You've seen them. Those self-serve key copying kiosks sitting near the entrance of grocery stores and big box retailers. Stick your key in, follow the prompts, pay and walk out with a copy in under two minutes.
Convenient? Absolutely... but there's more going on under the hood than most people realize, and if you're trying to copy one of our keys, a kiosk isn't going to cut it. Literally. Here's what you should know before you go either route.
How Key Copying Kiosks Work
Kiosks like the ones you'll find at Walmart or Home Depot use optical scanning to read your key's profile and cuts. You insert your original, the machine scans it, matches it to a blank in its inventory and automatically makes a copy.
It's quick, and it works well enough for basic, common home & office keys. But the operative word there is common. Kiosks carry a limited selection of blanks, and they rely entirely on automated scanning; there's no human involved at any point in the process.
That creates a few problems.
Where Kiosks Fall Short
To start, there's a limited design selection. Kiosks only stock the most common key blanks. Anything outside that range and the machine simply won't recognize it.
No quality control
Nobody checks the copy before you walk out. If the scan was slightly off or the cut was imprecise you won't find out until you're standing locked out at your front door.
They can't handle our custom key blanks
Our keys come in different sizes and shapes than the standard keys most self-service kiosks are designed to handle. If you try to copy one of our keys at a kiosk it's not going to work; the machine will either reject it outright or produce a copy that doesn't function properly.
If you want to know more about how our blanks work and why they're different, check out our post on what a key blank actually is.
Why a Locksmith Is the Better Call
A locksmith is a person. That sounds obvious but it matters more than you'd think.
A good locksmith can look at your key, identify the blank it needs, cut the copy properly and check it before handing it back to you. They have a much wider selection of blanks than any kiosk and the skill to handle keys that fall outside the standard range, like ours.
For our keys specifically, a locksmith is the way to go. Bring your new key blank in, hand it over and they'll have it cut in a few minutes. Most charge a few dollars. The whole thing takes less time than waiting in line at the self-checkout.
Hardware stores with a staffed key cutting counter are also a solid option, just make sure an actual person is doing the cutting rather than a machine.
The Short Version
Kiosks are fine for basic copies of common keys. For anything outside that, including our keys, go to a locksmith. You'll get a better cut, better quality control and someone who is experienced and knows what they're doing.
If you're not sure what keyway your lock uses before heading out, our guide on SC1 vs KW1 is a good place to start. Takes about two minutes to read and saves a wasted trip.
The kiosk by the entrance is convenient. A locksmith a few blocks away is better.