As long as the locksmith swaps the old 5 pins with 5 new ones, the lock will remain just as secure as it was before. Due to the extremely low price of the key pins in the locks, rekeying is almost always much cheaper than getting your locks changed. However, the way to rekey different locks is not always the same and often requires different tools. Rekeying is not only used when you want to retire an old key, but also to match more than one lock for the same key.
For example, if your home has several locks and each lock has a different key, which can be inconvenient, you may want to rekey the locks to all match the same key. Keep in mind that in order to match 2 locks or more for one key, the locks has to be of the same brand or to share the same types of keyholes. For example:. When you have different keys for different locks and you want them all to match one single key.
You want your locks to be in a different color or design. For example, if you moved into a new place and your locks are old and rusted, you may want to get a new, nicer looking locks. When you want to upgrade your security and change your locks to high security locks or electronic locks.
If you have locks of different brands on your house and you want them all to work on the same key, you will need to change some locks so that all your locks will be of the same brand or have the same type of keyway , only then you can re-key them all to one key. Only in cases where picking the lock and rekeying it is more expensive than the price of a new lock, you should change it.
Note that when getting your locks changed, the locksmith should be able to supply you with at least a few locks with a matching key. Most hardware stores also have the option to match your locks for free upon purchase. Changing a standard residential lock is a fairly simple task that can be done with a phillips screwdriver. Some newer types of locks offer the option to rekey them easily at home without having to take them apart or call a locksmith.
These locks, such as the Kwikset smartkey and Schlage SecureKey are becoming more and more popular as the technology improves, however they still have some flaws. Did you find this article helpful? Maybe your friends will find it helpful too! Click here to share this article on Twitter Click here to share this article on Facebook. Are you looking to get your locks changed or rekeyed? The researchers showed Threat Level how they could create the simulated keys from plastic simply by scanning or photographing a Medeco key, printing the image onto a label and placing the label onto a credit card or other plastic to cut out the key with an X-Acto blade or scissors and then use the key to open a lock covertly.
Any credit card plastic will do to create a simulated key, as will Shrinky Dinks plastic , which comes in sheets that can be run through a printer. For the digital picture of the original key to work, the image has to be to scale. Images of a Medeco key printed on a sheet of adhesive labels. That's what you're paying for.
High-security locks -- which can cost two to four times the price of a common Kwikset lock used in most homes -- have millions of possible key combinations, as opposed to just thousands in low-security locks. High-security locks also use patented key-control systems to prevent just anyone from duplicating the keys. What this means is that only specific locksmiths who are authorized by the lock maker are given key blanks, key codes and equipment to make the keys.
To ensure that no keys are made before a lock is sold, the locks are also shipped to the locksmith without pins in them -- the bars inside a lock cylinder that engage with the grooves on a key to open the lock. The pins are added by the seller after a customer purchases the lock, using proprietary key codes doled out to locksmiths by the lock manufacturer.
If a buyer wants additional keys made for the lock later on, he has to return to the same seller to have him make the keys or find another locksmith who is authorized to use that particular key code. Keys used in places like the White House would likely use an even higher level of key control, whereby only the manufacturer -- Medeco -- would be able to make duplicate keys. The researchers demonstrated the technique using a Medeco mortise cylinder that Threat Level purchased in California before leaving for Las Vegas.
After buying the lock, Threat Level scanned the key and e-mailed the image to the researchers, who then created several plastic keys. When Threat Level arrived in Las Vegas with the lock, it took about six seconds to open the lock using a plastic key. Locksmith Tobias Bluzmanis cuts out a key printed on Shrinky Dinks plastic.
Medeco urges companies to implement internal key-control measures to track who has keys and make sure employees are vigilant about handling them. But Tobias says that because people think Medeco M3 high-security keys cannot be easily duplicated, they're not as careful as they should be. And that's the problem. It's not true. The method works on three types of Medeco's M3 high-security locks known as mortise , rim and interchangeable cylinder locks.
A plastic key inside an opened Medeco mortise cylinder.
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