Today, I was impressed!!!

Lazy-Ferret · 20-11-2015, 20:38

We live in a world, where things just do not impress us any more, we have seen it all...

But today... I saw something that I was sure was a wind up, at my expense, and then discovered that these two men could really do it...

I have converted one of Jiggly's keys to a flip one, so needed to get the blank cut. I went to our local key cutting place. The man, whose first language was definitely not English, looked over the keys several times and just said he could not do them. I pressed hi further, but could not understand the problem, he told me I would be better taking them to an automotive key specialist up the road... He then gave me some very rough directions.

We looked it up on line, and found the place, so popped up there. This shop is on the outskirts of Orpington, and looks like it has been there for hundreds of years, no flashy window display, just a plate glass window, covered in Yale, Chubb and other key stickers. The door weighs a tonne, and as you open it a little bell on a spring above the door makes a tinkling sound. Just visible behind a counter covered in goodness knows what, in all sorts of boxes, is a head, that looks up at me, and down a long corridor is another guy sat up on a tall swivel chair, with a pair of magnifying spectacles on, who lifts them up to his forehead, and also looks towards me. These two men are old, I mean so old, I would expect my great granddad to call them sir....

The one behind the counter greats me, and I show him the two keys, the one I want copied, and the new one, and ask if he can do it.

He looks at the original key, and turns it over and over in his hand, running his fingers up and down the edge. He says, is this the only one you have, to which I explain, we do have a second, but it is quite worn, so I had picked the better one to bring in. At this, he actually laughs, and scoff... if this is the good one, he can't start to imagine how the other one works....

He says, he can copy it, but to be honest, it's so bad, he would be far better cutting it from the orriganal code, to get rid of all the wear.

My heart sank, the idea of trying to find the orriganal key code filled me full of dread, as was wondering just how I would go about doing that.

He calls over his colleague, who is down the corridor, and while he is removing his magnifying gear, and abseiling down from the dizzy heights of his chair, before then negotiating the long walk up the corridor in a steady shuffle, bent over double, to join him, the first guy is twisting the key round in his hands, and then holding it up to the light. While holding it ups, he reads out a longish number. He then hands the key to his colleague, repeating the number from memory, and asks what he thinks. They have a little bit of a debate if the 2nd to last number is a 2 or 3..., then puts my new blank key into a machine, presses some buttons, and flips a cover down, then hands me back the old key. The machine springs into life, and you hear the graunching and grinding of a key being cut, He then flips the key over and does the other side.

While he is doing this, I am looking for the number on the old key, thinking how I had never noticed a number before, in fact the only writing I have ever seen is Valco (or something like that). I flip the key over, looking every where, but I can't find it anywhere.

He comes back with the new key, and then proceeds to show me how worn the old key was, and points out how the shoulders were worn into ramps. Apparently, they should be square, and then says that the shoulders cause problems on Nissan ignition barrels, as over time the keys go in further and further, and start to badly wear the lock, until one day it fails completely.

I ask him where the number is, and he says, the numbers are the edge of the key. I ask what he means, and he points to a hump on the edge of the key, and says, that's an 8, that's a 4, that's a 2...... He and this other guy could actually look at the cut of the key, and work out the number just by gauging the height of each of the humps and dips.

How impressive is that, I bet there are not many people who can do that....

I got the key home, tried it in the car, and it was perfect...

He also went on to show me, they have a machine there that actually reads the transponder chip, and tells them all the details, so they can do what ever they need with them.

20-11-2015, 20:38	#1
Lazy-Ferret Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Sevenoaks, Kent Vehicle: Terrano 2.7TDi SE Touring Posts: 5,221	Today, I was impressed!!! We live in a world, where things just do not impress us any more, we have seen it all... But today... I saw something that I was sure was a wind up, at my expense, and then discovered that these two men could really do it... I have converted one of Jiggly's keys to a flip one, so needed to get the blank cut. I went to our local key cutting place. The man, whose first language was definitely not English, looked over the keys several times and just said he could not do them. I pressed hi further, but could not understand the problem, he told me I would be better taking them to an automotive key specialist up the road... He then gave me some very rough directions. We looked it up on line, and found the place, so popped up there. This shop is on the outskirts of Orpington, and looks like it has been there for hundreds of years, no flashy window display, just a plate glass window, covered in Yale, Chubb and other key stickers. The door weighs a tonne, and as you open it a little bell on a spring above the door makes a tinkling sound. Just visible behind a counter covered in goodness knows what, in all sorts of boxes, is a head, that looks up at me, and down a long corridor is another guy sat up on a tall swivel chair, with a pair of magnifying spectacles on, who lifts them up to his forehead, and also looks towards me. These two men are old, I mean so old, I would expect my great granddad to call them sir.... The one behind the counter greats me, and I show him the two keys, the one I want copied, and the new one, and ask if he can do it. He looks at the original key, and turns it over and over in his hand, running his fingers up and down the edge. He says, is this the only one you have, to which I explain, we do have a second, but it is quite worn, so I had picked the better one to bring in. At this, he actually laughs, and scoff... if this is the good one, he can't start to imagine how the other one works.... He says, he can copy it, but to be honest, it's so bad, he would be far better cutting it from the orriganal code, to get rid of all the wear. My heart sank, the idea of trying to find the orriganal key code filled me full of dread, as was wondering just how I would go about doing that. He calls over his colleague, who is down the corridor, and while he is removing his magnifying gear, and abseiling down from the dizzy heights of his chair, before then negotiating the long walk up the corridor in a steady shuffle, bent over double, to join him, the first guy is twisting the key round in his hands, and then holding it up to the light. While holding it ups, he reads out a longish number. He then hands the key to his colleague, repeating the number from memory, and asks what he thinks. They have a little bit of a debate if the 2nd to last number is a 2 or 3..., then puts my new blank key into a machine, presses some buttons, and flips a cover down, then hands me back the old key. The machine springs into life, and you hear the graunching and grinding of a key being cut, He then flips the key over and does the other side. While he is doing this, I am looking for the number on the old key, thinking how I had never noticed a number before, in fact the only writing I have ever seen is Valco (or something like that). I flip the key over, looking every where, but I can't find it anywhere. He comes back with the new key, and then proceeds to show me how worn the old key was, and points out how the shoulders were worn into ramps. Apparently, they should be square, and then says that the shoulders cause problems on Nissan ignition barrels, as over time the keys go in further and further, and start to badly wear the lock, until one day it fails completely. I ask him where the number is, and he says, the numbers are the edge of the key. I ask what he means, and he points to a hump on the edge of the key, and says, that's an 8, that's a 4, that's a 2...... He and this other guy could actually look at the cut of the key, and work out the number just by gauging the height of each of the humps and dips. How impressive is that, I bet there are not many people who can do that.... I got the key home, tried it in the car, and it was perfect... He also went on to show me, they have a machine there that actually reads the transponder chip, and tells them all the details, so they can do what ever they need with them.