What Do The Numbers On Keys Mean?

The Kinds of Numbers on Keys

Have you ever wondered what all those numbers on your keys represent? Or why they’re even relevant? In this quick guide, we will show you how to read these letters and of course the numbers on keys.

All kinds of numbers on keys, letters and symbols appear mostly on the heads of keys. Some are sealed into the metal whereas others are decorated throughout the moulding process. This article is concerning the information contained in the numbers on the keys, letters and mainly deals with the subsequent categories:

• Bitting Numbers on keys
• Key Blank Model Numbers
• Key Numbers inside the master key System
• Key Code Numbers on keys

The Bodily Structure of a Key

In order to get a basic understanding of letters and numbers on the keys that appear on keys, it’s necessary to understand the elements that structure a key. Below is an illustrating showing the varied regions and what they’re called:

1. Bow (or Head) — is the handle that one uses to grasp and switch the key. Here is wherever most key numbers appear.

2. Stop – on most keys placed next to the bow, it keeps the key from going into the lock too far. Distances measured beginning at the stop find the cuts of the key. On certain types of keys, the stop is found at the tip of the key rather than the bow, however, it serves a similar function.

3. Blade – the business finish of the key. Here is wherever the cuts that correspond to the key’s bitting are located.

4. Cuts – to create a regular pin tumbler key, one cuts away material to specific depths to accommodate the length of a pin. These depths are numbered in step with their size in thousandths of an inch. As an example, variety one (1) cut could also be .213″ (two hundred-thirteen-thousandths of an inch) on a specific brand of a key. Listed, these depth numbers comprise the bitting of the key. See the section regarding bitting later during this article.

5. Tip – the other finish of the key from the bow. Used to establish the order of a bitting. for instance, one may say the bitting on this key is written “bow to tip”.

If a key has no cuts, it’s not referred to as a key. It’s known as a “blank.”

Understanding Bitting Numbers

Here are 2 samples of bitting numbers sealed on keys.

In the icon above we see a close-up of the top the key, we examined in Figure one. Toward the bottom of the head, we tend to see a five-digit range. This range is the bitting. If we glance at these digits one at a time and so inspect the blade of the key in Figure one, we see that the primary cut (starting from the bow end) is a range “2” and isn’t, therefore, deep, whereas the second cut, a number “6” is considerably deeper. As we tend to compare the cuts to they’re corresponding numbers shown within the bitting, we tend to see that the larger the amount, the deeper the cut. This can be the approach bittings typically made, and by comparison the numbers to the cuts we will tell that the number sealed in this key is, in fact, the bitting.

Appearing on the stop is the letter “C”. On several Schlage keys this wherever they show the keyway of the key. The keyway is that the shape of the key once viewed from the tip as shown in Figure three. The form of the key determines whether or not it’ll be able to enter the keyhole of the lock. 

Now in Figure 3a, we’ve what seems to be another Schlage C keyway key with a bitting range thereon, however as a result of it does not have a manufacturer’s name on it we cannot assume that it’s a Schlage original key. we will see by looking closely at the key that the numbers appear to match the depths of the cuts, however, we’ve no approach of knowing whether or not the depths of those cuts are} an equivalent as those on a manufacturer’s original unless we measure them. (These numbers on keys can be in-depth and in some cases complicated). 

To compare cuts on an imitation original to cuts on a true original key, one might measure cuts with a similar number designation on every key employing a micrometre. If there’s a discrepancy of more than 2 or three-thousandths of an inch (.003 inches) then it’s probably the initial is an imitation. If it’s an imitation, the bitting is helpful solely to the factory that created the key within the first place.

There are many formats of bitting numbers out there. Yale Locks, as an example, places an “A” before their bitting numbers to differentiate them from key code numbers. A 6-pin bitting range sealed into the bow of a Yale original key would appear as if this: A298837.

The Use of Bitting Information

In Figure four at right we’ve flipped the key in Figure two over and, lucky for us, the name is displayed, and even luckier, we all know that the name displayed is the manufacturer of each key and lock. Knowing these 3 things …

1. Original Manufacturer
2. Keyway
3. Bitting

… A locksmith will cut a key. If you’ll be able to tell a locksmith you have got a Schlage key with a “C” keyway and therefore the bitting is 26495, the locksmith may cut you a key based on that info. What is additional, the locksmith may key another lock to figure with this same key. Even additional surprisingly, the locksmith might do each while not ever having seen or touched the initial key. Magic, eh?

