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Various Kinds of Locks and Keys

We live in a world where we are surrounded by locks. In this day and age, these locks are an absolute necessity to help keep us safe and secure. They protect us at home, at work, and they also protect the cars that we drive. Locks play such a big role in our lives that it would be hard to imagine what our lives would be like if we did not have them. You may not even have noticed that the locks that help keep you safe and secure come in many different shapes and sizes. The same is true of the keys that work them. This article will go over the many different types of locks and keys which are used every day across America.

Mechanical Locks

Keyed locks are the most commonly found locks in the entire world. They protect everything from entryway doors to filing cabinets and safes. These types of locks also come in all different shapes and sizes that offer various levels of protection too. They can be as small as a matchbook or as large as a small box depending on what they are protecting. Although other types of locks are getting more popular, don’t expect keyed locks to go away anytime soon.

  • Deadbolts  

Electronic Locking Devices

  • Keycard locks

Nowadays locking mechanisms are becoming fancier and many are electronically controlled. Such is the case with what are known as keycard locks. These locks activate by simply swiping a card through them that has a magnetic strip on it. You see them in such places as hotels, parking garage gates, and as access devices for secured areas of businesses. They are easy to make and offer fast access through the locks that they control. 

  • Electronic Keypad Locks

These types of locks are slowly but surely catching keyed locks as the most popular types of locking convenience. People love them because of the high amount of convenience they offer to those that have them. They free people up from having to carry a large number of keys around and make access through such things as door entryways much simpler and faster. They can be used on everything from fence gates to warehouse garage-type doors. Many can be found protecting home doors at the present time and they are also used many automobile doors locks too. Look to see this trend continue well into the future.

  • Radio Signal Triggered Locks

These are locks that you will find on car anti-theft devices and they are also used for some commercial applications too. They are sophisticated locking devices that use a transmitter to communicate with a locking device. An example of this is a transponder lock; you use a transponder key to transmit a signal to your car to tell it to turn on or off the alarm or open the trunk. 

  • Biometric Locks

Locks have gotten more sophisticated now than ever before and biometric locks are an example of that. These locks work based on the fact that no two people have the same retina or fingerprint patterns. This makes them as secure to use as any type of locking device that is made at the present time. They are already in widespread use on such things as computers, smartphones, and safe locks. These represent the future of what a majority of locking devices will be in the future. The number of locking applications that they can be used for is virtually limitless.

Common Key Types

  • Ordinary Cut Keys

Just like there are many different style keyed locks, so too are there many different types of ordinary keys. All metal cut keys are defined by their jagged edges and very lightweight. These keys are easy to duplicate and can even ben mastered so that one key can work in several different locks in a home or business.

  • Transponder keys

Most people use transponder keys without even knowing what they are called. That’s because transponder keys (also called chip keys) are the most widely used keys for automobiles at the present time. They feature both a cut key end and an electronic component that enable them to do their job. Transponder keys make a vehicle harder to steal because of the chip that’s inside of them. This special chip must be able to match up with the vehicles anti-theft system in order for it to allow the car to start. Chip keys also allow doors to be locked and unlocked with just a push of a button and they have other pushbutton features as well.

  • Sidewinder Keys/Laser Cut Keys

Sidewinder keys are another advanced form of key that helps stop auto theft. These keys differ from ordinary keys in that the edges on them are smooth. The grooves for them to be able to open a lock are cut into the sides of them by using special lasers (hence them sometimes being called laser cut keys). These keys are very difficult to reproduce and the locks associated with them are much harder to pick than ordinary keyed locks.

Call a Locksmith When You Have Any Type of Lock or Key Problem

What should you do when you experience a problem with a lock or key? Your best bet is to call a skilled locksmith. That’s because they are experts at doing all sorts of lock installations, upgrades, and repairs. Locksmiths not only have vast amounts of knowledge about how locks operate, but they also drive large service vehicles that are fully stocked with spare lock parts and contain the latest and best lock troubleshooting gear too.

Another advantage you get by calling a locksmith is they are available to help you after normal working hours. Reputable locksmith service providers such as Locksmith & Key Wauwatosa out of Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, make sure they have a locksmith on standby 24-hours a day to help with any lock emergencies that their customers have. Most emergency locksmith services are available around the clock every single day of the year including weekends and holidays.


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