About Keys and Key types
Keys have been made of metal since Roman times, and previously of wood.
Today, keys are an everyday companion for most people; even children often have their own house key. Keys can be used to lock not only house and apartment doors and all other buildings with doors leading directly outside, but also room doors, mailboxes, bicycle locks, cars, drawers, safes, and much more.
Depending on their intended use, numerous different types of keys are in circulation. The most common types are mechanical keys, which are found in every household. Other keys, such as master keys or new building keys, are intended for very specific applications and are therefore not part of everyone’s everyday equipment.
The most common mechanical keys
These are the common mechanical key types:
Warden key
Warden locks are generally used for interior doors within houses and apartments. They are not particularly secure, and a warden key is not unique either; there are approximately 70 different types, each with a different key bit, all of which can be purchased separately.
To open a door, you simply turn the warden key in the lock. Its bit engages the teeth of the deadbolt and pushes it out of the lock.
Cylinder key
The key to the front door of your apartment or house is a cylinder key. A cylinder key is smaller than a warden key and, unlike the latter, very flat. Cylinder keys can look very different, as there are very different cylinder locking systems. The locking code of a cylinder key, which is created by milled recesses and drilled holes, is unique, which is why a cylinder lock is not so easy to crack. A lost cylinder key cannot simply be replaced; it must be exactly copied, for example, by a locksmith. Particularly secure cylinder locking systems also include keys that are virtually impossible to copy.
However, you can purchase key blanks for various cylinder types, which then need to be customized.
Safe Keys
Safes are not always locked with a key; modern versions work with numeric codes. If a safe does have a key, it is usually a double-bit key, a specific type of Chubb key. Of course, security is particularly crucial for safes, and that is precisely what a Chubb key, the significantly more secure version of the warded key, offers. Some safe keys have an additional security feature: some of the deep notches in the key bit are angled at a specific angle. There are two main types of double-bit keys:
- Key with a drilled stem at the front, which is inserted into the lock spindle with the hole in the key.
- Key with a non-drilled protruding stem, which is inserted into a hole in the back of the lock.
Reversible Key
Reversible keys are very common in Switzerland. They are keys that, no matter how you turn them, always fit into the lock cylinder and open it, because the opposite sides are exactly the same.
Locks opened with reversible keys are particularly secure and very difficult to pick. Reversible keys are also particularly convenient and do not wear out as quickly as other keys.
Other Key Types
There are even more different types of keys, but these are not part of most people’s everyday lives because they have very specific uses. A master key, for example, is a key that can open multiple locks, for example, all the locks of a specific locking system. A master key is also called a master key.
If a house has just been built and the doors still have door fittings and no doorknob, they can be opened using a so-called new construction key. A bump key is something we, as a professional locksmith, have in our toolbox: With the help of such a key, whose profile notches are all uniformly located at the lowest point, you can open most common locking cylinders – provided you have mastered the appropriate striking technique.
Of course, there are now also various electronic keys that work, for example, through fingerprint recognition or a wireless transmitter. The electronic version is already widespread for car keys, and electronic keys are also increasingly found in hotels; however, mechanical, analog keys continue to dominate for front doors.
Munich Locksmith Service opens doors non-destructively with high-quality tools
Herbert Pichelmaier’s Munich locksmith service can help you quickly if you’ve lost your key or left it at home and are therefore unable to get home. Call us, and a locksmith on duty will be dispatched immediately. You tell them exactly what happened, and based on your words, they will immediately determine what they need to do and how much work it will involve. They will be happy to give you the exact price for the service over the phone before you place your order.
All our locksmiths work with the utmost cleanliness and precision, and our toolbox is packed with high-quality, specialized tools specifically designed for professional locksmith use. Of course, some of our tools are very expensive, but it’s worth it, because thanks to our professional equipment, we can open almost any lock non-destructively.
Do you need a duplicate or replacement key? We can make it for you!
If you need a duplicate key, for example, because you’ve lost one of your keys or your child is now old enough to have their own front door key, then you’ve come to the right place. As an experienced locksmith, making duplicate or replacement keys is one of our core competencies.
You should bring the key that needs to be duplicated with you if it’s a standard key. If you rent, we also need your landlord’s permission. If it’s a special key with special security requirements that needs to be duplicated, we need a special number code and a blank key to copy the key.
Reliable locksmith service: Available 24/7, fixed price guarantee, fast arrival
We are an emergency locksmith service and are always there for anyone who urgently needs us. You can reach us 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. A locksmith on duty always answers the phone, with a toolbox at the ready and immediately on his way to help you.
We’ll be there within about 30 minutes and begin our service, which in the vast majority of cases is completed within a few minutes, so you can return home. Only in very complicated situations does it take longer.
You can also rely on our fixed price guarantee. The price we quote you over the phone before you place your order is a definitive, fixed price that includes all possible additional costs. It will be included on your final invoice exactly as we communicated it, we promise!
Did you lose your key or leave it on the dresser at home? Or did your key break while unlocking your lock? Of course, that’s very frustrating, but don’t despair. Call Herbert Pichelmaier’s locksmith service; he and his team will help you out of this jam quickly and at a fair price!