Smartkey locks are a pain in more ways than regular pinned locks. I am a locksmith and when I first started hearing about these locks I asked Kwikset what happens when a person locks them self out of the house, their response was "the person needs to find alternate method of entry". So I asked does something like breaking out a window fall into that answer? Their reply "the person needs to find alternate method of entry". So I left it at that.
Some time later I read about a tool that could be used to open locked Smartkey locks (Major KTT-4 tool) it would not be possible for the lock to be re-keyed once this tool was used to open the lock. I purchased and used the tool with great success, even once on a sheriff lock out. I always let the people whose lock(s) i was going to open this way they should replace those locks and why.
Last year after breaking the blade on the tool I found two things one is that Major Manufacturing decided to discontinue manufacturing the KTT-4., and two, that Kwikset has redesigned the locks making it much tougher for tools like the KTT-4 to be used.
On another subject I had recently learned that people were having some failure issues with the Smartkey locks. I found this issue of keys not working right after I had re-keyed the lock. Maybe one key would work and another not, so I tried to re-key the lock again using the key that didn't work as my new code key, 99% of the time that worked. The other 1% I found there was a problem with the lock it self.
The last three times I had issues with Smartkey locks were one, I was called to a person who had a locked door needing to be opened, I saw it was a Smartkey and right away told the person I needed to drill it open; two the person was having problems opening a lock with a newly cut key it did not work at all, so I got my learn tool and re-keyed the lock using the new key, problem solved; three I had a returning customer who had lost the key, so I told her I had a tool to re-key it with again problem solved.
Not to get to far off the track I recently re-keyed a house that had one lever Schlage SecureKey lock and it would not stay re-keyed. Once re-keyed the key failed to open the lock. After tying several things I decided to replace the plug re-keying it to the rest of the house, again problem solved.
2016 ?? Protecto Keyed: Re-Visited (Again)
I had a call sometime ago about a lock that was sticking it was the deadbolt on the front door and the gentleman could not get it to open or lock. He had broken off his key trying so hard to get the thing to lock. When I got there I took the lock off the door and completely took it apart to see what the problem was. I took the snap ring off the back of the lock and started to push the plug out and found it to be jammed really tight, so I popped the cap off where the springs and top pins are.
I found that the lock was protecto keyed even though there was not sticker on it. After I dumped the pins and springs out into my tray I found that the plug was still jammed really tight. I tapped on the back of the plug until finally it came out and to my surprise a wafer thin master pin popped out with it.
I reassembled the lock and made some key and tested the lock.
Then I reinstalled the lock on the door and once again tested it to make sure it worked smoothly.
THERE ARE SEVEN PINS STACKED BESIDE THE DIME'S EDGE!!
Once again I highly recommend that anyone who has protecto keyed locks on their doors have the locks re-keyed and have the master pins removed. Nine times out of ten this will make your locks work much smoother and will eliminate the possibility of any future problems.
TIME SURE FLIES!! 2014 Bye Bye
It's been a while and this year is almost over already... just three more months. This year has been really slow, I sit around most days and watch my beard grow... LOL. I had it trimmed a month or so ago and it looked somewhat like the architect in the movie "Matrix"
I started getting things in the garage organized and have had to send for two shredders to replace the broken ones... I hate plastic gears!
As you can see when the shredder jammed the smaller gear ripped the front of the larger plastic gear to heck. Needless to say it slowed me down as I had to wait for replacement shredders.
But I digress, the last two re-key jobs I had were for deadbolts only. I recommend that if you only want the knob or deadbolt done to do the deadbolts.
Lately I have been getting a lot of mail about Medicare, yeah, I'll be 65 in January and it's kind of scary.
I started getting things in the garage organized and have had to send for two shredders to replace the broken ones... I hate plastic gears!
As you can see when the shredder jammed the smaller gear ripped the front of the larger plastic gear to heck. Needless to say it slowed me down as I had to wait for replacement shredders.
