Key Duplication & Key Cutting in Gaithersburg & Montgomery County, MD

What this actually involves

The reason to use a locksmith rather than a hardware store or a supermarket kiosk is the machine and the person operating it. A key cut on a worn machine, or copied from a key that is already worn, comes out slightly off. It works for a while, it gets stiff, and eventually it stops turning or snaps in the cylinder. One customer wrote in August that the copies made at a hardware store did not work and had rough edges, and that the keys cut in the van fitted properly and the burrs were gone — that is the difference, described by someone who paid for both.

Copying a worn key copies the wear. If your original is ten years old and sticky, the right move is to decode the lock and cut a fresh key to the lock's actual specification rather than duplicating the tired one. That gives you a key that works better than the one you have been using, which surprises people.

Car keys with chips are a different job from house keys and get priced differently. The blank costs money, and the chip has to be programmed to your vehicle. It is still done at the car rather than at a counter. High-security and restricted keyways — Medeco, Mul-T-Lock — deliberately cannot be copied without authorisation, and that is the feature you paid for; bring whatever card or code came with the lock.

The cheapest visit you will ever book is a spare key cut while you still have a working one. The most expensive is the same key originated at midnight when you have none.

What is covered

• House and apartment keys
• Office and commercial keys
• Mailbox and padlock keys
• Car keys with transponder chips
• Remote head keys and flip keys
• Motorcycle keys
• High-security and restricted keyways with authorisation
• Keys cut to code when no original exists
• Key decoding from the lock for a fresh, accurate cut

Hardware and key types worked on

• Mobile key machine in the van — no trip to a counter
• Residential, commercial and automotive blanks
• Transponder and chip key blanks with on-site programming
• Restricted keyway blanks, cut against authorisation only
• Code cutting from lock specification rather than copying a worn key

What it costs

A duplicate of a key you already have is the cheapest job on this list. A chip or transponder car key costs more because of the blank and the programming. Originating a key when there is nothing to copy from is the most expensive version, which is the entire argument for getting a spare cut now.

Nothing here is a bait price. The number is quoted on the phone before a technician is dispatched, and confirmed on site before any work begins. If those two numbers ever differ, say so and stop the job.

How the call goes

1. 1Call with what the key opens: house, office, mailbox, car, padlock
2. 2Say how many copies you want, because per-key cost drops with quantity
3. 3For a car key, give the year, make, model and VIN, and expect to show proof of ownership
4. 4For a restricted keyway, bring the authorisation card or code that came with the lock
5. 5Keys are cut on site, and every copy is tested in the actual lock before you pay
6. 6If your original is worn, the lock is decoded so the new key is cut correctly rather than copying the wear