Broken Key Extraction in San Jose, CA

Where keys snap in San Jose

A key usually breaks where a lock takes heavy daily use or where a cylinder has worn for decades. Three kinds of door in San Jose deserve a note:

• Apartment entries and mailboxes. Statewide, about 24 percent of California homes are in buildings with five or more units, against about 19 percent nationwide, so shared entry doors and mailbox banks turned by every household are everyday equipment for many residents. Tell the manager before any work, since the building owner controls that lock.
• Converted houses on River Street. Most of the 1875 to 1925 houses in this district, now also called Little Italy, are in commercial use today. A former front door may now be an office entrance, so say which door it is and who holds its keys.
• Original hardware in Hensley. Most of the Victorian-era houses in Hensley date from 1880 to 1900, so a lock there may be original to the house. If it is, say so in the request; removing a snapped key is a different job from replacing the lock, and the choice depends on the hardware.

What not to do

• Do not keep turning. Twisting can wedge the stub tighter.
• Do not probe the keyway with tools; that can push the piece deeper and scar the keyway.
• Do not glue anything to the piece, since glue can seal the cylinder.
• Do not push a spare key in after the fragment.

Keep the broken half. It shows the cuts and helps when cutting a replacement.

What to send

• A close photo of the keyway and a photo of the broken half.
• Which door it is: building entry, mailbox, unit, office or house door.
• Whether the door is locked or unlocked now, and whether you are outside it.
• For a shared door, the manager's name or approval.

A lock that felt stiff before the key broke may also need lock repair. The service is covered on the broken key extraction page. River Street and Hensley are described further on the San Jose page.