Keys?

[yclo]

I'm sure everyone here has keys of some sort, whether it's to the home, office, locker, whatever.

Who prefers the good old brass keys and who prefer the lighter alloy ones which are sometimes coloured too?

I just had a set of keys copied in the coloured alloy and it is very light, and now I don't have to try every key just to get the right one too since I have different colours.

-YC

 

[B@rt]

I like the colored leightweight keys a lot, even though they don't last as long as a brass key.
( not a huge difference...

)

When you have several keys, the difference really is noticable...

The colors are a nice and handy feature too.

 

[Dreck]

Warning! Those multi-colored keys can be a problem. I worked as a locksmith for over eight years. They are aluminium and they do not bend, they break immediately. Brass keys do bend without breaking. I remember having to extract numerous key pieces out of people's locks. If you use them. be careful not to bend them. Brass can be straightened and last much longer.

 

[Monsters_Inc]

Ummm.. is there a none of the above? My keys are neither brass nor coloured. And I'm not sure it's aluminium cos it's suffering a bit from corrosion. Then again, it could be due to exposure to seawater.

 

[Dreck]

The best material to make keys out of is nickel-silver. Very durable and doesn't wear out the pins in the lock.

 

[Albany Tom]

I kinda like the heavy brass keys they use for commercial doors. They never break, and you can just open the door with them, without using the knob.

Color doesn't matter much to me. I go by shape.

 

[hank]

I put colored plastic covers on the brass keys, after learning that I should've been washing my hands after handling them and shouldn't have been allowed to play with brass keys as a child (sigh).
Or do I mean (duuuh ..).

http://caag.state.ca.us/newsalerts/2001/01-042.htm

My current favorites are the nickel-silver ones -- good metal, and I can lick my fingers safely any time.

 

[iddibhai]

what are those car keys made of then? they appear silvery on the outside, but where they are cut you can see brassy color. nickel plated brass?

 

[Saaby]

Mercedes and Saab (It's a toss up) have my favorite automotive keys--there is no key to the key. just transponder. Your Mercedes key will fit in any other Mercedes' ignition--it just won't start. Saab just adopted the idea only theirs is smaller. Winner Saab right? Well the Mercedes key has a trick up the sleeve the Saab doesn't...part of it detaches to give to the Valet.

Lots of others are using transponder keys now but they still have mechanical components to the key.

 

[iddibhai]

MB/Saab keys are cool. but the Jag keys are totally whacko weird, at least the older XJ8 one i saw. cylindrical metal almost all the way to the end, and then it has flat spots around it. i also like the freewheel lock cylinders in the german cars. hmm one of these days i must take a pic of the bmw key we have with led in it... hey darrell, how 'bout a pic if your keys from the EV1

whoops, you don't have keys for that

 

[James S]

Oh Great, so when you pass under the power lines on the highway your starter motor kicks in and burns out after it blows the processor. But before that you enjoy a good static zap from your key to the car one cold day and it erases the chip in the key and your car doesn't start.

Are any of these potential scenarios?

 

[Saaby]

Nah...car computers are pretty failsafe. Among other things car computers are an even better engineered combination of software and hardware then Macs. That and they are designed to do one thing and do it well. Ignition computer reads the key and starts the engine, it doesn't have to edit video, touch up pictures, browse the internet, read eMail...

 

[2dogs]

The latest issue of the Turbo Diesel Register has pictures and an article on a diesel Saab.
I prefer brass.