I needed to have some keys cut today so my aunt, Tita Dayday, took me to centro to have it done. We parked around the block and walked the remaining distance. It had never occurred to me that keys could be copied by hand. I'm so used to going over to Canadian Tire and handing them over to an attendant who will insert the original and a blank key into the machine and press a button. A few minutes later, I've got a duplicate!
This time was different. When we got there, the entire sidewalk on one side of the street was set up with numerous locksmiths stations. Each station was brightly painted yellow and displayed a multitude of either keys, door knobs or padlocks. We took a moment to appraise our choices and decided to go with number 15, Willy Boy. His station had about a hundred keys all threaded on to a bent piece of wire.
We presented him with three keys for which we needed copies and he selected matching blanks keys. He worked with a file and a calliper, while we left to run another errand. He was all done by the time we returned less than 10 minutes later. He averaged just over 3 minutes per key, that's comparable to his machine-like competitor! He charged 40 PHP (a little less than 1 CAD) per key which is a much better rate than at the mall where it can cost approximately 80 PHP per key.
Although he seemed to know what he was doing, I had my reservations about whether or not the keys would work. He assured us that if they didn't work, we could always bring them back and he would copy them again. When we got home, we tried all three and every attempt was a successful one! So I certainly recommend giving this a go next time you're in need of duplicates. It was accurate, quick, and affordable.
Wish you were here!
