Keys

[summersoon]

Ok so this may be a really stupid question...

say you went to a factory that supplied the whole world with the same style of padlock and key...would every key be different i.e open its own padlock? and cannot open any other padlock?

I just dont get how they can make so many of them and none are the same, or am i missing something? maybe they have lots of special key combinations! HELP!

Thanks in advancexxx

[dzug]

There are loads of different designs for the same key but there will be duplicates somewhere. The chances of it are low for any two locks though.

[BillyBB]

Each lock has a standard number of differs before they are repeated. ie Yale 24,000. Then they can create different profiles so although the cut heights are the same, the key will not actually go into your lock. Some manufacturers can give guarantees that they will never repeat a key.
Realistically there are better ways of opening your door than carrying 24,000 keys around. Plus each manufacturer uses different spacing and cut heights and there are hundreds of manufacturers.
Some basic locks do have a very low number of differs.

[Grunty]

As a rough guide, the cheaper the lock, the more likely it is that your neighbour has a key to fit it. In the case of door locks, a 2-lever lock (the type that the builders fit to keep their costs down) may have only a dozen differs. There is a British Standard for door locks and to meet the standard, there must be at least 750 differs. Many manufacturers go further and provide over 1000. As BillyBB says, there are also locks, usually for high security applications, that more than meet these standards.

[heathfield]

Red faces in Dundee when a multi-storey block of flats was completed and they found that all the front doors to all the flats used identical keys!!
When the lock-makers were queried, they replied that locks using different keys hadn't been specified in the original order!

[Irishlad74]

Hello....Taking this one step further..... how does a master key (ie like what a hotel cleaner uses).

Cheers

[oxfordrocks]

My first car was a Ford Fiesta and one of the girls at work could open it with the key of her Fiesta.

[heathfield]

Master Keys