Skeleton keys
A keyed-alike system is different from a master key system as none of the locks have a key that can open only that lock. Some applications, such as a building with multiple entrance doors, have numerous locks that are keyed alike one key will open every door. A skeleton key has the warded section of the key removed so that it opens all the doors of a system. Each door will have different wards and can only be opened by the correctly warded key or the master key. A master key system of lever locks has the same lever heights in all locks. Lever lock skeleton keys are used in a lock with usually three or five levers and a set of wards that come into contact with the bit of the key only on the sides-the top is for pushing the levers to their correct heights while the warded section of the key just has to pass uninterrupted to allow the key to rotate fully. To counteract the illicit creation of such keys, locksmiths can put wards not just in the center but on the outside as well, making the creation of a skeleton key more difficult. This can usually be done by removing most of the center of the key, allowing it to pass by the wards without interference, operating the lock. Like and follow our Facebook page for regular features on locks, keys, safes and security.A common set of skeleton keys used to open most types of warded padlocks.Ī skeleton key is a key that has been filed or cut to create one that can be used to unlock a variety of warded locks each with a different configuration of wards. If you are in the Norfolk area and you find yourself locked out of your home or car, call us on 01603 812613. This lack of security has made the system more or less obsolete.Īt PT Lock and Safe, we’ve turned our fascination with locks and puzzles into a thriving locksmith business. Any of the everyday keys that are only supposed to work in one lock can be filed down and made into a skeleton key. There is an obvious problem with warded locks that can be opened by a skeleton key. In the Living Daylights, Timothy Dalton’s Bond uses a skeleton key given to him by Q to escape from a pair of handcuffs. They crop up occasionally in movies as well: Beetlejuice, Harold and Maude, and – unsurprisingly – the psychological thriller The Skeleton Key all feature the motif. The fictional skeleton key can frequently open any lock at all! Skeleton Keys make regular appearances in Enid Blyton books and mid-Twentieth Century detective novels. In literature, skeleton keys have acquired functions that their real-world equivalents never had. A slimmer version of the key will not be obstructed by the wards and will be able to turn.
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The skeleton key is a way of bypassing the wards of these simple locks. Keys with notches in the wrong place can be inserted but will not turn. It is the rotation of the key that unlocks the bolt. The key has notches that align with obstructions (known as wards) allowing that key to turn. A skeleton key meant that hoteliers could access all the rooms without having to carry a huge bunch of keys around with them.Ī warded lock should only open to a key that is cut in the shape of that lock.
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Hotels, for instance – where every guest needs a key that opens only their own door, but housekeeping needs access to all the rooms. Historically, skeleton keys were useful in large buildings with many rooms. Stripped of all irrelevant parts – hence skeleton – the key only has the functional opening mechanism for all the doors. A skeleton key is master key for opening all of a particular set of doors.