Serving Watertown and the North Country

High Security Locks

There are two parts to high security, key control and drill / pick resistance. Most customers care more about key control than having the added feature of drill / pick resistance. When the drill / pick resistance is added to meet the UL437 specification the price goes up substantially.

Just because a key says “Do Not Duplicate” or “It is Unlawful to Duplicate this Key” does not make it so. Key control is achieved by availability of key blanks and if they are patented with a valid patent.

There are three levels of keys: 1) easy to get keys found in hardware stores, 2) hard to get keys and some of these are restricted in distribution and are not found in hardware stores. The keys restricted in distribution fall into a gray area of being a restricted key because it is not illegal to manufacture the keys because there is no patent but the keys can not be gotten by anyone outside of authorized distribution. 3) Truly restricted keys are keys that are patented and have a means in distribution to control these keys. A utility patent is generally good for 20 years before it expires. A patent is non-renewable. When a patent runs out on a lock and key system it then falls to the hard to get category as there is no patent to protect against the manufacture of key blanks. There are a number of manufacturers that manufacture locks solely for key control. These locks are generally pricier than non-restricted locks but not as much as locks that meet the UL437.

To meet the UL437 specification a lock must be drill and pick resistant. There are a number of manufacturers that manufacture locks to meet this specification. The price varies widely and all more expensive.

We sell Medeco M3 that is a patented system that meets UL437. This is available in standard cylinder and Medeco LFIC. Medeco has on all three generations angle cuts on the key that rotates the pin in the lock as well raise it up and down. Standard keys are cut straight across. The third generation of Medeco M3 has all the angle cuts of the previous two plus a side mill that interacts with a dog in the lock. The first two generations of patents are expired.

For hard to get keys we sell KABA-Lori for standard cylinders. We also sell LSDA line with LSA keyway for standard cylinders. For interchangeable core we sell three of KSP’s own keyways for hard to get. We also can get Best “W” keyways which are very hard to hold in most key machines unless you have special equipment. The KSP-LT10 is restricted through distribution.

Most high security cylinders can be master keyed for more information go to our section on Master keying.

For more information go to our section on Interchangeable Core.

Other forms of high security include access control systems however not all access control systems would qualify as high security. Most if not all mechanical stand alone access control systems would not qualify as high security. Not all electronic access control systems would qualify.

For an access control system to qualify for high security it must require a unique form of ID to be presented such as a card or a fob. For true high security both a fob or equivalent and a pin number must be presented. Most but not all biometrics would qualify for high security. Also for high security would be audit trail capability and time zones for who can enter when.

Often access control systems require additional mechanical hardware to achieve the goal which may include key restricted mechanical cylinders as emergency override. Other hardware maybe electric strikes or solenoid release locks.

We do offer stand alone access control. We no longer offer hardwired systems.