Copies that work first time, cut at your door and tested in your lock
The words "do not duplicate" stamped on a key have no legal force in Australia, and most key-cutting outlets will copy a stamped key without so much as a second look, which is why genuine key control comes from a restricted keyway rather than an engraving. True Locksmith cuts house, commercial, padlock and restricted keys on professional equipment across Bayside and South East Melbourne, Victoria, and tests each copy in the lock it belongs to before handing it over.
Copies cut from a worn original inherit that wear, so a copy of a copy of a copy is the usual reason a spare sticks or fails to turn. We cut from code or from a known-good original wherever possible, and where you need to decide who can and cannot copy a key, we set up a restricted key system registered to you. After 30+ years at the machine, the copies work. Ask for keys through our contact page.
Spare keys for family members, cleaners, dog walkers and the neighbour who waters the plants. Cut on site from your original or from the lock's code, so each copy operates the cylinder cleanly rather than needing a wiggle to turn.
Offices, shops and warehouses need key sets for staff, cleaners and management without losing track of them. We cut commercial keys in the quantities required and supply a record of what was cut and to whom, for the business file.
Keys on a restricted keyway can only be cut by the locksmith holding the registered design, and only for the authorised signatories. We cut additional restricted keys for systems we hold, with identity checked and the record updated every time.
When the original is lost, worn or snapped, a key can often be cut from the lock's code or by decoding the cylinder itself. The result is a key as crisp as the one that came with the lock, not a worn copy.
Padlocks, window locks, letterboxes, cabinets and gates all run on their own blanks, and most hardware stores stock few of them. We carry the common profiles and cut replacements so a lost key does not mean a replaced lock.
Mechanical safe locks and key-operated cabinets use specialised blanks that are not available over a counter. We cut duplicates for safes and key cabinets we service, with ownership confirmed first, so a single lost key is not a lockout.
A copy traced from a worn key is worn before it is used. Cutting from code or a fresh original produces a key the cylinder accepts without force, which is why ours turn on the first try and keep turning for years.
Every key we cut is tried in the lock it was made for, with the door open and closed. A key that does not turn is recut on the spot, not discovered to be useless when the cleaner is standing on the porch.
A restricted key system puts the decision about copies in your hands, with a signatory list and a record of every key cut. For landlords, body corporates and businesses it ends the quiet spread of unaccounted spare keys.
Half the padlocks, letterboxes and window locks thrown away each year were discarded because a key was lost, not because the lock failed. A replacement key cut to code keeps sound hardware in service at a fraction of the cost.
House doors, a padlock, a letterbox, a safe. Say how many copies and whether you hold a working original.
Restricted keys need a signatory check; everything else is confirmed against the lock type and the blanks on the van.
Keys are cut on site, from a good original or from the lock's code, and the burrs are cleaned off the blade.
Each copy is tried in every lock it should open before it is handed over, and recut immediately if it drags.
"We are extremely happy with the service from Neale at True Locksmith. He helped us re-key our entire home and garage, whilst providing amazing customer service and value. This was the second time we've used his services and will always know who to call the next time we move home!"
Legally, yes. The stamp is a request, not a restriction, and most cutting outlets ignore it. Only a restricted key system, where the blank is patented and held by one locksmith, actually prevents unauthorised copying of a key.
A restricted system uses a patented keyway whose blanks go only to the registered locksmith, who cuts keys solely for named signatories. For homes with cleaners, carers or tenants handing keys around, it is the only way to keep an accurate count.
Usually, yes. Many locks carry a code that identifies the key cuts, and where there is none the cylinder can be decoded. True Locksmith cuts keys to code across Bayside and South East Melbourne, Victoria, after confirming you own the lock.
The spare was copied from a worn key, or on a poorly calibrated machine, so its cuts sit a fraction out of tolerance. A key cut to code or from a fresh original turns as smoothly as the one supplied with the lock.
Enough that one lost key does not lock the household out, and few enough that you can name who holds each one. For most homes that means one spare per adult plus one held off site by someone trusted.
Yes. Padlocks, letterboxes, window locks, cabinets and gates use their own blanks, and we carry the common profiles on the van. Where the key is lost, the lock is decoded and a new key cut rather than the whole unit replaced.
Yes, for mechanical safe locks on safes we service, after ownership is confirmed. True Locksmith in Bayside, Victoria, holds the specialised blanks these locks use, which retail cutters do not stock, so one lost key never becomes a safe opening.
Yes, and it is the best time to do it. New cylinders arrive with 2 or 3 keys, and the additional sets a household, a tenant or an agent needs are cut and tested in the same visit so nobody goes without.
Keys are cut on site at the door, so there is no shop to visit. We are regularly cutting keys in Brighton, Hampton, Bentleigh, Cheltenham, Mentone and Elwood, or see all suburbs we cover.
A spare key is only a spare if it works when the moment comes, and the ones cut in a hurry at a kiosk have a habit of failing exactly then. True Locksmith has spent 30+ years cutting everything from a single letterbox key in Hampton to full restricted systems for apartment blocks in Elwood, and every copy is tested in the lock before it leaves the van. If you need spares for the household, a key for a lock whose original is long gone, or control over who can copy your keys at all, list what needs keys on our contact page and Neale will arrive with the right blanks.
