Tips to Get A Broken Key From A Lock

This is always a very painful thing to happen to anyone. It is absolutely frustrating to come home, hoping to kick back and relax, take a cold bath, and drain the day’s stress away, only to find out you can’t get into your home because your key broke in the lock. In such situations, knowing some tips to get a broken key from a lock can save you time, effort, and additional stress.

When faced with such a situation, understanding some practical steps or tips to get a broken key from a lock can be incredibly helpful in resolving the issue and gaining access to your home without added hassle.

Read this article and use one or all of the tips to get a broken key from a lock to solve the issue quickly and efficiently.

Broken Key Extractor

This is a tool most professional locksmiths use to address this problem. If you can lay your hands on one of these, good for you. Using them requires special care. When trying to implement tips to get a broken key from a lock, remember that if your hands are too shaky, you may end up pushing the key farther into the lock — the extractor will be of no use at this point. 

To effectively use the extractor, carefully place this tool in the key, hook the teeth of the extractor on the teeth of the keys. Then turn and pull. This may take several attempts, so have some patience and repeat the process until the key is successfully out of the lock.

Stop using the key immediately

It probably crossed your mind before reading this to use the key. As long as you don’t push in too hard, you should be able to unlock the door, right? No, you definitely do not want to do this. When looking for tips to get a broken key from a lock, remember that no matter how careful you feel you are, using the key will not unlock the door. Besides, the more exposed the broken part is, the easier it is for you to pull it out. If you force your key in too hard, the rest of the contents of this article will be virtually ineffective.

Adhesives can help

Using adhesives to tackle this problem seems like adding salt to injury, which, of course, is what it’ll be if you’re not extremely careful. One of the tips to get a broken key from a lock involves applying a strong adhesive to a small piece of sturdy wood. Very carefully, attach the wood to the key and wait for the bond to set. Make sure the adhesive doesn’t come in contact with the cylinder. When the bond is set, pull the key out—it should come clean through. This procedure works best if the key is a little way out of the cylinder. Don’t attempt this if the key is deep in the cylinder.

Strike the Cylinders

This method works best for padlocks and locks with removable cylinders. What you have to do is strike the cylinder or padlock on a solid surface, preferably with a hammer. If you’re looking for tips to get a broken key from a lock, this approach can be quite effective. We advise you to strike the cylinder/padlock from the bottom where the keyhole is. Striking the other way works fine too. 

A little side note here: when striking the lock, the keyhole should be pointed downward – towards the ground. The gravitational assist gives the key the extra pull needed to free it from the lock.

No matter the type of lock, any of these methods should work as long as you use the right tools and are extra careful with your hands. If you’re looking for tips to get a broken key from a lock, ensure you proceed gently to avoid causing further damage to the lock mechanism.