by kg4boj » 2 Oct 2007 21:43
the average everyday key in knob kwikset needs a "rekeying tool" witch is a long flat bar with a circular cutout at one end and the other shaped almost like a flatbladed screwdrver. You are supposed to use the flat end to twist the spindle to the center position, and push the springloaded spindle retainer inwards and pull out the spindle with your fingers. This will give you a cavity to insert the forked end of the tool into the body of the knob and if you keep it perpindicular with the part that extends through the latch then you should squeeze 2 prongs inwards and the lock should pop out, but sometimes this doesnt work if one of the prongs is bent or the knob was painted over.... superglued etc... you can take a long rod or punch and center it on the back of the lock plug inside the handle and give it a good smack with a hammer, however this can bend the prongs, even break them, and they also sometimes pull out of the slots they were pushed into, just keep that in mind.
Kwikset titans are a sort of diffrent beast, they are designed so that there is a spring loaded retainer that will be pulled inwards if you rotate the plug farther than it normally goes, this can be accomplished with either picking the lock over, or by cutting a slot in the bottom of a working key, You can also shim the lock and pull the retainer out and hold it with an awl.... better be safe and hold it with an awl because if it falls in front of the follower, you might not have enough hands to keep the lock from exploding whtout a plug or a follower in the lock to keep the upper pins in.... in short, if you have a small hotel or apartment complex that needs frequent rekeying, Titans are good grade 3 (I think) locksets to be used in conjunction with secondary locking devices, simple to remove and rekey, however on your house, when you loose your keys on maybe 7 or 8 locks (too few to be worthwhile making a key (if they are even keyed alike) and too many to make a small hasle out of the extra labor involved, you'll just piss off whoever has to rekey it with a little extra work.
Then again I love mini IC locks but the things are too expensive to put on most houses and small buisnueses. Thats why on this locksmiths property.... I have a modified GM 10 (2custom wards means only I can dupe keys with the extra slot) ignition inside an old commercial lock, I can open my van, my house, my toolbox and arm/disarm the security alarm.
If anyone is interested I am considering purchasing an electronic strike/steel doorframe and setting up a wireless remote and electric strike on a residential door of this house.
Society creates the crime, the criminal completes it
