Key Blanks: How to Find the Right Blank for Your Lock (Keyway, Manufacturer and Ilco Numbers)

When you order a key blank to copy or replace a key, the brand on the lock is not enough. A blank works only in a cylinder whose keyway it fits. The sections below cover keyways, how a lock maker's blank number relates to the Ilco number, what restricted keyways are, and how to read our key blank listings.

What is a keyway? Key blank, keyway and key section

Master Lock's Technical Manual defines the terms used on this page:

• Key blank: material made to the proper size and configuration to enter the keyway of a specific locking device. A key blank has not yet been combinated or cut.
• Keyway: the opening in a lock or cylinder shaped to accept a key blade of the proper configuration. The manual notes that the keyway is not necessarily the same as the key section.
• Key section: the exact cross sectional shape of a key blade, viewed from the bow (the grip) toward the tip.
• Original key blank: a blank supplied by the lock manufacturer to fit that manufacturer's product. Any other blank is a non-original key blank.

Why the lock brand alone is not enough

• One brand uses many keyways. Schlage's Mechanical Price Book lists its standard Classic keyways as C, CE, E, EF, F, FG, G, H, J, K and L.
• The pin count changes the blank. In the same price book, key blank 35-100 is a 5-pin blank and 35-101 a 6-pin blank, and 5-pin keys are only available in C, CE, E and F keyways.
• A lock can be ordered with another brand's keyway. Sargent's 10X Line catalog lists a 6-pin LA keyway cylinder for its 10X Line locks and also offers cylinders in Schlage C and E keyways (options SC- and SE-).

So the blank has to match the keyway and pin count of the cylinder, not just the name on the lock. Schlage's key stamping diagram in the same price book shows the key section letter (C in its example) marked on the key.

Manufacturer numbers and Ilco numbers

The Ilco Key Blank Directory states that Kaba Ilco designs and manufactures replacement key blanks compatible with original equipment key brands and is not affiliated with those brands. Two of its sections matter here:

• Section 2, North American Cylinder: blanks for residential and commercial locks, including padlocks, sold primarily in North America, listed by lock manufacturer. The Ilco number is printed under each key drawing; on pages such as Schlage and Kwikset, a second row gives the Ilco EZ number.
• Section 10, Cross Reference: major lock and replacement key manufacturers in alphabetical order, with the Ilco equivalent listed beside the original or competitor's key number.

Key blank chart: Schlage and Sargent numbers with Ilco equivalents

The cross reference gives these pairs; the EZ numbers and pin counts come from the Schlage and Sargent pages in Section 2.

In the Schlage and Sargent numbers, the letters at the end are the keyway (C, LA). In the cross reference, each Schlage keyway letter gets its own Ilco number: 35-100E, for example, is Ilco 1145E (SC8). On the directory's Kwikset page, Ilco 1176 carries the EZ number KW1 and A1176ST carries KW10.

Ilco recommends checking a selected key blank against the original key for blade length, width, shape and milling before duplicating.

Restricted, proprietary and Do Not Duplicate keys

The Master Lock manual calls a keyway restricted when the sale or distribution of its key blank is limited by the lock manufacturer to reduce unauthorized key proliferation. A proprietary keyway and key section are assigned exclusively to one end user by the lock manufacturer and may also be protected by law from duplication.

Schlage's price book lists the eleven standard Classic keyways with no restriction. The Everest B, Everest D, Everest 29 R and Everest 29 T keyways are listed as restricted. For Primus and Everest key systems the price book describes a Restricted Product Authorization, generated for the key system and provided with the purchase order for restricted keys and cylinders. A "Do Not Duplicate" stamp appears in the price book as a key stamping option for Classic Standard keys. Everest B and Everest 29 R keys are stamped "RESTRICTED".

Blanks for restricted and proprietary keyways are controlled by the lock manufacturer and, through authorizations such as Schlage's, by the owner of the key system. For Master Lock padlock key blanks and key numbers, see our Master Lock parts and keys guide.

Cutting the blank

A blank becomes a working key only after it is cut by a locksmith or on a key machine. The Master Lock manual names two kinds: a key duplicating machine, which makes copies from a pattern key, and a key coding machine, which produces code keys.

Schlage recommends ordering some keys already cut. On Allegion's support site, Schlage calls the L section the highest level key of its Classic keyways. L blanks are stainless steel and very thin so they fit into other keyways. They may damage cutters, and Schlage recommends ordering all L keys as cut keys from the factory. On the price book's Classic keys page, blanks carry 35- numbers and cut keys 48- numbers (35-100 and 48-100 for the 5-pin standard bow).

Key blanks at The Builders Supply

Our key blank category is Key Blanks & Keys, part of Keys, Cylinders & Locksmith Supplies. In these examples, the title gives the brand and part number and, depending on the listing, the pins, keyway or pack quantity:

• Schlage 35-100C 5 Pin Key Blank - C Keyway and Schlage 35-101C 6 Pin Key Blank - C Keyway: single blanks
• Dormakaba 1145 Schlage 5-Pin C Key Blank: an Ilco blank listed under Dormakaba with its Ilco number
• Dormakaba 250-SC1-NP and 250-KW1-NP: bulk packs of 250, named with the EZ numbers SC1 and KW1
• Sargent 6275LA (50PK) Nickel Silver 6P Keyblank: a pack of 50, and Dormakaba O1007LA, its Ilco number in the cross reference
• Sargent 7275LA Key Blank: the title has no pin count or keyway; the line under it reads 7-Pin Keyblank, LA Keyway

Before you order, have the cylinder brand, keyway, number of pins and any number stamped on your key ready. Other Schlage parts: see our Schlage lock parts guide.

Not sure which blank matches your cylinder? Our customer support team is available Monday - Friday, 8 AM - 4 PM Central Time, at 1-888-800-7789 or [email protected].