Common Mistakes People Make When Getting Keys Cut

If you need to get new keys cut, it’s essential that you use a professional key-cutting service. Ideally, you will hire a locksmith from your local area. At the very least, you should use a kiosk service. No matter who you use, though, there are some mistakes that you should avoid. To help you understand how to get the most out of a key cutting service, we contacted Lock & Key Leeds for advice.

Lock & Key Leeds have been trusted UK locksmiths for years, so they know their onions when it comes to key cutting. They gave us some helpful advice about how to avoid the kind of mistakes people make when getting keys cut. Read on to find some useful insight into how you can avoid these errors.

It’s Easy To Make Mistakes When Hiring A Key Cutting Service

When it comes to getting keys cut, the number of mistakes that you can make can, on the surface, feel pretty limited. After all, you just hire a key-cutting service, right? Well, there’s more to it than that. The quality of the key you get back comes down to:

• The quality of the key that you hand over to the key-cutting service to be duplicated
• The standard of work provided by the key cutting service; are they trustworthy?
• The compatibility of the key that you hand over with the lock(s) in question
• Providing wrong information to the key-cutting service that you hire

Now, many of these mistakes are made unwittingly. They can become quite expensive mistakes, leaving you with a key that is unsuitable for use. To give you a greater idea of the kind of mistakes you can make when hiring a key cutting service, consider the following.

The Most Frequent Key Cutting Errors To Avoid

Most of the errors made when getting keys cut are easy to make, so don’t feel embarrassed if you have already fallen foul of one of these mistakes. Typically, when hiring a key cutting service, you should look out for some or all of the following potential problems:

Using Unreliable Key Cutting Services

The first is the most likely and also the most serious. If you hire a cheap, low-quality key-cutting service, you are likely to get a poor-quality duplicate key. Worse, you might end up with such a bad key copy that it damages your lock, necessitating the need for a professional locksmith.

Avoid using key-cutting services that you find in classified ads or someone you know who is an amateur key cutter. This service is provided at a very fair cost by locksmith services across the UK. At worst, rely on a reputable key-cutting kiosk service like Timpsons; ideally, hire a locksmith with years of experience.

Copying Worn/Damaged Keys

The first thing you need to do when getting keys cut is to make sure that your source key is in the best condition possible. Ideally, you should still have the original key that came with your locks; this should not be the key that you use day-to-day. Instead, you should use a copy of this original key.

The original key should be as close to its day-one condition as possible, as this makes it much easier to get an accurate duplicate. If you hand over a worn or damaged key, the locksmith or key-cutting service can only do so much.

Ignoring Compatibility Issues

Handing over the wrong type of key is an easy mistake to make. Always take the time to test out every key that you are bringing to a key-cutting service to be duplicated. Make sure it works and that this key is in fact for the purpose you have in mind. This saves you from wasting your time and getting a needless duplicate created!

Using Generic Key Cutting Services For Specialist Keys

If you need a specific type of key cut, such as a safe key or a high-security key, use a specialist key-cutting service. A typical kiosk is unlikely to be able to (accurately) recreate your safe key, for example. Always use a specialist key-cutting service if you are having anything apart from a standard house or shed key cut; it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Not Getting Multiple Duplicates

When you get a key duplicated by a key-cutting service, it is wise practice to get multiple copies made at once. That means you can give out these spare copies to other people in your family, or other staff members in your workplace. You can even keep one in a police-approved key safe so you always know you have access to a spare key when you need it. Imagine the stress of having your keys cut, only to lose the only spare copy you have shortly after! It’s better to be safe than sorry, right?

Failure To Test Your New Keys

As soon as you get back from the key-cutting service, test the key out. Make sure that it works without any resistance or problems. Lock and unlock the object several times and look for any struggles that appear. The key should work seamlessly, so if anything is catching, etc., make sure you take the key back and have the problem fixed. Again, this is why hiring a mobile locksmith is often the best choice: they can cut the key for you at your premises and test it.

Always Hire A Key Cutting Service With History

We understand that money is tight for most people, so it helps to make savings where you can. Trust us when we say that using a cheaper key-cutting service is likely to result in an expensive mistake!

Faulty copies are just one problem; unscrupulous key-cutting services might create a secondary copy for themselves. There are many mistakes that can be made, but trying to be a little too cheap is the most egregious. Avoid this mistake, pay attention to the above, and you can make sure you get keys cut that you can rely on for years to come, all provided by a service you can trust.