Hardware stores, sometimes known as DIY stores, sell household hardware for home improvement including: fasteners, building materials, hand tools, power tools, keys, locks, hinges, chains, plumbing supplies, electrical supplies, cleaning products, housewares, tools, utensils, paint, and lawn and garden products directly to consumers for use at home or for business. Many hardware stores have specialty departments unique to its region or its owner's interests. These departments include hunting and fishing supplies, plants and nursery products, marine and boating supplies, pet food and supplies, farm and ranch supplies including animal feed, swimming pool chemicals, homebrewing supplies and canning supplies. The five largest hardware retailers in the world are The Home Depot, Lowe's, Kingfisher of the United Kingdom, Obi of Germany, and Leroy Merlin of France.
A German Hardware store
A hardware store in China. The style and products offered in this Haikou City store are typical of hundreds of thousands of hardware stores throughout the country.
A hardware store in Telluride, Colorado c. 1903
Mitre 10 MEGA store interior in Pakenham, Victoria, Australia
A lock is a mechanical or electronic fastening device that is released by a physical object, by supplying secret information, by a combination thereof, or it may only be able to be opened from one side, such as a door chain.
A typical modern padlock and its keys
Bronze lock in a form of scorpion from Nalanda, India, 10th century.
Medieval Gothic lock, from the 15th–16th centuries, made of iron, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)
Drunk man's lock at the bottom (black lock) and a regular modern lock at the top
