Broken Key Extraction in Buffalo, NY

Where keys snap in Buffalo buildings

Keys break when they are twisted against a lock that resists, and some Buffalo locks take more of that strain than others.

• Shared doors in two-family houses. The city's historic survey names the two-decker as the most common kind of two-family house. Where one street or hall door serves both flats, keys from two households, some of them copies of copies, work the same cylinder every day.
• Street doors to upper floors. In mixed buildings like the blocks the survey describes on Broadway, with shops below and apartments or offices above, one street door is used by everyone upstairs.
• Worn cylinders. Statewide, about 30 percent of housing units date from 1939 or earlier, according to the Census Bureau's 2024 American Community Survey. A worn cylinder or a worn key makes the key bind, which invites a hard twist.
• Ice. When wind-driven snow and meltwater work into a keyway and ice over, the key will not turn, and forcing it can snap the key in the cylinder.

What not to do

• Do not push a spare key into the lock. It drives the broken piece deeper.
• Do not put glue on the fragment. Glue that reaches the pins can ruin the cylinder.
• Do not spray oil or pour hot water into a keyway with a piece still inside.
• Keep the half you are holding. It shows the key's cuts and can help in making a replacement.
• If the door is still open, do not let it close and latch until the piece is out.

What to photograph and report

• which lock it is: a shared street or hall door, your own flat's door or a shop door
• whether the door is locked or unlocked right now
• a close photo of the keyway, and a photo of the broken half
• for a shared door, whether the owner and the other household know, since their access depends on the same lock

If the cylinder turns out to be damaged, lock repair may follow. If the break left you outside, see house lockout. See broken key extraction for the service and Buffalo for local housing.