(867) How to Impression a Key 

I put the blank in and the master lock opened

I think Bill has two pairs of hands. The one pair is used to work the lock and the other is used to play the banjo while in fast forward.

Just an aside: The marks from the pins get more and more distinct as you get closer to the correct depth of cut on the key. So when you're far off, the marks will be very light and indistinct.

Licensed locksmith here, a technique that myself and a few of the other guys at my shop do is called "knife-edging". Using the flatter side of the Pippin file, I bevel the top edges of the key blade. This makes marks easier to see due to the finer edge, but it is easy to go too far, especially if the lock uses a 0 pin in any of the positions. I've knife-edged blanks for wafer and pin tumbler locks with great success.

The master of locks...and his door blows open Great stuff as always Bill :)

Impressioning correctly requires an up and down movement of the key with torque applied in one direction at the same time. this makes the binding pin bind that much harder and makes the marks more pronounced. Bill's method works as you can see but if you try this make sure you give two to three up and down movements with the key when torque is held constant in either direction. Make sure that direction is one in which the lock will open to insure the fastest open.

Like how you explain and demonstrated that process, Bill. Now the liquor cabinet is within my grasp. Don't let the Intro Technies see this video.

A good tip to make you more successful is to lay the key flat and use a file to thin the blade of the key at an angle, almost like a knife. This trick helps you get the proper spacing. My next tip is to use this method. When the key is held, insert in lock lift up on the key, turn to bind and rock the key down 3 times. Next relax the key, then press down on the key turn to bind and rock the key up 3 times. Take the key out of the lock and wipe the key off the see the marks more clearly. This method of binding and rocking actually causes a slight hammering of the bound pin(s) in to blade of the key. If you have any questions let me know. I learned this method way back in 1995, from a master locksmith that has written many books on locksmithing . Keep learning and stay legal. Now you need to do a video on reading waffer tumbler locks.

Enjoy your retirement, Bill. Thanks to you, I impressioned my first key last week.

One thing I do when I impression which I didn't see you do is jiggle the key as it's bound each time. That gives you extremely good marks. Also some blanks are made with a mix of different metals to make them harder. Especially in plated keys since the plating would make a normal thickness key thicker. They make those thinner before plating and use a harder mix of metal. I use solid brass keys. They seem to work the best. You use the file I use. Although a very popular file is a pippin file. It has kind of a tear drop cross section. It allows you to make more of an angle the deeper you go allowing the key to work smoother. Other than that, dynamite video. Very informative and explains it very well.

I would like to say that you make a very good video! With that being said, I have a couple of pointers if you do mind. First. That is not a m1 master blank, it is a m13 blank. Second. Use a 4 pippen file. You have much more versatility and control of your spacing and angling of your cuts. Third always secure your lock in a vise or whatever you have on hand. Your work piece has to be secure, or you will be cheating yourself out of the marks you could get. Always use vise grips or the impressioning tool. Why use your fingers when they make a tool for that. These are In my humble opinion critical for achieving success. I have been a practicing outside locksmith for 20 years and I have for a fact impressioned over 100,000 keys to houses all key ways, cars, trucks, boats and tampon machines. Lol. I have impressioned pins and wafers also side bar locks as well as best interchangeable core. There will be comments made that I'm full of shit. All I have to say is come to Dallas look me up and put your money where your mouth is. Great video!!

Thank you for the video. Two comments, first the larger the impression mark on the key the closer you are to the correct depth and the gentler you should be with the filing. Second using a proper impressioning tool allows you to use less force to get a mark and so you are less likely to break the key.

I'm sure that everyone knows this already but I was watching "the Americans" the other day and the lady blackened the key with a lighter so that she could see the marks from the key pins.

