10ringo10 wrote:"There are no aftermarket best wk key blanks..."
I'm starting to believe that.
Arrow LISTS WK in their catalog, or at least did at one point, but after two years of trying to order them I was finally told they've never actually made any available for sale.
I realize for making the lock cores they'd need a series of progressive broaches made specifically for that keyway. An expensive investment in tooling.
I wonder though, for making blanks if they make a specific mill cutting bit for each side of each keyway, to allow them to cut each side in one pass to speed up the process, or if they have a combination of different "generic" cutter shapes, making several passes to cut out those deeper, more elaborate W-series blanks. Because if they have a special cutter for each side of each blank, then I suspect that Arrow has already made the mill bit for manufacturing the WK blanks. At a trade show I talked a rep out of one his tryout keyring that has one blank of each of the keyways, and an Arrow WK blank was on there. So at some point they did make some of them, but perhaps only for their sample rings. Maybe they perceive a lack of demand for them, so haven't done a proper production run yet.
The rep said he had several more of those keyrings of blanks at home in his garage, in a box of old sales sample he was tired of moving around. I told him I had some co-workers who would appreciate a set too (figuring I could pass them out to some folks on the forum here) so he had me email him with my address and said he'd mail them to me when he got back home, but I never heard back from him, so either he forgot about me or they found another home elsewhere.
Apart from not sending me those tryout rings, that Arrow rep has been an awesome guy. He has sent me a ton of samples, displays, counter mats and other swag over the years. Not exaggerating, I think I've received at least 15 or more boxes of stuff from the guy. I've had other reps give me some rather decent samples, swag and other materials, but no one has ever come close to the sheer volume of the Arrow rep. Saddens me a little bit as I carry (well... carried, since I'm not doing much locksmithing anymore) very few Arrow products.
WB is actually very close to WK though. That diagram of WK showing that it not only takes a 90 degree turn at the bottom of the pins, but even seems to move upward slightly, is a bit misleading. The angle of that topmost dogleg is pretty similar to WB. The main difference is the inward bump it makes towards the bottom, in an area you probably wouldn't be maneuvering a pick anyway.
Fri May 06, 2016 7:00 am 
