key catalog question

by **omgxraycat** » 21 Jul 2006 6:48

I just did a lesson in foley belsaw for learning about key catalog. I think the one they gave me is a small one or something...I can't find any of the keys on my keyring! I have a key that says WR5 on it. I figured it's a Weiser key, but it's not in the Weiser section of the catalog. Maybe this catalog is just a learning one.

by **omgxraycat** » 21 Jul 2006 6:53

ah, i think i figured it out. The only blanks in my catalog are from Star. Maybe the key that I haven't wasn't made by them?

So what would the process be if a customer brought in a key that needed to be duplicated, but it didn't have the company name on it? What if it only said something like... 4087p0 or something. I have a key that says only that. How would you know where to look?

by **Shrub** » 21 Jul 2006 9:35

Well a lot of it is practice and experiance, i am getting quite good now at looking at regular uk keys and determineing which blank to use just by sight but if its an odd one, you ask what the key works with, cylinder, knob, vehicle, padlock etc

Then you look at the profile, practice and experiance will give you a rough idea and also you may have seen a simular profile before in your catalogue so look there first,

A good paper back catalogue is a must, you look in the appropreate sections and then simply skip through the profiles until you find the key that matches then look to see if it is the same length etc, most catalogues have the keys in actual size (at least mine does) so you can also compare that,

You can do it another way in that you have profile gauges which are plates with key holes in them, you simply try inserting the key into each hole until you find one it fits in, the hole will have the blank details next to it so you then look that up in the catalogue to make sure its for the use the customer has suggested,

I use electronic key catalogues regulary now but i would suggest until your good enough to make good educated guesses on what your looking for you should stick with paper ones,

Order a catalogue from any other suppliers you may deal with in the future and then youve got alternitives if your company doesnt sell them,

by **omgxraycat** » 21 Jul 2006 9:59

thanks shrub!

by **Varjeal** » 21 Jul 2006 10:31

Btw, the WR5 is indeed the standard weiser keyblank, if that number doesn't work in your reference, try N1054WB, it's the same thing. Also, key catalogs will have cross-reference reference numbers to compare with other manufacturers. Many times you will find the numbers are fairly close together, but a few may be wildly different.

by **omgxraycat** » 21 Jul 2006 10:40

I see WR1 - WR4 but no 5. lol

Is the brand of the keyblank weiser? or is the WR5 just saying that it's for a Weiser lock?

by **Shrub** » 21 Jul 2006 11:56

WR is normaly the code for Weiser locks, the nuber is the profile,

WR should be a common used code with most of the manufacturers but my programs come up with WEI for weisers,

A WR5 comes up as WR5D which comes up as a ERREBI made blank, the equivalents are;

JMA - WEI-1
ERREBI - WR5D
SILCA - WEI1
KEY LINE - WS4
ILCO - N1054WB
ALBA - R53
BORKEY - 996K
LOTUS - W12
RR - WER3
CEA - WS1
ORION - WEI10
RST - 118Y
FUKI - S8
HD - 118Y
DL - H54WA
KIS - WEI1
MrMINIT - 13
COLE - WR2
CURTIS - WR3
DOMINION - H54WA
ESP - WR3
ILCO EZ - WR3
JET - WR3
TAYLOR - 54WB
ORIGINAL - 1573
AXXESS - 67

Hope this helps :wink:

by **horsefeathers** » 21 Jul 2006 13:40

Good to see all the manufacturers getting together and standardising their numbering systems.................NOT!

:lol:

by **Shrub** » 21 Jul 2006 14:48

They all (well almost) have 'W' in them and thats as standard as they get as you know lol

by **LockNewbie21** » 22 Jul 2006 0:45

Or oyu could jsut cheat and get a warding coder, and just slide keys in till yu find the right one

Ahh in the states the only keys oyu come across are M1's and the like, Kw1, SC1, maybe a sargent here and that really it, i havent seen any high securtiy cylinders at all around here... well mcdonalds has a mul t lock thats all

Its always good to memorize, but you will likely find a certain keyblank selection to mass stock.

Bit and flat keys are rare, tubulars.. well good luck

by **omgxraycat** » 22 Jul 2006 1:17

So do locksmiths have to own like 20 different companies key catalogs?

by **Shrub** » 22 Jul 2006 10:28

It depends, the more choice you have the more chance of getting the key is but really i tend to use JMA which tends to do anything ive ever wanted so far,

Most will do all the common keys and if you get a funny one you have to think is it worth getting a new account and spending the minimum order to just sell one key and never use the others, its handy for those jobs where you need to cut 50 keys of a type your suppier doesnt sell but get a good firm and youll be o,

It is always nice to have the catalogues though if only to cross check,

Ill tend to use cross referance software though for that :wink:

by **Shrub** » 22 Jul 2006 10:29

There are also a lot of universal keys that fit a number of keyways, i like to get the proper key myself but do have some security universal blanks, they tend to be thinner so they fit more locks and if your stuck will help you out,

by **Raccoon** » 22 Jul 2006 15:52

Any chance of getting a list of actual places to order catalogues from? Names of catalogues, reviews, perhaps ISBNs if these guys have ISBNs?

by **Shrub** » 22 Jul 2006 15:59

Well its obviously region specific but if you work down the list i put above and search for the companies on the net just mail or ring them for a catalogue,

Go for iclo, jma, silca first off then look around for others, its pointless getting them if you cant get keys from them so look at who sells them in your part of the world,

Ask your local key shop who they get their blanks off and contact them etc,

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