Unlocking Antique Furniture Locks

Antique furniture locks come in all shapes sizes and styles. Often people lose their keys when the pieces are locked. As a locksmith, I have been called upon numerous times to open and make keys to these antique furniture pieces.

Many antique furniture pieces including curio cabinets, use really old hardware made from brass and iron. Many of the locks are small and can be rusting.

The most efficient and easiest method for opening a locked drawer or door, is to impression a new key to the lock. The impression system of key fitting is the one skill that is unique to locksmithing.
Impressioning is used daily by few locksmith technicians these days and the art and talent is diminishing.

Impressioning enables the use of a keyblank, some hand files and some practised techniques to produce working keys to locks without the need to dismantle the piece of furniture. Largely, there is also rarely any damage to the woodwork, which is a good thing, because this maintains the value of the piece.

How does one impression an antique cupboard lock?

1. Select Key blank
2. Cut down flag to enter keyway.
3. Blacken the flag (with carbon or a match)
4. Insert key into keyway and turn as far as it will go.
5. Turn and wiggle key numerous times.
6. remove key from keyway
7. Examine keyblank for "impressions"
8. File minimally, where the impressions occur on the keyblank

This method need to be continued until such a time that the key operates the lock smoothly. It is a talent that few tradesmen technicians still use today. It definitely requires practise, but it save the needs to dismantle a perfectly good lock.