He is the only person who I have ever seen impression this way!I love how he marks the first cuts. That's a brilliant idea. Great video as always.

got my second car I ever owned out of a junkyard using this method it was so hard took me around two hours maybe more but made my own key did the head gasket and drove it home anyhoot thank you for sharing your knowledge with us bosnianbill !! been watching video after video since I found ya lol

I use silicone, works perfect every time. Pick the lock, spray lube it and blow it out with compressed air to put a light coat of oil in it, If it is a spring core put a drop of super glue on the edge of the face so it is temporarily tacked open. Position the lock so the pins are all upside down so they all sit down against the cylinder wall. Inject a small amount of 100% silicone into the keyway. Dry overnight and gently wiggle out your rubber key that shows exact spacing and depth for filing a new key.. Takes longer due to letting the silicone dry but is less work with very accurate results, I rarely have to go back for a touch up with the file.

That was awesome. Years ago I had to have a locksmith make a set of keys for my car and he used this method and I was blown away. It took him maybe 15 minutes to make both the ignition/door and trunk keys (I said it was years ago lol) for my car.

Some people use a sharpie on the blade to help see the pin marks. that is how I was taught. Another trick I have found was using white out. Great video Bill. Thank you again for all of your informative videos.

This is so helpful, Bill. I'm working my way thru the Foley Belsaw professional locksmithing course and I really had a ton of trouble with the impressioning module.

Every time I watch one of your videos, another one of my questions gets answered!

Thank you Bill. I had watched a couple other videos on this and now I have no idea what they were going on and on about. To watch you do it, it is really very simple. I guess when someone is full of crap they try to hide it with lengthy over explanations, but really it's just more crap.

My brother is a real weasel he showed me completely the wrong way to do that just who I would fail at it Thank you very much I appreciate you taking your time to make the video✌

Nice job, lucky bitting. Hate to be "picky" no pun intended. You said pin 3 but then filed pin 2(people maybe looking for marks on pin 3). I've impressioned tons of locks in my life, cars, house, padlocks,filing cabinets and there are other technics out there but I would say the one advice that stands out the most is natural light (sun). It is so incredibly important and helpful and the magnifying glasses can be rather useful if you haven't impressioned alot or have bad eyes. Once you get practice and know what you're looking for it can be a great tool/skill to have especially if the lock doesn't disassemble, like the one Bill just did.

I still haven't figured out why I can't stop watching your vids

So cool! Untill I watched this video, I didn't understand how impressioning works. thank you Bill ;D

you can also grind the key to be more narrow so you dont have as much material to file off.

Thank you for all the knowledge BosnianBill! I wish health and happiness to you and your family! Congratulations on your retirement ❤

SUPER! Years later . . I find way to make key so I Can put my heavy chain to work. gotta learn to pick. Thanks!

I always wished someone would make a comprehensive key impressioning video! TY!

I pick locks for fun. I started by making my own lockpicks from hacksaw blades. But this may be even cooler than that.

Another great video Bill. Don't take this the wrong way but two things stood out to me as errors in the description. First the coating on the key is not chrome but nickel plated. The second is the groove that got the majority of your filing is #2 not 3. I suppose you could call it 3 as some codes are written with #1 at the tip but the vast majority start at the bow. That's how I record them in my files for code cutting. Thanks again. PS. I wish you cut that final mark. I was a beauty.

I bet the main issue would be finding the right key blank for a particular lock.

This noob never knew that's how you do it,guess we can all learn something new every day if we are lucky. Great job Bill and thanks for the upload as it's appreciated.

You picked an extremely simple one. Wow, I'm impressed.

I’m going to try this on my door-with-no-key! 🎉

I find impressioning more rewarding on a job than picking. it does take some time but if a lock can't come off a door bc it'll ruin the finish bc a painter painted over it. then impressioning is the way.

Keyblank space and depth keysets can be helpful, mainly for initial impression blank prep.

It's great the way you give a couple of licks with just the tip

Many "Many" years ago I had a fascination with padlocks I tried a "locksmithing course" BY MAIL. (Maybe I should have continued it) Anyway in Impressioning a key they recommended "Smoking" the key using a Candle holding the key in the flame to darken it. Worked fairly well but I did not continue with the course, Still have the "copy" of that manual. By "Copy" I mean it was photo copied page by page and bound together with pins!

