weird BEST blank

[grit1]

I used a grand master key at my university yesterday that was on a blank that worked in both "J" and "K" BEST locks ... I've never seen that hybrid blank. Has anybody got any experiance with obscure hybrid blanks under a BEST sytem? ~Grit.

[Omikron]

If I recall correctly, those hybrid blanks that exist for I/C cores are all third-party. What probably happened was a situation where two wards were so similar, they could simply remove extra metal from the key itself and have it work in both keyways without sacrificing any major stability or longevity.

[grit1]

Would you have any idea which 3rd party manufacturers would make such a blank? I have never seen it in Ilco's line, and the key I was using had the genuine BEST logo stamped on the bow [see my WTB thread about those]. Thanks! ~Grit.

[vector40]

Just out of curiosity, grit (minor thread hijack): why are you so interested in ICs?

[grit1]

Just out of curiosity, grit (minor thread hijack): why are you so interested in ICs?

I think that somewhere inside of me I want to be an institutional locksmith, yet my career path doesn't really support that so I want a taste. The other thing I love about them is the complexity of design, especially when you add in the size of some systems out there. The security through obscurity concept with IC's is additionally fascinating from a cryptology point of view. I also have to admit that picking these little beasts still mostly alludes me - success stories are few and far between, so while I'm trying to pick them [long term] I want to learn as much as possible about systems and methods. ~Grit.