Nobody locked their doors......

[wundudnee]

But they sure had a lot of keys. I found these in a bunch of stuff my Dad had picked up over the years. There are church keys, skeleton keys, model T keys, clock keys, bottle openers, a skate key, desk keys, unknown strange keys. They must of locked up a lot of other stuff.

 

[Rustyt1953]

I have a friend that used to work for the Greater Cincinnati Water Works in the 90's. Her job was to enter peoples homes and read the water meter. She drove a city van with a safe in it for hoops of house keys. The hoops were as big as basketballs and heavy with keys.

She would bang on doors and yell "meter reader" and then go in if there was no answer.

A different time, indeed.

 

[Model 19 6"]

In the 80's we had guys come to read our water meter. one did not knock, just walked in. I was rocking our son. I watched as my 90lb black lab pinned the guy against the kitchen wall, all I could see were his white teeth and a scared city worker. About 3 days later we got a outside meter.

 

[swsig]

But they sure had a lot of keys. I found these in a bunch of stuff my Dad had picked up over the years. There are church keys, skeleton keys, model T keys, clock keys, bottle openers, a skate key, desk keys, unknown strange keys. They must of locked up a lot of other stuff.

Assuming your pockets were big enough, carrying either of those two sets of key rings would provide you with a pretty potent last-ditch self-defense weapon.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

When I was 14, I put a church key (beverage can opener) on my household key ring. I still have some faint scars!

I have become the "Keeper of the Keys" in my dad's family. I have 6 rings of keys that have accumulated over 4 generations. When there is a lock, door, trunk, piece of furniture or jewelry box, that can't be unlocked, I get a phone call. Sometimes I take the keys and figure out which one fits, sometimes I leave the keys and let them figure it out! The job should have gone to my older brother, but his absolute lack of mechanical skill, decided it should be my job! The hard part isn't sticking in keys until one works! The hard hart is getting a broken key out! (Especially if glued/epoxied in place!)

Ivan

Ivan

 

[NYlakesider]

I still have in a large cigar box keys to get into padlocks.( Dutch Masters remember them) Most of them are for the Master series locks. Working on jobs with lock boxes and chain securing items the contractors give you keys. I easily have a couple hundred in the box as I worked for many outfits over my work life. Many of those type locks and keys have the number on them. Look at the lock get the number and its a good bet I will have the key that runs that lock.

I still have some Master type locks from the 1980s that I bought to secure things at my summer camp. I got a package of 8 all keyed alike. The first thing I did was remove the numbers on the keys and locks.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

I still have some Master type locks from the 1980s that I bought to secure things at my summer camp. I got a package of 8 all keyed alike. The first thing I did was remove the numbers on the keys and locks.

I was given several lockable filing cabinets, but no keys. Not a problem, went to the biggest locksmith town with the file brand name and the number on the locks, $5 each walked out with keys for all of them! I guess you could do that in almost any file room!

My family used some unbrand lock (all keyed the same) that we could buy by the dozen! We used 2 different keys depending on it was farm or construction. Since I got out of High School in 1974, If I see one of that type of lock in Central Ohio, I give it a casual try, My two keys fit about 2/3 of them, there must be a 3rd key I don't have.

When I started doing environmental clean-up, we lock everything we can up! We Use a "programable" combination lock by Master. Each jobsite has a new combo! We use something the whole crew can remember: Ammo Numbers have worked great. 3006, 4570, 4440 & 3840 were two gates n same property. For my personal locks I have two numbers: If I want my wife to get in it, her birthday, If I want to keep her out, my birthday. Maybe too simple, but we trust each other! I have about 20 of these locks and reprogram them as needed, when not "in use" they revert to her birthday.

Ivan

 

[djohns6]

I used to work with a guy that always carried a big keychain on his belt . Must have been 30 keys and you could hear him coming from a ways off . He actually carried keys to vehicles he no longer owned .

 

[NYlakesider]

I was given several lockable filing cabinets, but no keys. Not a problem, went to the biggest locksmith town with the file brand name and the number on the locks, $5 each walked out with keys for all of them! I guess you could do that in almost any file room!

My family used some unbrand lock (all keyed the same) that we could buy by the dozen! We used 2 different keys depending on it was farm or construction. Since I got out of High School in 1974, If I see one of that type of lock in Central Ohio, I give it a casual try, My two keys fit about 2/3 of them, there must be a 3rd key I don't have.

