Key Duplication in Sylmar, CA: house, office and mailbox keys

What can we copy for you in Sylmar?

Key duplication sounds like the simplest job in our trade, and it is, right up until a spare fails to turn at the door late at night. We cut copies of house keys, apartment keys, office keys, mailbox keys, deadbolt keys, and many gate and padlock keys for homes and businesses in Sylmar and the 91342 ZIP code.

Most copies are made by tracing the original on a key machine. But the result is only as good as three things: the blank the key is cut on, how the key is set in the machine, and the condition of the key you start from. We look at all three before we cut anything, because a copy that almost works is worse than no copy at all.

Here is what people usually bring us:

• House key copy and spare house key requests for front doors, back doors and side gates
• A duplicate deadbolt key, which often uses a different keyway than the knob or handle lock on the same door
• Apartment key copy requests, where the building's rules decide what we are allowed to cut
• Office key duplication and commercial key duplication for suites, storerooms and back entrances
• Mailbox key duplication for private mailboxes and some building-owned units
• High security key duplication and restricted key duplication, which come with extra steps explained below
• Padlock and gate keys for yards, sheds, driveways and equipment areas

Car keys are a different job

A plain metal car key can be cut much like a house key. A key with a chip inside it, or a push-button fob, is not a simple cut. The chip has to be programmed to the vehicle, and what that takes depends on the make, model and year. We do not guess at that over the phone. We confirm by VIN and in person what your vehicle needs, and if a particular car turns out to be dealer-only, we tell you that plainly instead of letting you wait on us. For chip keys, see our page on transponder key programming in Sylmar.

Why does a duplicate key sometimes fail to work?

Almost everyone has a drawer with a copy that never worked right. There are usually ordinary reasons, and knowing them helps you avoid a repeat.

A copy of a copy is the biggest one. Every duplication adds a tiny error, and a third-generation key can drift far enough from the original cuts that the pins in the lock do not line up. If you can, always copy from the original key your lock was made for, not from a spare someone else cut.

Wear is the next cause. A key that has been in a pocket and a lock for ten or twenty years has rounded cuts. A fresh copy cut from it reproduces that wear. Sometimes the better move is to have us cut the key by code or by the lock, which gives you a sharper key than the worn one you walked in with.

Then there are the wrong blank, a burr left on the cut, and a lock that itself has worn or gotten dirty. And sometimes the key is not the problem at all. Summers in the north end of the Valley run very hot, and heat can warp wood doors and loosen weatherstripping, so a door can bind against its frame and make a good key feel stiff. If a freshly cut key turns hard only when the door is shut and latched, tell us. That points to the door, not the copy.

• Copy from the original whenever you can
• Ask for the copy to be tested before you leave, or tested in the lock if we are at your door
• Replace a visibly bent, cracked or heavily worn key before it breaks off inside a lock

How we duplicate a key, step by step

The process is short, but each step exists because skipping it is how bad copies get made.

1. You call (213) 577-1366 or come by the storefront at 10740 Wilshire Blvd in Westwood. Tell us what the key opens, or bring a clear photo of the key if you are calling first.
2. We examine the key itself: stamped markings, bends, cracks, worn cuts, and whether it carries a restriction notice.
3. We identify the keyway and choose the correct blank. Blanks that look alike can differ by a small groove, and the wrong one will not enter the lock.
4. We secure the original and the blank in the machine, aligned properly, and cut the copy.
5. We remove burrs and clean the cut so the key does not shave metal into your lock.
6. We test the copy against the original and, wherever the lock is in front of us, in the lock itself.
7. If the copy is stiff or sloppy, we recut it instead of sending you home to fight with it.
8. If something about the key looks risky, such as a crack near the shoulder, we say so before you rely on it.

Mobile key duplication or a trip to the storefront?

We run a storefront in Westwood and mobile service vans, and Sylmar is about 24 miles from our base. Which route makes sense depends on the job. A single spare for one door is often simplest to bring in. Several doors, a gate, an office with a number of keys, or a key that needs to be checked against the lock suit mobile locksmith service better. Call and describe what you have, and we will tell you honestly which fits, without pushing you toward the more involved option.

Can high security, restricted and 'do not duplicate' keys be copied?

Sometimes yes, sometimes no, and the reasons matter.

A stamp reading 'Do Not Duplicate' is a request, not a lock. It does not mechanically stop anyone from cutting the key, and a typical hardware-store key with that stamp can often be copied by whoever is willing. We will not treat the stamp as meaningless, though. If a property manager or employer issued the key, we would ask you to confirm you are authorized, and we may decline if you cannot.

Restricted keyways are different. Systems built around patented or controlled keys are designed so that blanks are not freely available and copies require proof of authorization, usually from the registered owner of the system. That is the entire point of the security you paid for. We can talk you through what your system requires. Depending on the system, high security key duplication can mean a signed authorization, a card or ID check, or ordering from the manufacturer, and that takes longer than a quick cut at the counter.

If you own a high security lock and need more keys, call us with the brand stamped on the key or lock. If the system is old or you no longer have authorization paperwork, we can look at options, including moving to a new system. Our page on high security locks in Sylmar covers that route.

What about office, commercial and mailbox keys?

