These events motivated S&G to greatly expand its offerings beyond locks and locking systems. The period following World War I was plagued with significant economic upheaval punctuated by the stock market crash of 1929 and the resulting Great Depression of the 30s. His second combination lock, the Automatic, was followed by various models of time locks and other devices. The two formed Sargent & Greenleaf (S&G) and established their factory in what would become the company’s home until the mid 1970s, Rochester, New York.ĭuring this time, James Sargent created new and innovative security hardware and would continue to do so for the rest of his life. This event effectively, although only temporarily, dissolved the partnership of Yale and Greenleaf, at least in its original composition.Īfter returning from the battlefield, Halbert Greenleaf sought out his former employee James Sargent, now a respected lock-maker in his own right. The outbreak of the Civil War had a significant impact on the fledgling company, as one of its original founders, Halbert Greenleaf, left the company to fulfill his commission as a Colonel in the Union Army. Moreover, Sargent’s lock was the first system able to repel the most sophisticated and vigorous bypass attempts, even those of its inventor.

Widely recognized as the most advanced combination bank lock of the day, Sargent’s Magnetic Bank Lock proved to be a significant milestone for the company and for the industry. It was at this point that Sargent, leveraging his unique lock pick and safe lock bypass abilities, began work on what would become his first major lock design. Shortly thereafter, James Sargent, a young man with a natural mechanical inclination and an already impressive history of inventiveness joined the firm as a sales representative.

of Yale and Greenleaf, a lock manufacturer located in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts. In the same year, albeit with decidedly less fanfare, occurred an event that would arguably play a role in shaping the security hardware industry for decades to come.įinancier Halbert Greenleaf began his long tenure in the locking industry when he established a partnership with Linus Yale, Jr.

Sargent and greenleaf padlock