Substituting individual blanks with a multi-section blank

[WOT]

There are 7 different open keyways for Schlage with the "C" being the most common. There are 11 different key profiles. Dedicated blanks for each of seven keyways, 3 multisection keys, and 1 all section blank.

Say a customer comes in with a Schlage key for duplication. You can't tell if it's a CE or an FG key, so you put it on the "L" key, which is the all section key. Customer takes the key and key functions fine.

How about stocking just SC1 and SC4 for the most common high volume duplications, then only stocking the all section L in 5 and 6 pinto avoid having to stock every type of blanks.

What's your feelings about this kind of practice?

[ponsaloti]

I dont know enough about schlage profiles (restrictions ect) but is it the same as in blighty where you can get away with UNL5 / UNL5L, UNL6 / UNL6L on many copies

[raimundo]

master blanks are very thin and could easily break when a drunk uses brute force and stupidity, I would avoid using the especially with any deep cuts near the bow. Some master blanks may be made of harder metal than the usual nickle silver, and would wear your cutting wheel faster.

[linty]

never, ever.

schlage L is very thin as was mentioned, and it has a lot of room to wiggle around in the keyway, so it tends to be sticky and it's also difficult to duplicate if your customer were ever to come back.

Also, there may still be systems out there where multisection keys are being used as part of their master system and cutting a schlage L out of a Schlage E might give somebody more access than they were supposed to have.

If you can't tell which key a customer brings in, you should either send them to another locksmith or make your best guess and be ready to replace it if you made a mistake.

this is the kind of thing that shoe repair shops and other convenience store key cutters do, but hopefully not professional locksmiths.

[Jryanruch]

For Schlage i have to agree with Linty.. The L blank is really fragile, we have them and use them as a last resort when buildings have too many keyways to use a stronger Schlage like an "H" to cover them. But they're miserable, and you're asking for late night 'broken key' calls.

For other things like file cabinets and cash boxes the Y11/1122 and it's reverse are golden. Several automotive blanks will substitute for eachother in applications that are difficult such as Heavy Duty machinery and excavating equipment.

The 1098M blank for gascaps, roofracks, momentary switches, boat ignitions etc.. is one I use regularly instead of ordering a wide variety of blanks. If the customer requests it, we do make orders for stronger blanks for construction applications or heavy use. In general the M blanks perform fine.

Ordering and cutting original blanks for every application is too expensive and too time consuming. By the end you will have to charge 10$ a key to make profit, instead of $2. As long as the blanks are a reasonable substitute, I generally go for it, but it does depend on what the customer needs.

[Raccoon]

I tend to stay with as low a level sectional or original (oem) or substitute. The big thing here is thin keys that break easily, but a good point was made about potentially weakening security by putting out a lot of Schlage Ls, or for that matter Sargent LN/RN/HN/CN all section keys.

But it's good to have universals on hand for that occasion you run into a uncommon key you haven't stocked yet. Though, as soon as such a key comes in, I stock at least 10 of them.