If on the other hand, the locksmith didn’t apprehend the initial manufacturer, as with the key in Figure 3a, it’s quite possible that keys created or locks keyed using that bitting wouldn’t work properly.

Key Blank Model Numbers

Key blank model numbers appear on the bows of aftermarket key blanks employed by key duplicators to form copies of keys. After

you get in a hardware store or to a locksmith to get a key cut, they copy your key onto a key blank by creating cuts within the blank that match the cuts on your key. they can’t use just any key blank; they have to use a key blank of a similar keyway and length.

For keys that match pin tumbler locks, key length is represented in terms of the number of pin tumblers within the lock that

they’re designed to control. As an example, Schlage C keyway key blanks are obtainable in 5- and 6-pin lengths.

The blank in Figure five was created by the Ilco company, a serious manufacturer of key blanks. Notice that it’s 2 model numbers. The primary number, L1054B, is Ilco’s traditional key blank number for this specific blank. The second number, IN8, is perhaps an Ilco “EZ” number – a system of a number used primarily for a lot of common key blanks. 

Numbers on keys utilised by key blank makers don’t seem to be to be confused with half numbers utilised by original makers as a result of typically, the manufacturer’s half numbers are quite different. As an example, the Ilco number for the 5-pin Schlage C keyway blank is 1145, whereas Schlage’s part number is 35-100C. ESP, another key blank manufacturer, would call it an SC1 key blank, and this can be the Ilco EZ number also. This shows us that many numbers on keys are often used to determine any given key blank.

Nevertheless, if you’ll ascertain the manufacturer of the key blank and the part number utilised by that manufacturer, this could be comfortable data for a locksmith to spot the blank required to cut your key or change your lock. From that info, the locksmith will tell what keyway you have got and the way many pins are in your lock.

Figures six and 6a on top of the right show an Arrow Lock Company original key blank. can you guess the keyway from the markings on the bow?

The Numbers on Keys in a Master Key System

Traditional key numbering inside a key system goes like this:

• The master key is key range “A”
• Sub-master keys are numbered “AA”, “AB”, “AC”, etc.
• Operating (or pass) keys beneath every sub-master are numbered “1AA,” “2AA”, etc., beneath the AA sub-master, “1AB”, “2AB” and then on beneath the AB master, etc.

Therefore once you see a key with a number (as in Figure seven at right) ending with a letter or 2 this most likely means that it’s a key in a master key system.

In a master key system, key bitting is designed so each key can solely open the door or doors it’s supposed to open. Thus each key is planned and recorded. If the master key system is administered well and you’ll be able tontine who administrates it, you’ll be able to conclude what lock or locks this key operates.

What does one assume “1C” means, there on the head? I will bet it is the keyway.

Code Numbers on Keys

Code numbers are typically found on keys for cupboards of every kind, alarm boxes, workplace and industrial equipment, bike

locks, padlocks and other forms of locks not found on pedestrian doors. Sort of a master key system, keys with code numbers are recorded and administered, thus in theory, if you lost the key however unbroken the number, you’d be ready to get a replacement key cut from the number on keys.

However, there are printed key codes and there are non-published key codes. Some key code numbers are printed in key codebooks to be used by locksmiths. Different key codes aren’t printed in these books and you can’t get them from a locksmith. Keys with unpublished codes will solely be obtained from the manufacturer with written authorization from the owner of the key as noted within the manufacturer’s records.

Notice in Figure eight that the key was shown features a code with a letter and some of the numbers. This is often almost in the format of a key in a master key system, and so one may assume that it’s such a key if one didn’t apprehend better. Clues for the locksmith that this is a key by code and not a key in a master key system is the size and configuration of the key. Due to its size and also the method its cut, this key’s plainly not a key in any traditional master key system. So the number should be a code number.

Knowing the numbers on keys might now be important to most people. However, the numbers on keys can reveal much about its origin.

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