When a Key Snaps in a Commercial Lock
A key can break for a lot of reasons — metal fatigue, a worn cylinder, or just a key that was already weakened by a bend or a bad cut. When it happens on a business entrance, storeroom, or file cabinet, it can block staff and customers from getting where they need to go until it's cleared.
Trying to force it out with pliers or a makeshift tool usually pushes the broken piece further in or scores the inside of the cylinder, which turns a simple extraction into a lock replacement.
How We Remove It Without Damaging the Lock
We use extraction tools built specifically for pulling broken key fragments out of a cylinder without scratching the pins or the keyway, so the existing lock stays usable afterward. Once the fragment is out, we cut a replacement key on-site so the lock is back in normal use the same visit.
This applies to the full range of commercial lock types — deadbolts, mortise cylinders, exit device cylinders, and padlocks — so whatever hardware the broken key is stuck in, it can typically be handled without replacing the lock.
Need Commercial Broken Key Extraction?
Call us now or send a message. Our mobile locksmiths serve all of Greater Los Angeles.