Lockouts · Vaughan
Broken Key Extraction
The padlock on the shed has been stiff all summer.
In plain words
What you have when the locksmith leaves matters as much as what was removed. The fragment is out and shown to you. The cylinder has been cleaned of grit, its pins and springs checked, and dressed with the lubricant its maker specifies. A new key has been cut from the key code or by reading the cuts on the two halves with a gauge, not copied from a worn original, and tested from both sides with the door open and closed. If the key broke because the lock was on its way out, a rekey or a replacement cylinder is offered as its own decision, explained first.
How the visit goesThe apartment key snapped mid-turn, leaving the cylinder twisted halfway between locked and open. The building manager's spare is somewhere across town and nobody else has a copy. You are on the wrong side of the door.
Broken Key Extraction
How the visit goes
The half in your hand
The bow and stub you are holding are worth a look before anything else. The cuts on it identify the key blank and give most of the bitting, so a replacement can be read straight from it and the fragment once they are side by side. Its condition tells a story too: thinning at the cuts, a slight bend, a crack line or a shiny worn tip all say the key was near the end of its life. The locksmith also asks about spares. A crisp spare, or the key code tag that came with the lock, is a better pattern for the new key than any worn copy.
When the piece is standing proud
A fragment that shows above the cylinder face looks like the easy case, and it is, provided nobody pushes on it. The locksmith grips it with fine-jawed extractor pliers or needle-point tweezers made for the purpose, steadies the cylinder with the other hand, and pulls straight out along the line of the keyway. If it resists, the plug is checked for rest position rather than the pull being increased, because a piece forced against lifted pins can bend them. A trace of dry lubricant at the keyway entrance eases a tight fit. The piece comes out whole, and the lock is ready to test.
A clear record for the landlord or manager
If the lock belongs to a rental unit, a condo or a workplace, you get a plain account of what was done: the fragment removed, the cylinder inspected and serviced, any key cut, and whether a rekey or replacement was recommended. Tenants and landlords in this province each carry obligations when locks are changed and keys are shared, so if the cylinder was replaced or rekeyed, the note records who now holds which key. For a property manager it closes the ticket cleanly; for you it means the next conversation about that door starts from facts rather than memory.
Broken Key Extraction
In the van
Hook key extractors
Fine-jawed extractor pliers
Key blanks and code cutter
Plug follower and cap tool
Manufacturer-approved cylinder lubricant
Broken Key Extraction
What affects the quote
Rekeying other doors to match
If the cylinder ends up rekeyed or replaced, matching the other exterior locks to the new key is priced per cylinder, and simplest while the locksmith is already there.
Vehicle key electronics
Fitting a new blade to a chip head, or moving the chip and remote into a new shell, is separate from the extraction and quoted as such, as is any ignition check.
Number of keys cut
Copies are counted individually. One replacement for a single occupant and four for a household are different lines, and you choose the number on the spot.
What to have ready
- Is it a car key with a chip or remote buttons in the head?
- Was the lock frozen or the door swollen when it happened?
- Has anything been put into the keyway since, such as tweezers, glue or another key?
Broken Key Extraction: questions
QuestionsWhat proof do I need to show?
Photo identification and something that connects you to the lock. For a house or apartment that is a lease, a bill, addressed post, or confirmation from the property manager; for a business, your role there; for a vehicle, the registration or ownership papers with matching identification. If the documents are inside, say so on the phone and the check is completed once the door is open.
Is a broken key a sign the whole lock is worn out?
Sometimes, and the visit answers it. A key that failed from its own fatigue in a clean, smooth cylinder says nothing against the lock. A key that broke because the pins were worn flat, the cap had loosened or the keyway was full of grit says the cylinder needs a service or a rekey. One that broke in a corroded, pitted plug is telling you the lock is due for replacement.
Can a new key be made from the two broken halves?
Usually. Laid end to end, the halves show the full set of cuts and identify the blank, and a locksmith reads them with a gauge and cuts a fresh key to those depths on a code machine. That is better than tracing the broken blade on a duplicator, because a worn key copied is a worn key repeated. If a spare or the key code exists, that is used instead.
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