How can keys that are cut different still open the same lock?

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My best friend just made a copy of our apartment key. She was pretty sure the machine messed up because the key was cut very different from the original. To her surprise, it still opened our front door. How is this possible?

Assuming it may have something to do with the height or order of how the pins in the lock open/fall?

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6 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Clarifying question: is she comparing the flat spots of the cut? That’s all that really matters. An old key might be smooth travel to each flat spot while a new one might have spikes between each flat spot. Depends on how the cutting machine works. The flat spots are where the pins touch the key when fully inserted.

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