What about using something on the surface of the key to detect the scrapes easier? Like layout fluid for working with metal or maybe just a sharpie.

thanks for the great tutorial. what do you think of using a dremel for the initial polish? killing a butterfly with a bazooka? also, what are your thoughts on using some graphite powder, even a straight pencil tip scratched along the cuts, to determine which pins are "scratching" the most? cheers.

That's it. I'm switching from a file to 600 grit. Those initial marks stick out like a spotlight on a dark night.

I'm sitting here picking locks watching tgis video ... thanks

I did it! Yay! Thanks for the video! God bless! 😇

Dang, what silly crappy bitting. Ur such a boss bill!

Best impression of a key, " click".

The file only cuts when you push it forward anyway. You should never put pressure on the back stroke of a file, it only dulls it quicker and it's wasted energy (in case you're using a large file to take off a lot of material).

Wow I love RU-vid! clicked on a Bosnian Bill video and I got an ad for kwikset

Just use a candle to smoke the surface so when the lock pins rub on it it will be easier to see the scratches it makes on the blank.

Never even thought of sand paper... I use my bastard file to clean it then work it out. Still, great vid!

Nice one Bill. It is something I have never tried to do.

You make it look way to easy in all your videos. Thus was an awesome video. Thanks Bill.

How do you impression a master key that was made opens many locks, not just the one?

I work in a machine shop, why not use red or blue or what else other color daikum paint it comes with a bottle with a brush, we use it to detect if something is rubbing somewhere on the part that you painted

Thanks bill you make it look so easy!

Awesome video, I've been wondering about this for a while, coincidently i have a few master locks to try it out on

Try a drywipe marker on the edge. I use it when i sharpen my woodworking tools.

can order blanks for around 25cents each if you order from different locksmiths oo dealers online. example , clk supplies

I wonder if you could use a highlighter, ink, acrylic paint or some white-out to make seeing easier.

Once a lock has been picked, would it be possible to use some sort of pantograph-like tool to decode the heights of the pins? Once the lock is picked, there would be no need for a subtle sense of touch, since every pin's travel would max out at its correct height. If one could have the pick ride a consistent spot within the lock and had a marking device on the edge of a pick some distance from the lock, measuring how far that point could move down while feeling each pin should indicate how far up the pin could travel. The distance ratios would vary depending upon how far the pick was inserted, but it should be possible to make a translation table. While the impressioning approach you describe wouldn't require picking the lock beforehand, it seems like it would generally require spending more time with trial and error than would picking a typical lock. Tracing the bitting after picking should expedite things a lot.

Wouldn't it be a bit easier if you hit the bitting with something like a dry erase marker in order to make the impressions "pop" a little easier? Edit- Reading further down the comments I see I'm not the first to suggest this. I'm not really surprised. There are some smart cookies in this game.

i have the same vice grips and just about the same condition I use it all the time mostly i just play with it beats a fidget spinner in my opinion.

great absolutely great content. how much forensic evidence does this leave inside the lock body and on the pins? do you think this would be harder to notice than picks scraping the inside?

amazon has a variety of loupes and magnifyers to choose from thats where i ordered mine from. delivery may take awile if it comes from china or somewere like that

Well, I bought and worked on all the info I had found on the subject.I didn't try whiteout or a black sharpie, though constantly marking them would be a pain. Also, this is really time consuming. I spent quite awhile on this and cam eto the conclusion that most of the locks that are impressionable= are the cheap and poorly made ones. So, wouldn't it be easier to just buy a new lock. I tried for a long time on some Best SFIC's and couldn't get past the first mark or 2. I think if you are trying this technique on a lock of a good or better quality= it's just not gonna work. And it will take a long ass time to find out= that it's not going to work. If what you are trying to do is get a working copy of the key- you have 2 choices that are better. Pick the door open- remove the lock/ dump the pins and decode/ repin the ;lock/ reinstall the lock. You'll know the key type by the keyway and you will know the keys combination and if/what the master key, if any. there are for it. You need some privacy to do this in the field but it doesn't take as long as you think/ plus you only need to pick and remove= you can take it anywhere to do the other work, unless it's a high-traffic area, it probably won't be noticed. Lab's Annex is a great decoder for this. OR/// you can get the a drill and carefully drill out the core (this only works on certain locks) dump the pins/ decode/ and replace with a new lock that is a duplicate that you repinned with said pinning biting. The first way is much easier. If you are proficient at this, you can remove a lock/ decode/ repin/ and reinstall in less than 30 minutes. The trick is to know all the information first so you aren't fumbling through it during execution. Anywho, my 2 cents. I wouldn't waste my time impressioning any more and why spend the time to impression a key for a lock that doesn't cost anything?

