Urgent
The key broke in the lock
A snapped key can normally be extracted and the lock kept. What ruins it is what people do in the next five minutes.
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While you wait — please don't
- Do not push the broken piece further in. That is what turns a five-minute extraction into a replaced lock.
- Do not try to grab it with pliers unless it is genuinely sticking out — you will usually break it flush.
- Do not use superglue on the other half of the key. It is a real thing people try and it glues the lock solid.
- If the lock was stiff for weeks before this, say so. It matters for the repair.
What has probably happened
- The key was worn thin — most break after a long period of getting stiffer.
- The lock itself is stiff or seized, so the key takes the strain.
- A cheaply cut copy, which is softer than the original.
- Cold weather making an already tired key brittle.
- Forcing a key that was never quite right.
What the technician does
- The broken piece extracted with proper tools rather than dug at.
- The lock checked for what made it break — usually it was stiff long before it snapped.
- Lubrication and servicing, or a new cylinder if it is worn out.
- A fresh key cut from the original where one exists, rather than a copy of a copy.
- Rekeying if part of the key is missing and unaccounted for.
Questions people ask
- Can the lock be saved?
- Usually. Extraction is routine work. The lock gets replaced when it was already worn out, which is often what caused the break in the first place.
- Half the key is still in my hand.
- Keep it. It makes cutting a replacement much easier and it proves the whole key is accounted for.
- It broke because the lock is stiff.
- Then the lock needs servicing or replacing, not just the key. Fitting a new key to a seized lock buys you another broken key.
Get a technician out
Free estimate. The price is agreed before the work starts.
Questions about key broke in the lock
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Something else going on?
- Locked out of the house
- Locked out of the car
- Lost car key or fob
- Keys lost or stolen
- Lock is stuck or broken
- Just moved in
- New or upgraded locks
- Business locked out
One Call Locksmiths arranges the visit; the technician does the work and gives you the price.
