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Figure 1: Keys Made From Different Materials
What are Keys Made From?
What are Keys Made From?
The majority of home keys are constructed of copper and silver, or brass [2]. While most keys are silver or brown in color, they can also be plated in a variety of colors as can bee seen in figure 1 [2]. Because it is only a coating, this plating will deteriorate with time. Brass is commonly used to make keys because it possesses hard and soft qualities that allow it to be strong and flexible enough to open locks and bend without breaking [2].
Figure 2: Mill
Figure 3: Unique Ridges on a Key
How are Keys Made?
How are Keys Made?
When keys are made, they are done so in a machine known as a Mill (figure 2) [2]. Milling refers to the process of creating the key itself. Then the key is referred to as 'blank' before it is lasered/cut into its unique design as can be demonstrated in figure 3 [2]. It is even feasible to have a company's brand or emblem engraved on the key's head during manufacture. This proves that keys are very simple to make. However, if someone has a lock and decided to create a key for it, that would be impossible [2]. Not only will the person need to know the length as well as the thickness of the key, but they will also need to know the exact measurements of the rigids edges that are on a key and the number of rigids on the key as well. Even if they were able to perfect the length and width, the rigids on the key are nearly impossible to perfect due to their complexity [2].
Figure 4: Keys Being Inserted Into a Lock
Features of Keys and Locks
Features of Keys and Locks
The key includes a series of grooves on either side of its blade that limit the type of lock into which it can slide [2]. As demonstrated in figure 4, as the key is inserted into the lock, the horizontal grooves on the blade coincide with the wards in the keyway, permitting or forbidding cylinder entry [2].
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