But I digress, the last two re-key jobs I had were for deadbolts only. I recommend that if you only want the knob or deadbolt done to do the deadbolts.
Lately I have been getting a lot of mail about Medicare, yeah, I'll be 65 in January and it's kind of scary.
Merry Christmas to all and may God bless!
Today again I find myself doing a re-key at a house with locks having the "Protecto Key" sticker. The new buyer called and wanted the locks re-keyed before moving in, a excellent idea I might add, you never know who might have a key.
I removed the locks and went to my car and got the equipment and supplies I was going to need. As I took the spring cap off and poured the springs and pins in to my hand i noticed right away someone had used "graphite" to lube a lock that had a bigger problem, the wafer thin pins used to make the lock a "Protecto Keyed" lock were the problem and as soon as removed once again the lock functioned as it should, without lubing it.
Remember this simple thing lube doesn't always fix the problem it just masks it sooner or later you or someone will break a key off. Remember the old commercial "you can pay me now or you can pay me later", just saying!
Merry Christmas to all and may God bless!
I removed the locks and went to my car and got the equipment and supplies I was going to need. As I took the spring cap off and poured the springs and pins in to my hand i noticed right away someone had used "graphite" to lube a lock that had a bigger problem, the wafer thin pins used to make the lock a "Protecto Keyed" lock were the problem and as soon as removed once again the lock functioned as it should, without lubing it.
Remember this simple thing lube doesn't always fix the problem it just masks it sooner or later you or someone will break a key off. Remember the old commercial "you can pay me now or you can pay me later", just saying!
Merry Christmas to all and may God bless!
I'm locked out, how soon can you get here?
I HEAR THOSE WORDS FREQUENTLY BUT USUALLY FIND SOMEONE THERE WHEN I GET THERE.
The other day someone called for a locksmith and asked how soon can we get there? When told twenty to thirty minutes went shopping with a friend. Wow, what a surprise when I arrived twenty minutes later to find no one at home or at the neighbors home like was told to my receptionist. I waited fifteen minutes and then called the number I was given, after several rings it went to voice mail and I hung up.
I am now at the thirty-five minutes for this job and haven't seen the caller yet. I called fifteen minutes later this time I left a message. Again I waited for fifteen minutes then called and left another message.... by now my wife was growing impatient, now at over an hour we decided to leave.
I just got two blocks away when I got a call, the customer saying they had gone shipping and would return in a short time. So me being a big sucker decided to go back and wait. Well another twenty minutes later a car pulls into the driveway.
I got out grabbed my tools and headed to the front door and started to pick the lock when the customer asked if I was a convicted felon. I was shocked by the question at first then replied that our president couldn't do my job because I have to run finger prints to the D.O.D., F.B.I. and Homeland Security.
I kept working as the customer slipped around the garage side of the house. A few minutes later upon returning I was informed the customer had broke in. So I questioned the customer saying "You broke in" to that was a reply of yes I broke in.
I then asked what I should do keep going or what, and I saw the look of I broke in on the customers face and started putting my tools away. Then came the big question am I getting paid and if so how much. I thought an hour and a half of time should be worth at least the service charge but not the customer because I didn't open the door.
The customer watched me put away my tools then headed for where the break-in happen, I heard said I would have given him $xx.xx but not the full amount.
The other day someone called for a locksmith and asked how soon can we get there? When told twenty to thirty minutes went shopping with a friend. Wow, what a surprise when I arrived twenty minutes later to find no one at home or at the neighbors home like was told to my receptionist. I waited fifteen minutes and then called the number I was given, after several rings it went to voice mail and I hung up.
I am now at the thirty-five minutes for this job and haven't seen the caller yet. I called fifteen minutes later this time I left a message. Again I waited for fifteen minutes then called and left another message.... by now my wife was growing impatient, now at over an hour we decided to leave.
I just got two blocks away when I got a call, the customer saying they had gone shipping and would return in a short time. So me being a big sucker decided to go back and wait. Well another twenty minutes later a car pulls into the driveway.
