Any locksmith recommendation for an obscure key?

I think the rule is no, but not sure how strictly it’s enforced - I’ll take soundings when we get there - especially if/when our trot partner is away hard to see what the objection would be.
 
Daverw said:
When I was at college was of the task set was to hand cut and file a key blank from brass flat bar. Took a while but not as hard as it first seemed. The long groves were the most time consuming but ok if done slowly. Get some files and start fettling
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A serious locksmith could presumably cut the profile with a milling machine or similar, before cutting the 'teeth' of the key? Maybe it would be possible to get a similar blank and Dremel it?
 
Our local Screwfix now cuts keys - all done automatically once the correct blank is put in the machine. Check your local Screwfix to see if they have a key cutting machine.
 
When I got my Dufour 30 Classic, the washboard lock was seized. I brought it to the (proper) locksmith who usually provides my keys and locks for business and home. He told me that it was quite a cheap item, but repaired it anyway. I subsequently found, by googling "marine locks" or words to that effect, and selecting "Images", that a similar lock was available on an Italian website for about €20. As suggested above, the most effective course of action might be to buy a bolt-on replacement.
 
I was trying to source spare keys for our new boat's patio door lock and couldn't find the right blank anywhere. I ended up ordering an identical sized lock from Amazon, only to find the keys supplied with the new lock fitted the old one perfectly, so I now have 3 keys and a spare lock...
 
Not all keys are readily duplicated, though this is unlikely for the kind of locks fitted to boats. I've just had a new front door fitted with a high-security lock, and duplicate keys are only available from the manufacturer. They are an unusual design, and the key bears a 6 digit identification number. When ordering a spare key, I had to jump through hoops to demonstrate my identity! The manufacturer offers £2000 compensation if the lock is picked or broken...

While I'm sure a trained locksmith could duplicate it with hand tools, it certainly can't be copied by a high-street key-cutter.

Of course, modern car keys also can't be reproduced easily because of the electronics embedded in them.
 
AntarcticPilot said:
Not all keys are readily duplicated, though this is unlikely for the kind of locks fitted to boats. I've just had a new front door fitted with a high-security lock, and duplicate keys are only available from the manufacturer. They are an unusual design, and the key bears a 6 digit identification number. When ordering a spare key, I had to jump through hoops to demonstrate my identity! The manufacturer offers £2000 compensation if the lock is picked or broken...

While I'm sure a trained locksmith could duplicate it with hand tools, it certainly can't be copied by a high-street key-cutter.

Of course, modern car keys also can't be reproduced easily because of the electronics embedded in them.
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Just been through the same thing with security keys and read up a little and on the specialist websites.
The blanks are the thing and they are patented and the lock manufacturers guard both their patents and availability carefully, in order they remain high security. Where I am, there are specialist lock companies around but they couldnt help. I had to order from the particular lock company (which was also local).
 
Poecheng said:
Just been through the same thing with security keys and read up a little and on the specialist websites.
The blanks are the thing and they are patented and the lock manufacturers guard both their patents and availability carefully, in order they remain high security. Where I am, there are specialist lock companies around but they couldnt help. I had to order from the particular lock company (which was also local).
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From the very way it's made it's also clear that the tolerances required are very close. The tumblers (or whatever they're called) are operated by depressions in the flat surface of the key, and although it's quite a bit thicker than an ordinary key, the travel is obviously less than that of a standard Yale type key.
 
Aardee said:
I was trying to source spare keys for our new boat's patio door lock and couldn't find the right blank anywhere. I ended up ordering an identical sized lock from Amazon, only to find the keys supplied with the new lock fitted the old one perfectly, so I now have 3 keys and a spare lock...
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So anyone who wants to break into your boat just needs to order an identical lock from Amazon:)
 
Spirit (of Glenans) said:
So anyone who wants to break into your boat just needs to order an identical lock from Amazon:)
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It doesn't necessarily follow that the next lock from Amazon would have the same key. If that sort of lock came with one of x different keys, the probability of getting any particular one would be 1/x, so unless x was small you might have to buy lots of locks before you got a match.
 
alan_d said:
It doesn't necessarily follow that the next lock from Amazon would have the same key. If that sort of lock came with one of x different keys, the probability of getting any particular one would be 1/x, so unless x was small you might have to buy lots of locks before you got a match.
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My money's on Spirit's interpretation - The new lock with 2 keys was less than £6 delivered ?

Not a long term solution, but safe for now as the boat's at the end of the garden.
 
Spirit (of Glenans) said:
So anyone who wants to break into your boat just needs to order an identical lock from Amazon:)
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Or order a brick. A lock will only keep a honest person out. I went through a stage where I left my car unlocked all the time. My thinking was that its immobilised and not worth stealing anyway, I kept nothing in it and if someone wanted to get it at least they wouldn't break a window which would be very hard to replace.
 
steveinnice said:
Or order a brick. A lock will only keep a honest person out. I went through a stage where I left my car unlocked all the time. My thinking was that its immobilised and not worth stealing anyway, I kept nothing in it and if someone wanted to get it at least they wouldn't break a window which would be very hard to replace.
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I'm with you on this. Just enough security to keep the insurers happy, but not so much that the would-be thieves wreck her getting in, and leave nothing worth stealing on board.
 
FairweatherDave said:
Ha! The only time my car window has been smashed was when I left a lot of stuff in it. It was a planned early start for the tip. Grrrr.
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Sort of proves the point. If you had left it unlocked you would have still lost the lot but car would have not been damaged. The lock would have kept the honest person out. it boils down to if someone sees it and wants it, they'll get it. house alarms are the same all they do is move the crime to somewhere else. Still not a good feeling when it happens to you. When our house was burgled we got off light . They found a safe in the office and took that and didn't look much further. I had it as a decoy full of papers.
 
My brother leaves a wallet with a credit card for an old account, about £20 in cash including old foreign currency, carelessly left on view, just inside the back door. The theory being that a casual thief who walks in will take it, thank their good luck, and bugger off.
 
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