How to repair a broken or broken key, what to do to extract it, the advice to follow to avoid damaging the lock.
Insert a key in a door lock and unexpectedly discover that it does not turn well. It may have gotten stuck. Staying away from home with keys stuck inside: another very common situation.
What to do?
Do not despair, in our article we explain how to open a lock that does not turn, how to repair a broken or broken key, the advice to follow to try to extract it without damaging the lock.
Table of Contents
How to open a lock that does not turn
How to open a door with a key that doesn’t turn? If you have inserted it into the lock but are unable to rotate it, here is a simple do-it-yourself solution.
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Get yourself some graphite powder, a material easily available in your home, as it is present in the tip of a common pencil for writing. Just chop and powder the lead, using a sharpener, rubbing both sides of the key with its small grains. The purpose of this operation is to eliminate key defects.
At this point all that remains is to blow on it to remove the graphite dust and try to insert it inside the lock. It will slide better, allowing you to open the door.
It is a good method for repair a key without having to make a duplicate. In the event that this system does not work, the alternative is to replace the lock.
Paste broken key
One of the most popular solutions on the web concerns the topic “Hot glue lock broken key“. However, we must immediately contradict what has been reported around, since using hot glue to join two pieces of key, trying to remove the one stuck inside the lock, is not feasible.
The reason is there little surface available for the gluing phase, making the sealing operation not at all firm but far from it. Pull out a broken key with hot glue it also requires the utmost attention, as you should not overdo it with the use of this material, as it could cause further damage.
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Pull out broken key with magnet
Another common system is to use a magnet as an extraction tool. Unlike the previous one, it is a method that certainly will not cause any harm.
However, it is easy to understand that the the attractive force of the magnet cannot be so powerful, to be able to give the right force to remove the key. It’s just a waste of time.
Pull out broken European cylinder key
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If your key broke in the European cylinder lock, the situation is not the best but we can try with one do it yourself procedure. What you need is a nose pliers, a duplicate wrench and a small hammer.
The first thing to do is insert the copy of the key on the other side of the lock and push it gently in until it touches the one that will obstruct the passage.
At this point take the gavel, apply gentle blows to the duplicate key. If the Blindfolded Goddess will assist you, the broken key will come out even slightly, just enough to extract it with the nose pliers. Remember to pull lightly and dose your forces as best you can. It is an operation that requires more precision than power.
Can a broken key be reproduced?
It can duplicate a broken key? We can answer yes but with reservations to this question. In fact, it is necessary to verify the breaking point, since if the two broken parts do not fit together well, the duplicating machine will fail in its intent in the correct way.
In any case, if the broken key is the only one available, you can try to duplicate it but if the operation fails, perhaps the fastest (albeit more expensive) system is to consider replacing the lock.
Final tips
To prevent the same problem from happening again in the future, here are a number of tips to prevent it.
If you have the opportunity, replace your old lock as soon as possible with a more secure “frictioned European cylinder”, Using a knob on the inside. In this way, when you are inside the house, you just have to turn the knob to close the door. The excellent peculiarity of this system is that it can open the door from the outside with the key, without risking to leave it inserted inside. The cost of such a lock differs depending on the brand and model. Also considering the manpower, an average of 200/250 euros is needed.
If you are unable to solve the problem with do-it-yourself repairs in any way, all that remains is to contact your trusted locksmith.
Image gallery repairing a broken or broken key
Below is our personal image gallery dedicated to the different ways to repair a broken or broken key inside a lock.