I got out grabbed my tools and headed to the front door and started to pick the lock when the customer asked if I was a convicted felon. I was shocked by the question at first then replied that our president couldn't do my job because I have to run finger prints to the D.O.D., F.B.I. and Homeland Security.
I kept working as the customer slipped around the garage side of the house. A few minutes later upon returning I was informed the customer had broke in. So I questioned the customer saying "You broke in" to that was a reply of yes I broke in.
I then asked what I should do keep going or what, and I saw the look of I broke in on the customers face and started putting my tools away. Then came the big question am I getting paid and if so how much. I thought an hour and a half of time should be worth at least the service charge but not the customer because I didn't open the door.
The customer watched me put away my tools then headed for where the break-in happen, I heard said I would have given him $xx.xx but not the full amount.
I'm currently under employed !!
This month I have time to get my garage cleaned up a little as by business has slowed considerably in the past month. I did have a couple of jobs yesterday (05/16/2012) those being the first in about a week.
Today I inventoried the Schlage/Dexter locks that have been accumulating from the Fannie Mae properties I re-key form clients. Fannie Mae requires Kwikset locks be used on those properties. So i end up taking them off re-keying them and then storing them in the garage in large containers. What will I do with them??
This is the knobs!
This is the deadbolts!
And this is the levers!
Keyway Types
Notice the subtle differences to the key-ways.
I got a call the other day to go and do some repair work on a house that I had previously re-keyed, the type of locks that were on the house were Schlage. Upon my arrival I was greeted by the owner.
We then went into his garage which were explained one of the problems to me, the door going from the garage into the house at lever locks on it and the knob itself had jammed so we could not open the door. I went to the car and got my screwdrivers to go inside to take the inside handle of the lock off when I did I tried to open the latch using the flat screwdriver and found the one I had was too small so it went back out to the car and got a bigger one, applying much more force than was really necessary to open the lock I got the latch opened. I removed the broken latch and started to replace with the new one he had purchased.
He was going to replace the lever type lock with the standard knob, he explained his children had played with the lever knobs and were making the handles loose. He also handed me a Kwikset deadbolt and wanted to know if I could put that on the door and re-key it to the same key as the rest of the house.
I explained to him that the key ways were different and unless he wanted to use two keys to get in the door from the garage I would not be able to do it. Many people have asked me this same question, some houses have a mixture of Kwikset and Schlage type locks on them and they want to know if they can all be re-keyed to the same key.
I tell them no, because a Kwikset key will not fit in a Schlage lock nor will the Schlage key fit in a Kwikset lock.
Protecto Keyed: Re-Visited (Again)
I had a call sometime ago about a lock that was sticking it was the deadbolt on the front door and the gentleman could not get it to open or lock. He had broken off his key trying so hard to get the thing to lock. When I got there I took the lock off the door and completely took it apart to see what the problem was. I took the snap ring off the back of the lock and started to push the plug out and found it to be jammed really tight, so I popped the cap off where the springs and top pins are.
I found that the lock was protecto keyed even though there was not sticker on it. After I dumped the pins and springs out into my tray I found that the plug was still jammed really tight. I tapped on the back of the plug until finally it came out and to my surprise a wafer thin master pin popped out with it.
I reassembled the lock and made some key and tested the lock.
Then I reinstalled the lock on the door and once again tested it to make sure it worked smoothly.
THERE ARE SEVEN PINS STACKED BESIDE THE DIME'S EDGE!!
Once again I highly recommend that anyone who has protecto keyed locks on their doors have the locks re-keyed and have the master pins removed. Nine times out of ten this will make your locks work much smoother and will eliminate the possibility of any future problems.
Protecto Keyed: Re-Visited
The other day I received a call from a lady who had protecto keyed locks on her house, she was calling because she had just gone down to the hardware store and had keys made, needless to say the keys did not work. She told me that the locks had protecto stickers on them. She also said that she had read my blog about protecto keys on locks.