When I started doing environmental clean-up, we lock everything we can up! We Use a "programable" combination lock by Master. Each jobsite has a new combo! We use something the whole crew can remember: Ammo Numbers have worked great. 3006, 4570, 4440 & 3840 were two gates n same property. For my personal locks I have two numbers: If I want my wife to get in it, her birthday, If I want to keep her out, my birthday. Maybe too simple, but we trust each other! I have about 20 of these locks and reprogram them as needed, when not "in use" they revert to her birthday.

Ivan

Ivan, it appears that we both have had many of the same experiences.

In my key "collection" I also have keys that will fit fork lifts, boom lifts, scissor lifts and other equipment like that. I was certified to run many different types of equipment. Its amazing over so many years and equipment types that most have a common key. I have a 2016 NH tractor and the mechanic told me that basically 2 keys can run most of that size equipment anywhere.

 

[bigwheelzip]

But they sure had a lot of keys. I found these in a bunch of stuff my Dad had picked up over the years. There are church keys, skeleton keys, model T keys, clock keys, bottle openers, a skate key, desk keys, unknown strange keys. They must of locked up a lot of other stuff.

In the "old days" the most impressive front door lock was an original style Fox Police Lock, which engaged to brace against a diagonal metal bar mounted to the floor.


Sent from my motorola one 5G using Tapatalk

 

[Chubbo]

Keys in the 'good Old Days'.

I remember my one and only family vacation, circa 1937. We lived in a nice old house, well over a century old, in a suburb of Columbus, Ohio. We didn't have keys to the door locks, as no one ever locked their doors. Upon hearing of our pending vacation trip, a neighbor told dad that he should lock our doors while on our vacation, so dad went to the hardware and bought a skeleton key, like Everyone in town had.
Our Vacation trip, via rail, started from the Union Station, in Columbus, and went a couple hundred miles to Middlesbrough, Ky., and returned by the same route, to its original starting point. The trip, and vacation, were a memorable success. When we arrived back home, we found our home still locked up, and wasn't pilfered. That skeleton key was a huge success.

Chubbo

 

[ancient-one]

When I was growing up our doors, front and back, if locked it was with a skeleton key. My apartment doors have two deadbolt locks each. Times have changed.

 

[arjay]

My cousin bought a 200-300 year old house,added on to it and ran it as their home and a bed and breakfast until the pandemic. They have the original key and it's massive lol

 

[TheHobbyist]

Not sure if this applies @ OP, but older homes each room had a skeleton key for it...going back about 150+ years. Was their an old farm, homestead, et cetera?

 

[boykinlp]

I used to work for a video poker/game company. We all carried an extremely large key ring with at least 50-60 keys on it. The funny thing is that we probably only used about a dozen of them. Why did we carry the rest you may ask. There is a very logical answer. Each ring had a uncopyable master key that would open ALL of our machines company wide. If one of these keys was ever lost, it was a fire able offense. These keys were checked in and out everyday. Our keys rings were too big to put in a pants pocket. We had one of those key ring clips on our belt. We worked in 2 man teams, but only had one set of keys. We would each use the keys during the day, but always made sure one of us had them before leaving a location. After a short time wearing these keys, I would feel naked if I didn't have my key ring hanging off my belt, almost like wearing a holster. The keys were heavy and would jingle. If one of the master keys was lost, it would mean changing the locks on thousands of machines. In my 16 years working for this company, no master keys were ever lost, thank goodness!
Larry

 

[westernswede]

Growing up in a small town, the only time my parents locked up was when we went on vacation. On the other hand, living in the country, I don't lock up at all and have on clue after fourty years of marrage where my house keys are.
I do have car keys and they are in the switch most of the time. I might take them out if I go shopping. Maybe to trusting these days.

 

[S&W629]

Im so old....we never called them bottle openers....they were .."church keys"

 

[Rustyt1953]

High school. I went to a large high school in the 60's with long echoic halls. Fred (the head custodian) had a large bunch of keys on his belt.

Even in classrooms with the doors closed you could hear him coming.

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

But they sure had a lot of keys. I found these in a bunch of stuff my Dad had picked up over the years. There are church keys, skeleton keys, model T keys, clock keys, bottle openers, a skate key, desk keys, unknown strange keys. They must of locked up a lot of other stuff.

Would kill to find an old style flat bottle opener like that. Used to have one that I wore around my neck while sailboat racing. That plus a handcuff key for "shore leave" emergencies after post race fun at the bar after the distance races....GAWD the old S.O.R.C was fun

 

[Bekeart]

Must be Important with so many keys ...

Before retiring a student worker commented that I "must be important" to have so many keys,

I explained that he was WRONG!

If I was IMPORTANT, I would have a MASTER KEY!

Bekeart