Best Access System Keys

[linxjinx]

Hi guys,

I'm new here and after a lot of searching and reading through the FAQ's, I still have a question.

I'm trying to help out my friend who has lost the key to her dorm room. Her roommate has a key they could make a duplicate from, however blanks for such a key are hard to come by. If you are wondering what the school charges when a student loses a key, its $150. It's an outrage as a box of blanks costs no where near that much and I know for a fact the service workers make new keys everyday for new employees.

I've poured over the ILCO catalog and have narrowed down the keys to either Best A1114K or A1114J.

I'm aware that these keys look alike but the main difference between these keys and the one that was lost is that on the underside of the key there is an additional groove/nub.

My question are:
Would the door open with out the additional groove/nub on the underside if a blank that fit the core was cut correctly?

and

Does any one know of a place to source these Blanks? We'd much rather have our locksmith place an order for these blanks rather than spend $150 at our school.

Thanks for hearing me out
linxjinx

[MBI]

To answer both your questions: no, and no.

They are most likely using a restricted keyway, which means that even though the blanks you mention may look similar, they probably won't work. Even if you do find the right blank, if you try duplicate it with traditional equipment it probably won't work since those locks require unusually high tolerances.

The reason for all this difficulty is to keep people from doing exactly what you're trying to do. In a large master key system like in a University, costs of making a new master key system and rekeying everything is very high. Once a certain number of keys are unaccounted for, it's time to redo it all. The reason for the high replacement cost of keys is to encourage you not to lose it in the first place, and to offset the cost of rekeying everything. Because while it certainly doesn't cost $150 to replace a single key, the loss of that key contributes the need to rekey the building.

Your University has those policies in place for a reason. I don't mean to sound callous but this might be one of those situations where if you can't figure out a solution on your own, your friend may have to just give in and pay the replacement fee.

[cool-arrow]

[/quote]We'd much rather have our locksmith place an order for these blanks rather than spend $150 at our school.

I don't understand this part of the question?

Restricted key blanks are expensive for the school to purchase them, but not $150 dollars expensive, and MBI is right about there tolerance. You cant just take this key to wal-mart and get a duplicate made.

If a key is lost they wouldn't have to re key the whole system, there are thousands of change keys that can be made with a 7 pin I-Core system. Maybe just re-key that lock and make 2 new keys. Which would be about $150 and could be more expensive depending on the locksmith.

I think the policy is in place to prevent theft and cut down on unauthorized entries that could lead to rapes or assaults that are rampant in colleges. It is there to protect the occupants, from jealous boy friends, robbers, etc. As a friend you should respect these policies put in place for safety reasons. What if some sicko stole the key or stalks her. These are all reasons I wouldn't make the key. Simply because I don't know who you are nore have I seen credentials to back up the story. I may sound like an a-hole because I can be, and take personal security very seriously especially when there are vulnerable parties involved.

[WOT]

Don't even bother. If your school's key issue is managed by someone who's not a total retard, each key is individually serialized and more than likely have the school's name stamped.

Even if you made a perfect copy on the same blank, they're going to know you didn't return your original key since the serial number don't match, so the lost key will be out there the whole time, then you'll still have to pay the lost key and rekey fee in the end.

Why not just pay it now?

[WOT]

BTW, the friend's and her roommate's key are cut the same, but they'd most definitely have a different serial number.

If a locksmith didn't have a blank for it, it's likely a restricted blank. A1114K and J are both readily available and are both common stock blanks for locksmiths, although not for hardware stores.


MBI,

I recall reading about re-key after certain percentage is lost policy on some school's site. I think it was used for exterior doors, but individual rooms are keyed immediately upon loss.

They should use electronic access for exterior anyways. They can't possibly afford to rekey and reissue keys to everyone everytime someone lose a key, so they go with percentage loss. With electronic access, they just disable the lost key in database and cost is very small since you just need a handful of devices.

For individual rooms, they just need to swap a core and reissue 2 or 3 keys.

[linxjinx]

thanks for the responses,

I am pretty sure we'll be paying the $150 but it doesn't hurt to ask and learn a little more about things.

MBI:

I doubt they would ever re-key the whole building. In corridor when a key is lost they just swap out a core and and issue new keys for whoever is in the room. For a suite, the same is done but there are 3 - 7 cores to change depending on the layout. To re-key the entire building would be too inconvenient for students. It's my thought that when a key is lost, given the vast amount of rooms we have on campus (at least 10k); they swap out the core then make a replacement key for that core where it will eventually be swapped out somewhere else on campus when another student or staff member loses a key.

the only marking on the key is the serial # that has no relation to what building or room it belongs to without a master list.

wot:
correct, we have ID card access for the exterior doors.

the one reason why we were pondering this idea is because Resident Assitants are the ones who check you in and out. They never look at the serial # on the keys during check out, they only care if it can lock the door. but since anything short of a miracle finding this blank is going to be impossible.

thanks for the info
linxjinx

[dougfarre]

the one reason why we were pondering this idea is because Resident Assitants are the ones who check you in and out. They never look at the serial # on the keys during check out, they only care if it can lock the door. but since anything short of a miracle finding this blank is going to be impossible.

thanks for the info
linxjinx

I wouldn't give up yet! $150 dollars is a lot of money! What if you find a key that is int being used that fits in your door, but is int cut correctly? If the cuts on that key are not too deep compared to your key you want to copy, then you can use the key you found as your new blank! I mean, if your floor supervisor isn't checking then I would most definitely try a little harder. Do you have any friends that work at the University? Maybe they have doubles of keys for a closet somewhere that they can give up.

[WOT]

thanks for the responses,

I am pretty sure we'll be paying the $150 but it doesn't hurt to ask and learn a little more about things.

If they find out, you'll probably get a notice of hearing in your box.

BEST keys from the past 20 years or so says Duplication Prohibited, anything older, just like the photo below or the one in my signature.
Anyways, check the part "you turn".

If it doesn't have that EXACT shape, forget it. It's likely you got the PKS or KABA Peaks and those are more or less unobtanium.


These four are hard to distinguish, even for a locksmith. You'll really to pay attention to details. BEST blanks are built to very close tolerance, so close sometimes an ILCO K will enter some Best L and M, but not all, but BEST K won't fit anything but a BEST K excluding extremely worn out locks.


Keyway is even harder to judge, since the front part gets worn out and conceal the details. If you're sure it couldn't be an exact match for one of these 4, you won't find the blank so easily.

[linxjinx]

Hi guys,

i was out of town and forgot to check this forum. Luckily WOT sent me a PM and brought me back to life.

The Key itself says EEST then below it it says patented by kaba.

I suppose this means I am out of luck but i'll share what I notice about the keys. I use to live on campus but in an older building and those keys do look like the ones in your picture. Down to the do not duplicate portion This key has the same exact shape but there is no warning on the front,

On this key it says what i said above and on the back is a blank side that has been engraved with a serial # by the school and a KB below the head.

Looking at the way the cut is, maybe the end is just worn out or maybe I am looking at it wrong. It looks like the L key.

However there are some differences. In the picture I've circle a portion of the L key that I can't really see on mine. Instead it is just one large groove as indicated by the line.

The other red line is the peak. instead of a flat surface mine comes up to a straight peak. Is this what you mean by a KABA peak key?

[WOT]

Hi guys
The Key itself says EEST then below it it says patented by kaba.

Give it up.

That's a BEST KABA Peaks, protected against unauthorized manufacturing by US patents.

The authorized manufacturers/distributors are not going to sell to you. You might come across grey market ones on eBay at exorbitant prices if you get lucky.