Is it possible to get a key that's stamped "Do not duplicate"?

[BrettS]

This is way off topic, but I'm hoping someone here has a suggestion. My wife and I are going to be taking in a houseguest for a few months that we don't really know too well. We'll have to give her a copy of our house key and while I'm not worried too much about it I wouldn't want her to go out and make a bunch of duplicates or anything. I've see keys before that are marked "Do not duplicate" which makes it much harder to get a copy, at least, because any decent locksmith won't duplicate such a key.

Does anyone know if I can just go to a locksmith and get a key made with that stamp?

I'm not too worried about it, really, but I figured if I could do this for a few bucks it might add a little more peace of mind.

Thanks,
Brett

 

[beelzerob]

any decent locksmith won't duplicate such a key.

Doesn't seem like you have to worry about the decent ones. It's too bad you can't come up with some other temporary solution...like maybe giving a garage door code and leaving the interior door unlocked? That's what we'd do in this case, I think.

 

[WayneW]

Does anyone know if I can just go to a locksmith and get a key made with that stamp?

Unfortunately, yes, at least in enough cases to give you concern. I know that I have made authorized copies of keys with that stamp and it was just easier to put a little sticker over the "do not duplicate" engraving than get the paperwork that says I was authorized. Just write "kitchen" or "garage" on the sticker and it looks perfectly normal. I have no idea if the guy at HD or Lowes had any idea what was under the sticker or he just didn't care, but all it takes is one that doesn't peel the sticker to defeat your plans.

Is it worth considering a Medeco or some of those hard to duplicate locks? Or is it cheaper to key after the guest leaves?

 

[upstatemike]

This is where an electric doorstrike and reprogrammable access cards or keyfobs would be really useful. Not only no duplication but also a log of comings and goings.

 

[fcwilt]

How about a combination lock set? Many brands available, Schlage for instance. Most are "drop in" replacements and typically support multiple user codes, so you program one for the guest and then deprogram when they leave.

 

[sic0048]

An obvious choice would be to simply have the locks rekeyed after the house guest leaves. It isn't really that expensive to have a locksmith come on-site and do this. I guess it depends on how many doors end up being rekeyed.

We've done it before, but only had three doors to worry about. If you had lots more, then I guess it might be expensive.

 

[Digger]

An obvious choice would be to simply have the locks rekeyed after the house guest leaves. It isn't really that expensive to have a locksmith come on-site and do this. I guess it depends on how many doors end up being rekeyed.

We've done it before, but only had three doors to worry about. If you had lots more, then I guess it might be expensive.

A few years ago my friends son lost the key to their house. It cost them almost $150 to have them rekeyed (it was something like $80 for the guy to come to your house).

I use one of the Slage keypad entry locks that you can even get at Home Depot now for a little over $100 I think. I just remove the user code when the person should no longer have access.

 

[pete]

An obvious choice would be to simply have the locks rekeyed after the house guest leaves. It isn't really that expensive to have a locksmith come on-site and do this. I guess it depends on how many doors end up being rekeyed.

We've done it before, but only had three doors to worry about. If you had lots more, then I guess it might be expensive.

A few years ago my friends son lost the key to their house. It cost them almost $150 to have them rekeyed (it was something like $80 for the guy to come to your house).

I use one of the Slage keypad entry locks that you can even get at Home Depot now for a little over $100 I think. I just remove the user code when the person should no longer have access.

when I needed to re-key I took the knobs to the local hardware store, they did it while I waited. . less the 20 min at ~$5 a knob . .

 

[az1324]

Does anyone know if I can just go to a locksmith and get a key made with that stamp?

Unfortunately, yes, at least in enough cases to give you concern. I know that I have made authorized copies of keys with that stamp and it was just easier to put a little sticker over the "do not duplicate" engraving than get the paperwork that says I was authorized. Just write "kitchen" or "garage" on the sticker and it looks perfectly normal. I have no idea if the guy at HD or Lowes had any idea what was under the sticker or he just didn't care, but all it takes is one that doesn't peel the sticker to defeat your plans.

Is it worth considering a Medeco or some of those hard to duplicate locks? Or is it cheaper to key after the guest leaves?

Also you can dip the tops of keys in plasti-dip. Then there's no way to tell that they say "do not duplicate". If you need to return the key at some point without suspicion just dissolve the plasti-dip in acetone.

 

[upstatemike]

Also you can dip the tops of keys in plasti-dip. Then there's no way to tell that they say "do not duplicate". If you need to return the key at some point without suspicion just dissolve the plasti-dip in acetone.

And you know this trick because... ?

 

[beelzerob]

If you're going to go the rekey route, maybe you should rekey one door now, so you'll only have to un-rekey one door later. At our house, we have 4 doors that all work with our one key, 2 locks apiece.

 

[az1324]

Also you can dip the tops of keys in plasti-dip. Then there's no way to tell that they say "do not duplicate". If you need to return the key at some point without suspicion just dissolve the plasti-dip in acetone.

And you know this trick because... ?

Purely academic reasons?

 

[BrettS]

Doesn't seem like you have to worry about the decent ones. It's too bad you can't come up with some other temporary solution...like maybe giving a garage door code and leaving the interior door unlocked? That's what we'd do in this case, I think.

Hehe... yeah... I'm really not too worried about it, so I think I'll just go ahead and give her a key. Like I said, we don't really know her too well now, but obviously if we didn't trust her we wouldn't invite her into our home at all. I have a keypad for the garage door, so that's a possibility too, but it would be rather inconvienent.

I don't want to spend a lot of money (in this case, more than $5), so I figured that getting a 'do not duplicate' key might make it a little harder to make a copy, but I guess I'll just skip it.

Thanks though

Brett

 

[felixrosbergen]

Maybe having it say that on the key is enough to prevent most people from even trying to get them duplicated....

 

[beelzerob]

Well, go the IVB route...just calmly explain to your wife that while you're absolutely not concerned about this guest, it would probably be a good idea to make some small upgrades to the house security system, and then show her the shipping list of what's already on the way...

oh, and then a couple monthes later, sell it to me at a good discount!