How Do Locksmiths Make Keys Without an Original Key?

Keys can get worn out, broken, and lost. Unnecessary rescheduling of your business day, and the loss of money with every minute that you are late to work, only increases the pain. What's not so painful — is contacting Diego's Locksmith, who can come quickly and make completely new keys in just a few minutes.

Diego's Locksmith takes your key creation needs seriously. Whether you come to us or we go to you, our team is ready to get there quickly. Start now by requesting a no-obligation quote for key impressioning services from Diego's Locksmith!

What Is Key Impressioning?

Locksmiths have practiced Impressioning for many years. It's a technique that can only be used to create keys for certain types of locks, but it's an efficient method that can be used when no other access to a lock is available. How does it work?

Key impressioning involves placing blank keys into a lock, slightly altering the shape of the key, and then trying the altered key again. The process is repeated until the key works in the lock.

The secret to this technique is that most locks are made with very slight variations in their internal mechanisms. If you put any object into a lock and turn it, you'll likely feel some resistance at specific points in the rotation. That's because parts of the object are hitting against those imperfections in the lock mechanism. A key impressioning specialist does the same thing with a blank key, altering its shape based on how it feels when turned.

As you might imagine, this technique doesn't work on every type of lock; if it did, there would be no need for keys at all! It only works on certain types of locks where these imperfections are present.

What Kind of Locks Work With Key Impressioning?

Key impressioning is most often used to make skeleton keys. These keys have teeth lined up with the pins in a cylinder lock, but they're not designed to work with a specific keyway. They might be helpful if you've lost your keys and can't get a replacement key from the manufacturer.

While it's possible to use key impressioning on any pin tumbler lock, it works best on certain types of locks. Primarily, you'll find that locks made by Schlage and Kwikset lend themselves well to this method of creating new keys. These locks have fewer security features designed to prevent unauthorized key duplication.

What's the Average Price to Make a New Key From an Impression?

The average cost of making a key can depend on several different factors. Many locksmiths charge a service call fee ranging from $35-$150 and then charge additional fees. The cost of the actual key itself varies from around $2 to $15, depending on the type of key you need.

Most keys can be made with an impression of the lock. This is done by inserting a small piece of paper between the lock and the door frame, closing the door, and turning the key to make an impression. This is then used as a template for creating a new key.

However, some keys require more complicated procedures to be made. Keys for cars or other vehicles often require an electronic code or access to a computer database to figure out how to cut a new key.

What Is Needed for Tools and Materials To Make an Impression?

The Locksmith will need several tools and materials to make an impression of the lock on your car. He will need to bring a trim removal tool, a blank key, and a lubricant such as graphite or WD-40. The lubricant will help the Locksmith remove the panel covering the lock.

The Locksmith might need additional tools to remove other parts of the vehicle's interior to access the lock cylinder for rekeying.

Diego's Locksmiths Are Skilled With Key Impressioning

"How can skillful locksmiths make keys without an original key?" is a question we often hear at Diego's Locksmith. Key impressioning is a small-scale duplication method that allows locksmiths or anyone with small-scale duplication needs to create new keys without an original key.

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