High security · Bloomingdale
High Security Locks in Bloomingdale
The pharmacy stockroom, the server closet or the cash office is protected by the same ordinary cylinder as the staff washroom.
In plain words
The service begins with a conversation about what the door protects and what worries you, then a close look at the door as a whole: the cylinder, the bolt, the strike, the frame, the hinges and any glass nearby. From that the locksmith recommends a level of protection that matches the risk, fits it, and sets up the key system in your name. From then on, extra keys are cut only when you authorise them, and you receive a record of which key opens which door. It is the mechanical answer to the question most people eventually ask: who else has a key to this?
How the visit goesA colleague showed you a video of a lock being opened with a bump key in a few seconds. Then you went home and noticed your own deadbolt is the same style, bought at a hardware store a decade ago.
High Security Locks
How the visit goes
Winter, weather and daily use
A door on a farmhouse porch, a condo corridor and a shop on a busy street each see different wear. The locksmith asks how the door behaves in cold weather, whether the key has ever frozen or stuck, how many times a day it is used and whether it slams behind people. High-security cylinders with sidebars and telescopic pins are precise mechanisms and appreciate a door that closes true and a keyway kept clean. The recommendation may include a weather cover for an exposed cylinder, a closer adjustment or a hinge repair so the new hardware lives a long life.
Upgrading the cylinder in place
Where the existing lock body is sound, the locksmith removes the ordinary cylinder and fits a high-security one of the same format, so your deadbolt or lever stays and only the working heart changes. The new cylinder brings a sidebar released by finger or rotating pins, hardened steel inserts in the path of a drill, and a keyway that accepts only the controlled blank. Keys are cut from code on a machine that handles the side bitting. The tailpiece or cam is matched so the bolt throws fully, then the cylinder is fixed with its set screw and tested with every key.
A key plan that survives staff changes
For a business, the handover includes a key schedule showing every cylinder, every key number and who holds it. When someone leaves, their key comes back and is struck off; if it does not come back, you know exactly which doors it opened and can decide whether one cylinder or several should be repinned. Because the keyway is restricted, a departed employee cannot quietly keep a copy. New hires are issued a numbered key against a signature. The plan lives in a folder or spreadsheet, and the locksmith keeps a matching record so the two can be reconciled whenever you like.
High Security Locks
In the van
Pinning kit and plug follower
Hardened cylinder guard ring
Wrap-around door reinforcer
Key control authorisation card
Patented key blanks
High Security Locks
What affects the quote
Number of keys cut
Every key is cut from code on a machine that handles side bitting or angled cuts, so the count of keys you want at handover is a real line rather than a rounding error.
Number of doors
Each door gets its own cylinder or lock, strike work and testing. Several doors on one keyway share the setup cost of the key system but add hardware and time per opening.
Documentation and registration
Setting up the key register, recording signatories and providing a written schedule of cylinders and keys is real work on a business system and is listed rather than hidden.
What to have ready
- How many exterior doors do you want included?
- Is this a house, condo, rental unit or business premises, and do you own or manage it?
- Would you like all doors on one key, or different keys for different areas?
High Security Locks: questions
QuestionsCan a hardware store or kiosk copy my new key?
No. The blank for a patented keyway is distributed only through the manufacturer's network to locksmiths who hold the system, and the side milling or angled cuts need a machine set up for that line. A kiosk would have neither the blank nor the cut. Extra keys come through your locksmith, cut from code, once an authorised person has approved the order. That routine is a small inconvenience compared with never knowing who has a copy.
What is bumping, and does this stop it?
Bumping uses a specially cut key that is struck while under light turning pressure, bouncing the pins to the shear line for an instant so an ordinary cylinder opens. It works on many standard pin tumblers. A high security cylinder needs its sidebar released by separately positioned finger or rotating pins at the same moment, and a bump key cannot set those, so the plug stays locked. It is one of the clearest advantages of the upgrade.
What is the difference between restricted and patented keys?
A restricted keyway is one the manufacturer supplies to a limited set of dealers, so blanks are harder to obtain but not legally protected. A patented key design is protected by a patent for a fixed term, and making or selling the blank without permission is unlawful during that time. Patented systems give the firmer control; restricted ones give a useful step up. The locksmith explains which your chosen line uses and when any patent expires.