Great information and loved to see this actually work. Now I'm going to sleep much better. Knowing anyone can get into the house. Oh...and If I do this on a 1970 mach 1 mustang where I bought a keyed column without a key. What key would I need, and which side of the lock are the pins on? Thank you!

Bill you make it look so easy!

I have just tried to do this with a Ruko 500. I can tell you that no matter how Swiss your file is, you won't be impressioning any Ruko lock key. The key pins are rounded off, so only the first rotation will leave a weak impression. After filing that, no more scraping marks will be made. Making a key involves gutting the lock to make a key (also very interesting).

Very cool! I figured impressioning a key would be more difficult!

Hey Bill, nice vid! You may want to edit it though because you called the number 2 position "number 3".

A true Master Lock.

What a great Video!! I didn´t know it´s so easy :D Until now I first lockpicked the lock and than made an aprox eye-measurement with a messering gauge and started fileing. I usually got it done by the second time XD I have to try this!! :D

Love this lesson! Double thumbs up! Id love to see the fast forward parts in slomo! but im nit picking! Great vid!

good stuff. thanks for the tutorial.

Super low tech. I like it and i have a programmable lock I have been wanting to rekey but I have lost the original. I wonder if this method will still work?

Nice. I got the Marks. But then I realized, that it works not so good on a Steel Key. And I realized, that my File is to rough^^

What about locks that can have tumblers go 0-1.00" (for example) but need to be .50" to be free at both top and bottom pints of the tumblers?

Amazing! Maybe I better just buy another lock...... Thanks!

A really good video with lots of info in it, thanks Bill.

Thanks for the Demo and explanation --

Greetings and salutations Could you use a sharpie to make scratches more pronounced?

the Fast Forward Music is the best! I am sure you have said what it is in the past Please say again

Ha. Of course it was 140. I still can't pick mine lol

amazing, I will have to try this!

your right,...i snapped a few keys trying it ..they get weak after a few times of thqt \

I know the technique has been fully explained, and those Master locks in my experience have been quite trashy. But in the interests of not showing us how to do it, but more in the interests of a challenge, could you do this to a much better quality lock? Truthfully, that key was pretty rough. I'd be very interested to see how much effort you'd have to put into a better lock. Or if you need to put any extra effort in at all. Also comparing the time difference might be interesting too. Anyhow, just an idea.

+bosnianbill "I had no idea the key was cute this light"... Bill! Masterlock, DUH!

I'm more of an m1 garand kinda guy but I guess an m1 blank works too

I’m 12 and I love picking locks

The master of lock

That's what i call to reverse engineering a padlock.

Can you impression locks with security pins - like Abus, American Lock and the likes?

I've been waiting for this video for so long. Thank you!

Can you take a magic marker and coat the key to give you a perfect mark?

I would have sanded the top of the key as Bill did coated it in sharpie put in wiggled , filed and repeat

Your tool collection is almost as impressive as your pick collection!

1st your awesome bill ,Iv learnt loads from u, BUT when I was working on call I found using a knife edge shape to the key edge and filing at the same knife angel makes it so much easier to see without googles , have u tried this ?

Like have the experience of doing my first Key impression busy doing other things thought would study before got into making my first key for my Truck wonder if Machinist bluing make a better impression bought one blank was expensive cannot make a mistake have been studying different videos want to be prepared when get around to making my first key people with lots of experience or have been to school make key impressions look easy

That is so cool, thanks B Bill.

How can I find what key do I need? I got an old Vespa without the key. I want to try this method, but, I have no idea how to tell what key to start with.