Broken Key Extraction in Memphis, TN

Where keys get stressed in Memphis

A key usually breaks in a lock that was already stiff, and Memphis buildings offer a few reasons for stiffness.

• Older cylinders. With 31.8 percent of Memphis housing predating 1960, many original locks carry decades of wear and grit. A key forced through a stiff one is the key that snaps.
• Shared entrances. Poplar Avenue's 1920s apartment buildings have a shared street entrance as well as unit doors. If the key broke in the shared lock, tell whoever controls it before anyone tries to clear it.
• Doors in historic districts. Removing a broken key is work on the cylinder, not the door, so a door in Cooper-Young, Evergreen or another Midtown historic district keeps the look it had.

Before a key breaks

Warning signs are easy to miss: a key that must be wiggled, a bolt that drags, a key that has begun to bend. In an older Memphis house, a lock that is already stiff is a reason to book lock repair before the key snaps, and a badly worn key is worth replacing.

What not to do

• Do not keep turning or leaning on the key once it has caught; twisting is what snaps it.
• Do not put glue or any adhesive into the keyway.
• Do not probe the keyway with tools, which can push the fragment deeper or damage the pins.
• Do not throw away any piece. The half in your hand shows the cut of the key.

What to send

Send a photo of the lock and of the broken key, and say whether a piece shows in the keyway. Say whether the lock is on a house door, a shared entrance, a mailbox or a storefront, and how old the door seems to be. Tennessee Locksmith Pros takes service requests from homes, businesses and drivers in Memphis. See broken key extraction service and the Memphis page.