I told her that keys made in those new machines sometimes don't work because of the wafer thin master pins that are used to protecto key a lock. The machine they use at some of the hardware chain, they just put your key in one slot and a blank key in another slot then the machine just cuts the key site unseen.
Notice the pile of seven pins at the edge of the dime!
I once had to have keys made it one of these big chain stores and the guy put the keys in a bag. I went to my job only to realize that the keys were not made correctly, they looked like the Gormogon's teeth on one of the episodes of Bones (i.e. very sharp and pointed).
But I digress, the thing is those machines might cut a key slightly smaller or slightly larger than your master key and some of those pins that they used to make the protecto keyed locks are very thin and may catch on the edge of the key when you try to open the lock.
I told her that I recommend having the locks re-keyed by a locksmith and for her to request of the locksmith that they take those pins out so she would have no further problems with those pins binding up her lock. She lived quite a ways away from my business and I told her it would probably be cheaper for her if she got somebody to do the work locally.
She thanked me and we ended the call.
I told her that keys made in those new machines sometimes don't work because of the wafer thin master pins that are used to protecto key a lock. The machine they use at some of the hardware chain, they just put your key in one slot and a blank key in another slot then the machine just cuts the key site unseen.
Notice the pile of seven pins at the edge of the dime!
I once had to have keys made it one of these big chain stores and the guy put the keys in a bag. I went to my job only to realize that the keys were not made correctly, they looked like the Gormogon's teeth on one of the episodes of Bones (i.e. very sharp and pointed).
But I digress, the thing is those machines might cut a key slightly smaller or slightly larger than your master key and some of those pins that they used to make the protecto keyed locks are very thin and may catch on the edge of the key when you try to open the lock.
I told her that I recommend having the locks re-keyed by a locksmith and for her to request of the locksmith that they take those pins out so she would have no further problems with those pins binding up her lock. She lived quite a ways away from my business and I told her it would probably be cheaper for her if she got somebody to do the work locally.
She thanked me and we ended the call.
WOW... WHAT A MESS!!!!
THE KITCHEN
LIVING ROOM
MASTER BEDROOM
MASTER BATH
WALK-IN CLOSET
GREAT ROOM
GRAFFITI ROOM
THE EVIDENCE
THE ENTRY
This is what I recently encountered at an "REO" property I was sent to re-key for one of my clients.
IT'S NOT THE 1960'S
I grew up in a small town in Iowa in the 50's and 60's on a dead end street. We played in the street until dark most summer days and then would play hide and seek in the neighborhood with out fear of criminal activity.
Today I here of crimes in broad daylight... criminals are getting bolder and it's up to you and me to make it as hard as possible for them to succeed. Keeping windows locked and doors locked with deadbolts and where necessary double deadbolts. I recommend double deadbolts on doors where there is glass that can be broken for someone to reach in and unlock the door.
I was recently made aware of a product to keep from getting exterior doors kicked in..... the Door Devil... my wife won one online and we just installed it on the front door. Our garage doors swing out and are nearly impossible to kick in... and they have security hinges.
In any case as a locksmith I have been to police lockouts where time required me to have to kick in the front door. It may do damage to both the door and the jamb requiring replacement of one or both.
Today I here of crimes in broad daylight... criminals are getting bolder and it's up to you and me to make it as hard as possible for them to succeed. Keeping windows locked and doors locked with deadbolts and where necessary double deadbolts. I recommend double deadbolts on doors where there is glass that can be broken for someone to reach in and unlock the door.
I was recently made aware of a product to keep from getting exterior doors kicked in..... the Door Devil... my wife won one online and we just installed it on the front door. Our garage doors swing out and are nearly impossible to kick in... and they have security hinges.
In any case as a locksmith I have been to police lockouts where time required me to have to kick in the front door. It may do damage to both the door and the jamb requiring replacement of one or both.
With this product the criminal is going to have to use more force than most people could muster without busting out a jam.
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