got older I was more interested in making money working for him then playing around on the anvil. Much later in 2012, I was engaged and wanted my father to make bottle openers for my groomsmen. I ended up deciding that I should make them. Once I started forging I was hooked and I haven’t stopped.

I started out forging the things that interested me. I think early on I was curious about making a lock, but I knew nothing about them. I learned about a smith, named Seth Gould, who at the time was making some really neat padlocks and he was posting progress pictures on instagram. I could clearly see how he was making them. Around the same time I bought a DVD featuring Peter Ross making a crab lock. With these two sources I got my first introduction into making locks. I made the lock from the DVD and I made a similar padlock to one Seth had made. I even finished it in Seth’s shop. Not long after I pretty much switched my focus completely to locks. I moved back to New Hampshire and learned about a Traditional Artist Apprenticeship grant. The next year I was awarded that grant along with Kevin Moreau, allowing me to study with him. The time I spent with Kevin was a pivotal moment in my development. My work and my personal confidence in my work became much better.

I post a lot of my work on instagram. I was starting to build a reputation for being known as someone that makes locks, especially during my time with Kevin. I found that I was often getting asked from other blacksmiths what books were there for learning to make locks. There really aren’t many and so I did not have a good answer. I have a background in graphic design and more specifically I had been working for a small publishing company as a book designer. I knew that there was a market for this information so I decided to write a book titled Basic Handmade Padlock.

For me the fun is researching how the old smiths were doing this work. I am constantly studying old locks and keys and trying to learn about and discover the tools and processes they used to use. As I am learning and making discoveries I am sharing the information in a way that I wish had been available for me to learn from. The success of my book led to teaching my first class at the New England School of Metalwork in 2021. I am currently deep into the process of writing my second book.

I don’t think it has been hard to get where I am. It was time consuming and I had to put in a lot of work, but I wanted to do it so it didn’t feel hard. I also didn’t know where I was headed when I started. I followed what I was interested in. That’s pretty much what I have always done creatively.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I’m kind of an introverted home body, and the covid lock downs sort of exacerbated that, so I wouldn’t make a good tour guide. I also live in a small town. There is a great local brewery, Blasty Bough, that I used to go to a lot. The owner, Dave, is a really nice guy and is interesting to talk with. The beer is good too. That would be on my list, as well as probably popping into anther brewery such as Garrison City Beerworks. I always like taking people to the Woodman Institute Museum. It’s this great collection of all sorts of things from taxidermy, minerals, militaria, local Dover, NH history and random artifacts. I don’t think you can come to NH without getting outdoors. There are plenty of places to go hiking, any of them will do.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Of course there have been a lot of people that have contributed to who and where I am today, but I think ultimately the biggest impact has to be from my father. I grew up in his blacksmith/fabrication shop, in New Hampshire, so from a very young age I was exposed to making. I’m sure that played a large role in my creative drive. Even at a young age I always liked helping him with projects, even just fixing things at home. As I got older I went off and did my own things outside of the shop. I started drawing from a young age and eventually went to college for illustration. A little while after graduating from college I was looking for a hobby and decided to finally start forging. Ever since then I have shared a connection with my father. He has always been available to help me with projects, both physically working together and also brainstorming ideas. I learned a lot from him early on and continue to. I know for a fact that blacksmithing is a part of my life because of him exposing it to me at a young age, even though I didn’t pick up my hammer until I was older.

I of course have to thank my wife for putting up with all of my ideas and projects. I’m always busy with something and she supports my endeavors.

I also have to thank Lloyd and Betty Hendricks. When I started forging I was living in Georgia. I went to a local guild meet to learn how to forge and Lloyd and Betty graciously agreed to let me come to their shop. I went there nearly every Saturday for about two years. I don’t see how I could have gotten started without their kindness and support.

Website: https://www.greasyluckforge.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/greasyluckforge/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GreasyLuckForge

Image Credits
Photos: Chris Boucher Editing: Chris Fantauzzi