Decoding Impressioning, or duplicating lost keys

by **007** » 13 Jul 2004 22:16

What if i lost my key to my door knob (house Lock) and didn't want to replace it since, the same key works on all my locks in the house.
If I pick the lock how can I make a key I seen on movies they make impressions in clay. I also been reading into impressioning and read Hors2k's thread on decoding, But I can't get it.
Chucklz is always helpful.
Helped me understand a little.
Can someone PLEASE tell me how this fine art is done.
How I would basically pick the lock, and then make a key? without having the key to start with .(sorry if thats confusing)

THANKS ALL

LOVE THIS SITE!!!!!

by **Guitar_J** » 13 Jul 2004 22:55

Just curious...

What country are you from?

by **007** » 13 Jul 2004 22:58

WHY G

by **007** » 13 Jul 2004 23:02

The Land of the Free and Home of the Brave.
A Place where you can pick your nose , and locks in your home.
Thanks.
Want to help me out know

Curiousity killed the cat :lol:

by **Chucklz** » 13 Jul 2004 23:17

Ahh. Okay, if you have the lock picked open, and you can dissassemble it, forget impressioning for the moment. Dissassemble with your plug follower as if you were rekeying the lock (If you dont know how to do this, search). Don't dump the pins though. Gently insert keyblank, you will raise all the pins. Take a careful look at what needs to be filed more or less. Then file.

Cool tip: You can remove the pins from the lock, as long as you keep them in the right order. Find a bit of corregated cardboard thats still "ripply" on one side. Use the channels to organize the pins nicely.

Cool tip #2: With no pins in the cylinder, insert keyblank. Use a marker to make a dot on the blank. Instant spacing.

by **007** » 13 Jul 2004 23:23

Thxs Chuchlz can always count on you.

The only problem now is where to get a plug follower?

And stuff key gauge etc...
Do you know if Home depot have stuff like that?

Oh yeah key blanks Too.

Any other info chucklz PLEASE telll me I'll respond tommorow gotta get some sleep my wife is needing me LOL :lol:

THANKS AGAIN and please keep the good info coming you are the man

by **Guitar_J** » 13 Jul 2004 23:26

Sure.. I'll throw ya a bone...

What you're wanting to do is called Impressioning, it is a fine art of locksmithing. Basically what you do is insert a prepared key blank into a lock, you turn it and rock it up and down, then you turn it the opposite way and rock it up and down... you do this process a few times and remove the blank... upon removal and close (and when I say close... I mean close!) inspection you should notice tiny marks left on the key blank. You use a file, usually a small file with a very fine cut on it that will make smooth cuts (I use a set of hobby files, they're tiny which makes them excellent for working on small parts in locks) You file a TINY bit at a time and eventually you'll get a working key...

It works on the principal that when you turn the blank, you are putting tension on the plug which makes the pins bind, since the bound pins can't move, when you wiggle the blank, they make marks on it, when you have filed the blank enough to make the pin set rather than bind, the pin no longer makes marks on the blank.

It is a long process...

You can however make it a bit easier by using a marker to color the blade of the blank, the pins with scratch off the ink from the marker and make the impressioning marks easier to see...

Another note... once you get a working key, you need to make a copy of it, don't use the one you made... it has been stressed and could possibly break off in your lock, so making a copy just helps to prevent this.

Look in the FAQ forum, there is a large thread about the art of impressioning...

DON'T expect to become good at this over night, I've tried it alot and I'm still not too good at it...

-Josh

by **randmguy** » 13 Jul 2004 23:27

You can get a dial caliper at the Home Depot or Menards just make sure you buy one that reads in .001's. If you're truly worried about losing the key just write down the depths your key is cut to somewhere safe and then you can go to any locksmith and have a key cut to code.

by **Guitar_J** » 13 Jul 2004 23:27

Do what chucklz said, I made about 5 keys like that today... its simple, much simpler than impressioning...

by **WhiteHat** » 14 Jul 2004 1:06

..there's actually a small section on impressioning by varjeal in the FAQ's section..

by **Hojo** » 14 Jul 2004 4:19

You couold just make a seperate key for that door, I made a video on re pinning a lock at home without all the 'special' tools and stuff its about 15 meg if anyone wants to host it tell me and ill send it to you....

by **reg** » 14 Jul 2004 7:10

007 wrote:What if i lost my key to my door knob (house Lock) and didn't want to replace it since, the same key works on all my locks in the house.

Just as an aside - if you lose a key that one can use for all locks in the house, perhaps you should repin all the locks, so a casual observer & finder cannot get in with the old key.

by **007** » 14 Jul 2004 9:46

THANKS ALL
I was wondering where can I get a plug follower from?

DO they sell them at Home Depot?

I gotta pick up some key blanks I'm asssuming that the key blanks have to match the lock name?

Thanks Any other advice is always welcome!

by **toomush2drink** » 14 Jul 2004 10:40

Tip you can make a plug follow from a piece of wooden dowel and just file a notch in the end to catch and line up the springs and pins.

by **007** » 14 Jul 2004 10:49

WOW COOL Love them low cost things!
TRhanks Too

What size dowel do I use??? Diameter etc....

WHat about a cylinder remover and other tools it has in the Kwikset rekeying manual?

ANd what about a key gaugetoo?

But i want to make that plug follower just need to know what diameter dowel and what lenght it should be etc...

Thanks Again

Decoding Impressioning, or duplicating lost keys

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