Lockouts · Norfolk County
Broken Key Extraction
Overnight the deadbolt froze, and this morning the key would only turn partway.
In plain words
Two facts shape the job before the locksmith arrives: whether the door is locked or unlocked, and whether any of the key is showing. A fragment that protrudes can often be gripped and drawn straight out. One flush or deep needs extractors worked in alongside it. If the plug turned before the key broke, it has to be eased back to its resting position first so the pins line up and release the blade. A locked door means the extraction is followed by opening the lock; an unlocked one means securing it is the priority. Either way the door ends up locking with a key that fits.
How the visit goesIn the parking lot your car key snapped in the driver's door. You are holding the plastic head with the buttons on it, the metal blade is inside the lock, and the spare is on a hook at home.
Broken Key Extraction
How the visit goes
The half in your hand
The bow and stub you are holding are worth a look before anything else. The cuts on it identify the key blank and give most of the bitting, so a replacement can be read straight from it and the fragment once they are side by side. Its condition tells a story too: thinning at the cuts, a slight bend, a crack line or a shiny worn tip all say the key was near the end of its life. The locksmith also asks about spares. A crisp spare, or the key code tag that came with the lock, is a better pattern for the new key than any worn copy.
Cutting the key you leave with
Once the lock is clear, a replacement key is made. The two halves of the broken key are laid together and the cuts are read with a key gauge, or the locksmith cuts from the key code if you have the tag or the lock's records, or from a crisp spare. What is avoided is copying a worn original, because a duplicate inherits every rounded cut and will stick and wear the same way. The new key is cut on a code machine, tried in the lock with the door open, then closed, and from both sides. Extra copies are cut from the new key while the machine is set.
Habits that keep keys in one piece
A few small changes stop most repeat breaks. Push the key fully home before turning, and turn from the bow with a level hand, never with pliers or from the tip. Keep the house key off box-cutting and ice-scraping duty; every bend fatigues the blade at its narrowest cut. Replace a key the moment it shows a kink, a crack line or rounded cuts, and cut the replacement from code or a crisp original. Keep the ring light. If the lock itself starts to stiffen, that is the cue to lubricate or call, because a stiff lock is the one that breaks keys.
Broken Key Extraction
In the van
Plug follower and cap tool
Key blanks and code cutter
Manufacturer-approved cylinder lubricant
Lock de-icer
Replacement cylinder or deadbolt
Broken Key Extraction
What affects the quote
Door or strike adjustment
When the key broke because the bolt was binding in a swollen or sagging door, correcting hinges, strike or weatherstrip is offered and quoted as its own item.
Where the key broke
A house deadbolt, a knob, an older mortise case, a padlock, a car door and a vehicle ignition each call for different access and different care, and the quote follows the hardware.
When you call
Whatever hour you call about a broken key extraction — morning, evening, a weekend or a holiday — the amount is the same. Locksmiths are reachable at any time, and the exact figure is confirmed on site once the technician has seen how deep the fragment sits.
What to have ready
- Do you still have the other half of the key?
- Where did the key break: a house door, a padlock, a car door or an ignition?
- Do you have a spare key that works, or the key code tag from the lock?
Broken Key Extraction: questions
QuestionsIs a broken key a sign the whole lock is worn out?
Sometimes, and the visit answers it. A key that failed from its own fatigue in a clean, smooth cylinder says nothing against the lock. A key that broke because the pins were worn flat, the cap had loosened or the keyway was full of grit says the cylinder needs a service or a rekey. One that broke in a corroded, pitted plug is telling you the lock is due for replacement.
Do you need my spare key?
It helps if there is one. A crisp spare is the ideal pattern for the replacement, better than the broken halves and far better than a worn copy. It also lets the locksmith test the cylinder the moment the fragment is out, which shows whether the pins and springs are sound. If the spare is itself bent or worn, mention that too; it is a candidate for retirement rather than a pattern.
Should I rekey or replace the lock afterwards?
Only if the inspection finds a reason. A clean cylinder with sound pins goes straight back to work with a new key. Rekeying makes sense when the pins are worn and sticking, or when a lost or unaccounted key shares the same cut. Replacement is for a cylinder that is corroded, cracked or of a grade that will keep eating keys. Each is offered as its own decision, not bundled in.
Related services
- Business Lockout ServiceA cook stepped into the alley with the recycling and the rear door swung shut behind him.
- Break-In Damage Lock RepairSomeone smashed the little window beside the door, reached in and turned the thumb-turn.
- Seized & Jammed Lock OpeningEvery time you pull the key out of the side door it comes away gritty.