Masterkeying Lessons

by **Eyes_Only** » 14 May 2007 8:23

I'm planning on studying masterkeying systems in the near future but am a little apprehensive about buying a book on the subject as I learn better by seeing how it is done rather then just reading about it. So I'm considering on buying this CD here, http://nokey.com/cdhowtocreat.html . Anybody here have had any experience with this software or have any opinions about it?

by **selim** » 18 May 2007 22:58

I didn't know they had those CD's Thank's for the link! Do you think they need some kind of reason why you might want to know how to Masterkey?

by **Schuyler** » 18 May 2007 23:02

do it out by hand.

really. it's fun to plot them out yourself. I did a large scale project until I found out the blanks i needed were absurdly expensive.

read up a bit around here and on the web. I'd say unless you're getting into some extraordinary stuff you shouldn't need software to help you along. I mapped out a 75 lock system with operating, master, grand master and some secretary (don't know if there's a better name for keys that can open a few specific doors, but no other part of the system) keys by hand.

I'd say you'll have a better learning experience doing it this way as well.

by **2octops** » 19 May 2007 0:10

Get the cd and study it.

Check out a master keying course offered by one f the schools.

Get some master keying books.

Once you understand the concept behind it, it's pretty darn easy. The hardest part is catching ghost changes (keys that accidentally work the wrong lock) while you write a system. If you get some masterkey software, it will find these and reject them automatically.

No matter what, learn everything you can about masterkeying and the different styles and when to use them. If you decide to go farther, you can get software like Master King to create systems, but you will still need to know how it works to get the most out of the software.

by **Mutzy** » 19 May 2007 1:19

I did a full week course earlier on this year on master keying, with the second part due later this year. MACS, HLK, optimal codes... We had to write out codes for 'dummy systems' and not have anything wrong with them. 99.99% = FAIL.

I passed.

by **Raccoon** » 19 May 2007 5:23

Just remember this. Anything you learn in master keying is completely subjective. There is a real art behind it that involves tailoring a system to the specific needs of your customer. There is NO one-size-fits-all system, and so many options to choose from.

One of the main things to consider with any system, in practice, is the cost of your system. You need to balance cost of pinning against flexibility. Getting it just right can mean a difference between spending a lot on master pins that don't get used in the system or are left-over (because they come in bags of 100/ vials of 144), or a system where there is little or reasonable room for expansion and no waste.

If there's one feature I'd write into a master keying software, it would be to evenly distribute keying so that pins are used in increments of 100 or 144, and not that your final system uses 102 #2 pins and 98 #4 pins. If you consider that a given lock spec may have 10 key-pins, 10 master pins, and 10 drivers, each costing $3-5 a bag, you can potentially end up with $90~$150 worth of left-over pins.

by **Eyes_Only** » 20 May 2007 7:22

Oops, I totally forgot that I made this thread. :oops:

Well thanks for the tips guys. I just collected together 5 Schlage cylinders so on my next day off or on a day I don't have to go to work until 2 pm I'm gonna sit down and manually write up a masterkey system for these 5 locks. Hopefully my LAB kit has enough bottom pins left in them for me to pull this off.

by **Jryanruch** » 20 May 2007 12:22

You also need to consider the 'wear and tear' factor in setting up your bittings. Having deep cuts near the shoulder and using super slim master pins (like you can get in a lab kit) are problematic in the long run.

Good luck!

by **Eyes_Only** » 21 May 2007 10:39

Hmm, I'm a bit confused. I was reading the masterkeying lesson from the FB course and it said when choosing the masterkey bitting you should choose all even numbers. But the text from another locksmithing course said to choose a masterkey bitting of EOEOE. My book on SFIC locks said the same thing as well, to choose even and odd bittings. Seems like every lesson on masterkeying seems to teach things in a different way.

by **Jryanruch** » 21 May 2007 12:28

What some people are not willing to admit is that Masterkeying is the death of security. You can eliminate cross-keying, but the main function of Masterkeying is convenience for the end user.

Even - odd, all even... same same. For ease of pinning it is 'convenient' to choose a GMK with all very deep or very shallow cuts.

Just my 2 cents... I'm sure there are an abundance of opinions on this.

by **lostlink** » 21 May 2007 20:38

Eyes_Only wrote:Hmm, I'm a bit confused. I was reading the masterkeying lesson from the FB course and it said when choosing the masterkey bitting you should choose all even numbers. But the text from another locksmithing course said to choose a masterkey bitting of EOEOE. My book on SFIC locks said the same thing as well, to choose even and odd bittings. Seems like every lesson on masterkeying seems to teach things in a different way.

In reguards to the SFIC......for the A2 system you will need to do an alternating pairity......keeping all your even bittings in one chamber and all your odd bittings in another.........or rather don't mix em up.....

Six chamber example...........OEOEOE.........Control key bitting
............................................OEOEOE..........Master key bitting
............................................OEOEOE..........Pass key bitting

Also another advantage of SFIC A2 system is there are no M.A.C.S. violations to consider......

by **zeke79** » 21 May 2007 21:12

Odly enough, I find this demo for software informative as it explains some points in an easy to understand manner. It is worth a look for anyone getting started.

http://www.masterkeypro.com/docs/demo_form.htm

by **Raccoon** » 22 May 2007 22:34

The main reason people recommend using all-even bitting is because that ensures that all bittings will be spaced a minimum of 2 increment apart. the EOEOE bitting example is exactly the same theory, because all odd numbers are spaced 2 increments apart.

The reason for this 2-step is to make sure you never end up with a #1 master wafer (which can and will jam most locks), and so that there is no potential for pseudo-cross keying where a key is only 1 increment away from, say, a master key. This allows you to wiggle a key and open doors that shouldn't.

by **Eyes_Only** » 22 May 2007 23:59

Yeah I just re-read the master keying section in my FB course book and it said the same thing you pointed out.

I'm gonna be free from work for a while so Ill grab my 5 Schlage locks and try to build a simple system for it when I get the time. I'll let you guys know how it goes.

by **Eyes_Only** » 24 May 2007 14:48

Wrote up a small master keying system now that I have some free time and this is what I got at this point;

Master Key - 46486
Change Key 1 - 24264
Change Key 2 - 24268
Change Key 3 - 24624
Change Key 4 - 24628

Would this system work? Wanted to double check here before I started cutting keys and pulling out my pinning kit incase I discovered that my math was flawed which most likely is.

Masterkeying Lessons

Masterkeying Lessons

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