Residential & Commercial Re-Keying

The process of rekeying can be traced back to 1836 in New Jersey which was invented by a locksmith called  Solomon Andrews. His lock had adjustable tumblers and keys which should allow for rekeying whenever you choose to. At a time between 1850 to 1860, Solomon Andrews and another inventor Newell got the right to create removable tumblers in a lock which could be taken apart and scrambled, they had keys that came with bits and they were interchangeable, matching various tumbler configurations. The basis for combination locks was later derived from this arrangement.

To rekey a lock, you will need a rekey kit which has the necessary tools to complete the process, the rekeying tools are available for most lock brands and each brand have the rekeying kit that works for it, which means you cannot use the same kit for different brands of lock since they are not interchangeable. The rekey kit should be able to rekey six locks, and it is also very possible to get extra pins if you need to do more. Most if not all rekeying kits should also be able to work on traditional locks and deadbolt locks, inside of the kit there are two keys and all needed tools except a screwdriver.

In most cases why people rekey their locks is to build a master key system for the locks in their home, you make a set of locks share a common key to expel compromised keys, also when pins that are worn out and are too short to reach the shear-line are replaced with new pins. That thin line that is shared by the lock plug and its cylindrical housing is known as the shear-line. The lock cylinders use different length pins in different combinations to create exclusive key biting.