Commercial key duplication is mostly about control. A business wants more keys, but it also wants to know who has them. Before cutting a stack of copies, we ask whether the keys are part of a larger system, and whether a master or change key is involved. Copying a master key carelessly can hand someone access to every door in a building. If your office has outgrown a handful of loose keys, a master key system can let different people open different doors without anyone carrying a ring of unlabeled keys.

For ordinary office key duplication on a single suite door, back door or storeroom, the job is much like a house key: right blank, clean cut, tested copy. We will note which doors and how many copies you want so you have a record of what was made.

Mailbox key duplication has its own wrinkle. A private mailbox on a house or a unit your building owns can usually be copied once we see the key. If your mailbox is a postal-controlled unit, the post office handles its keys, and we will tell you that instead of cutting something that will not be right. If a mailbox lock has failed rather than a key going missing, mailbox lock replacement is the right page.

What affects the cost of key duplication?

We do not quote numbers on a web page, because the cost of a copy depends on the key in your hand, not on a flat rate. These are the things that move it:

• The type of key. A standard house key is the lighter-cost end of the range; a high security, restricted or specialty key takes more material, time and sometimes authorization.
• How many copies you want. Several copies cut in one sitting are usually more economical per key than coming back repeatedly.
• Whether the blank is common or has to be ordered.
• The condition of the original. A worn key may need to be cut by code or by the lock, which is more work than tracing.
• Where the work happens. Bringing the key to the storefront is usually the more economical route for a single spare; a van visit makes sense for several doors or on-site testing.
• The time of day. We answer the phone around the clock, and after-hours requests are handled differently from a weekday walk-in. Ask when you call.
• Chips and programming. If the key has electronics inside, you are in programming territory, not simple duplication.

Key duplication around Sylmar: tract homes, gated townhomes and foothill gates

Sylmar's housing is largely postwar through 1980s tract homes, with newer gated townhome and small-lot developments near Foothill Boulevard. That mix shapes the key requests we expect to hear in 91342.

In the tract neighborhoods around Los Angeles Mission College, a lot of duplication follows a move-in. Someone gets a handful of keys from a seller or previous tenant and has no idea how many more are floating around. Cutting extra copies of those keys only multiplies the problem. The better sequence is lock rekeying first, so the locks match a new key set, and then spare copies cut from that new key. It is one trip and one coherent set of keys instead of a mystery pile.

In gated townhome communities off the Foothill Boulevard corridor, your unit's front-door and deadbolt keys are ordinary candidates for copying. Gate, mailroom and amenity keys are another matter, because those belong to the association and its rules decide who may copy them. We ask before assuming.

Larger lots tell a different story. Long driveways, detached garages and perimeter gates are common on the bigger parcels in places like the Olive View area, the El Cariso area and the Polk Street area, and the foothill edges near Kagel Canyon include horse-keeping properties. One property can carry a house key, deadbolt key, garage side-door key, gate padlock key and shed key, and people tend to realize they have a single copy of each only after one goes missing. Strong Santa Ana winds funnel through Newhall Pass and the foothill canyons and drive dust into outdoor padlocks and gate locks. Grit wears keys and cylinders alike, so a copy cut from a gritty, worn key can feel rough. We clean and inspect the key first and, when a gate lock is the real culprit, point you to gate lock repair.

Sylmar also has several large mobile home parks, where the door and mailbox keys are often the same ones used for years. A fresh copy cut from a clean original is worth having made before the only key wears out. And if you commute by train from the Sylmar/San Fernando Metrolink station, a spare house key kept with someone you trust, rather than in your bag or car, is cheap insurance against locking yourself out after a long day.

Why bring your keys to Wilshire Lock & Key?

We have been in business since 1987, and we serve 140 cities across Los Angeles and Ventura counties. That is a lot of keys, and the habit it builds is checking before cutting.

Here is what that means in practice:

• We are one company with a storefront at 10740 Wilshire Blvd and our own mobile vans. You are not passed to a dispatch middleman who has never seen your key.
• David, the owner and lead technician, oversees the work, so questions about unusual keys go to someone who can answer them.
• Our phone, (213) 577-1366, is answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, year-round.
• We tell you when a key should not be copied, when it needs authorization, or when a different fix makes more sense.

When a copy is not the right fix

Duplication solves one problem: you need another working key. It does not solve a lost key that someone else may now hold, a key that has broken off in the lock, or a lock that has stopped working.

If you lost every key and are standing outside, you need a lockout visit, not a copy. If a key has snapped in the cylinder, you need broken key extraction before any copy can be cut. If you are worried a former tenant, contractor or ex-partner still has a key, rekeying is the sensible answer, since copies of that key keep working until the lock changes. If you are not sure which one you need, call us and describe what happened. We will say which service fits, even when it means you do not need to buy anything from us.

More locksmith help in Sylmar

• Change Locks in Sylmar
• Deadbolt Installation in Sylmar
• Gate Lock Repair in Sylmar
• High Security Locks in Sylmar
• Lock Installation in Sylmar
• Lock Rekey in Sylmar
• All services in Sylmar

Key Duplication near Sylmar

• San Fernando
• Mission Hills
• Lake View Terrace
• Granada Hills
• Pacoima
• Santa Clarita