How are (were) skeleton keys cut

King Louis XXX

Hi, I own a small in home jewelry business and I sometimes need to cut (uncut) old skeleton keys. I realize the really old keys were cut by hand, but how were the later skeleton keys cut? Is there a machine or device that can manually cut skeleton keys?

Thanks in advance!

Dean Nickel

Yes there are key machines that will cut them. Not found in just any shop. They come in different sizes and shapes and some can cut more than just bit keys.

key_machine_contents

Here are some pictures of some of them. Keil, Segal, and Ilco are just a few of them.

Before that and now there are flat warding files that locksmiths can use to make cuts on keys. I have a few.