DIY & Home Improvement
Related: About this forumWhat is a bitting and why you should hide it.
The bitting refers to the number and depth of the cuts on a key. The higher the number, the deeper the cut. Most original keys will have a bitting stamped on them (see below). This is great for the locksmith when he wants to cut a new key by code (meaning not copy it, but cut each bitting.) This is not so great if you have an original key on your key ring and a thief copies down the bitting or commits it to memory. Once they have that, it's just a matter of cutting a new key by code. So, what's the solution?
1. Never have an original key on your key ring. I secure all my original keys in my safe.
2. Have a copy made and use that. It won't have a bitting on it.
3. When you make a copy of a key, always use the original to do it. The old adage of a copy of a copy of a copy is true.
So, looking at the key below, we see that the bitting is 33688. Look at the key and you can see that the first two cuts (starting from left to right) are 33. Fairly shallow cuts, then 6, a little deeper, then 88 even deeper than 6. So the bitting does match the cuts in the key.
Hassin Bin Sober
(26,752 posts)Ive been meaning to ask you if youve ever seen The Lock Picking Lawyer on YouTube.
Watching that channel you realize nothing is safe.
SlimJimmy
(3,251 posts)Safe technicians don't refer to them as safes. We refer to them as "You think they're safe."
dvan
(84 posts)the house we bought a few yrs ago. Its bolted down and I cant open it. Any ideas on getting someone to come try and get in? I called a few locksmiths, but they werent too interested.
Gore1FL
(21,950 posts)It may have never been changed.
(I got that idea from reading one of the anecdotes in "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!" when he convinced people he could crack safes.)
SlimJimmy
(3,251 posts)Some safes (locks) have the commercial default combination, others require you to pay them for the original combination via the safe serial number.
SlimJimmy
(3,251 posts)That would help me determine what can be done.
eppur_se_muova
(37,565 posts)It won't hurt to try them, anyway.
SlimJimmy
(3,251 posts)We refer to them as the forbidden zone. 80-100 and 0-20 are the two zones of numbers not to use. So 0-50-0 would be a no go. The default combination for most commercial safes is all wheels left 50, and for government and military safes 50-25-50. Try those first.
SheltieLover
(59,811 posts)I had no idea!
ZZenith
(4,324 posts)A public service-minded locksmith. Excellent.
wendyb-NC
(3,855 posts)I learned something new today. Thank you, SlimJimmy, that's fascinating and good advice about home security, what etc. I always wondered what the numbers on a key meant.
littlemissmartypants
(25,713 posts)littlemissmartypants
(25,713 posts)JoeOtterbein
(7,792 posts)Cause I learned the hard way a few years ago!
SlimJimmy
(3,251 posts)forgotmylogin
(7,684 posts)So someone can't copy your key by getting a photo of it or remembering the number just from looking.
SlimJimmy
(3,251 posts)and securing the original key is the best practice. Most copies cost between 3 and 5 bucks at the big box stores.
forgotmylogin
(7,684 posts)I love that they have robotic key-making machines now and I don't have to interact with people who will judge me "So, ya' making some keys are ya'?"
SlimJimmy
(3,251 posts)Of course, I have a key machine at home, so I don't have to interact with the folks at the big box stores for that. But I do have to interact with some of my neighbors who say, "Hey can you cut a few keys for me?, or "This key I had made seems to be sticking, can you look at it?"
"Use some Tri-Flow."
PoindexterOglethorpe
(26,771 posts)with a number on it.
SlimJimmy
(3,251 posts)or the locks were purchased from a big box store where a bitting is not always stamped into the key. But most original keys will have a bitting on them.
live love laugh
(14,495 posts)eggplant
(3,997 posts)SlimJimmy
(3,251 posts)I know some locksmiths that are really terrible at lockpicking, but have the equipment to cut by code. Lockpicking is as much a science as it is an art, and it takes time and regular practice to keep the skill. My point was to hide the bitting so others can't do that.