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I just learned that a BiLock has only 4 possible pin depths, even with 12 pins, that's still no where near as many as I would've expected, wouldn't it be easy enough for someone to just look on someone's keyring to decode the key? I'm guessing most of you have seen that Proof Of Concept thing where the guys work out the key bitings of a key from 200ft away using clever cameras, but this is even more fees-able?

just looking at someones keyring to decode the key would certainly be possible, There are only 4 pin depth's, but i would think that getting a picture from a camera from a good distance would be pretty hard to do considering the key design,it would have to be in a good position, but then again there are some very clever people around.

if your looking for places where you might encounter a "Bi Lock" look around Macca's restaurants (Front Doors), The post office (Front Doors), JB Hi-Fi (cabinets), Water Corp (Padlocks), these locks are everywhere over here.

I was planning a little write up on that very thing. This will help get me motivated.

Problem is cutting the key after you decode it.

I pretty sure that the blank is in an "L" Shape then cut, bent and assembled with the plastics?

Reminds me of making keys by sight to unlock cars. Easiest was the single-sided GM keys. (6 cuts, 5 depths). The were very easy to sight read. Often all we had to do is look either from the passenger side window, or over the dash through the windshield (wind screen, for my friends across the pond).

Sometimes it was necessary to jiggle the ender of the car to "shake" the correct key into a good line of sight.

I had a customer one evening, who was so eager to help, that when he saw me gently jiggle the car, offered to help, and before I knew it, was on the front fender, pumping the car like he was trying to give CPR.

Others would accuse us of somehow secretly "decoding" the VIN to make the key (It looks like we're reading the VIN when we're actually looking at the key ring through the windshield).

very feasable....I once made a key for a padlock from a photograph sent in an email...I used a hacksaw blade as the blank and to my amazement it opened it

While rekeying a large apartment complex in Cincinnati, I was approached by a maintenance man, who said they had lost the keys for a storage shed. The lock was a master #19, new, with the code still inked on the bottom.

This was long before lap top computers or notebooks, and code software; I had to call the shop to look up the code. (We didn't have cell phones yet, either!)

I grabbed the appropriate key blank out of my van and clampped it in a small vise grip plier; I also grabbed my pippin file.

In less than a minute I had a key, hand-filed; without the aid of any guide or key gauge--just by sight (and the experience of producing thousands of keys in that manner).

The maintenance man was stunned. I told him it was a good idea to erase the code after recording it, so others couldn't use it to make unauthorized keys.

Just a little brag (thanks--I needed that!)

Wow, how interesting, a friend of mine's dad is a bank manager, and I was discussing key security with him, and he proudly showed me his BiLock key that hung on the lanyard around his neck... In the same way that McDonalds staff have the BiLock key for the store hanging from another lanyard in their pockets.

BiLock keys do come flat, and are then folded up, but according to the wondrous "Beating the BiLock" PDF found on this site, keys can be made from old credit cards even. I've tried my hand at making a key by hand before, just with a standard 5 pin Lockwood lock. The people at the hardware store said I was mad for even trying and gave me a handful of key blanks for nothing. I took out the plug, slid in the blank and filed until all the pins were flush, took me a good half hour, but I'm sure with an electronic file / dremel and a bit more practice one could do this in a few minutes. I got a proper key made up by a Locksmith from the bitings I gave him, and mine actually works better.

So even letting people see your keys puts you at risk even with a BiLock, scary stuff. Anyone have a BiLock they know the bitings of that could post a photo and we can all have a go at visually decoding it?

A couple of weeks ago I had a customer locked out of her summer house. Her brother had a key 400 miles away and the lock was a Kwikset Smart Key lock. I'm still really iffy about putting any tools into those locks so I asked her to have her brother send a clear picture over the phone. He send it and a minute later when I unlocked the door the lady gave me a big hug and couldn't stop laughing. It was only a Kwikset but I couldn't help but feel good after that one.

I'm impressed.

Do most locks have the plugs in the holes in the same positions with just different keyways? Wouldn't this mean it'd be super easy to copy a key using only a pair of Calipers?

Different manufacturers have different scales for what they measure pins. That's why they have dedicated kits and universal .003/.005 kits. Then there are some brands that have completely different pin size widths, Medeco, ASSA, Icore locks and others. On some locks you will have to measure the width and the length of the pins to decode one.

Kwikset and Schlage are the same width but work on a different scale as far as the amount of depths and measurement differences between depths.

I've now made a backup of my house keys that I keep in my phone, I know the key profile, and I've put the bitings in my phone as a contact, should I get locked out I can go to a locksmith and get him to cut me a working key for $5, rather than paying him $100 to use a pick gun on my door.

Here you go.

I've never done this on a Bilock but I'll give it a stab.

Blue key, bow to tip:
122114
213321

Black key, bow to tip:
321142
141223