Key Extraction

As a locksmith technician with many years of experience in the field, I don't get to do much lock work, but when I do, it mostly due to a misuse by the customer. There were many times where I had to come and repair a lock from one reason or another because it was not maintained well, or the customer just used the wrong key. Sometimes, the key got broken inside the lock which made things a little harder. Most average locksmith technicians can do broken key extraction without damaging a lock, but there are exceptions which will be depend on the situation as well.

I remember years ago getting called close to the late hours of the night by a lady who claimed that her key got stuck inside the lock. She could not give me much information, but I figured it should not be that bad, and I would be able to resolve the issue in no time. However, as I got to her home and did a quick review of the situation, I came to determine that she was using the wrong key. According to her what happen was, she tried to unlock the door using that key without realizing it was the wrong one. Although she was able to unlock and opened the door, she could not seem to pull the key out

The lock was an old Mortise type lock and the key she was using to try and open it was a bit key. By what she told me, it seemed like the main bolt somehow got pushed back after unlocking the door which caused the key to get stuck. I figured I could probably just break the key, remove the broken piece and repair the lock, but according to the customer, that particular key was the only one she had that opened other doors inside her home.

Not knowing what to do at this point, I called a fellow Spokane locksmith of mine to tell him the story and hoping for a helpful advice. Once I had the chance to give him the full story, he said that my only option at that point avoiding damage to the key or lock is drilling a small hole into the center of the bolt, screw in a tap and pull it out. Once I did that, it seem that the key was free and I was able to remove it without any issues. I then checked the lock for proper operation with the original key successfully.