Why Is There No Schlage "D" Keyway? [

[@kevinhadley3779]

As a scientist, I love the Corbin Russwin D- and L- notation for their mirror-image keyways. I'm wondering if it's a deliberate nod to organic chemists, who sometimes distinguish mirror-image chemical structures using D- and L- prefixes. (The origin traces back to "dextro-" and "laevo-", Latin for right or left).

[@DeviantOllam]

oh my gosh i never realized that!!

[@DEATH_TO_TYRANTS]

As a Florida Man, I just know D-meth is preferable to racemic meth. And most definitely preferable to l-meth. The latter not doing anything for you iirc

[@ETC_Rohaly_USCG]

@Kevin Hadley, but if Latin, shouldn’t it be D and S? Destra (right) and Sinestra (left)? Hence the etomology of “Sinister”... when people thought that left handed people were somehow ‘evil’ If you wear glasses, look at the ‘scrip you get from the Ophthalmologist. It’s always OD and OS

[@DeviantOllam]

@@ETC_Rohaly_USCG that's another way of using the language, yes. Both are valid

[@cassandra2860]

@@DEATH_TO_TYRANTS laevo-methylamphetamine is sudafed, right? Pretty sure it clears your sinuses.

[@liamlucky2776]

Dev you're knocking it out of the park for those of us that thirst for this kind of 'compressed lockport' history but lack the time to pursue it ourselves. I would like to see you continue with the likes of Kwikset, Master and the 👍 like. Your format or approach presenting the 'curious' viewer questions like you did today on the missing 🔑 key formats was a great example of this. PLEASE keep this series coming 'bud 🙏 .

[@DeviantOllam]

I'm so glad folk have enjoyed this 😉

[@EdSileo]

@@DeviantOllam Freaking AWESOME series! Just pure knowledge dump and eccentric history (with a few rarities thrown in).

[@zfjames]

Yes, second this - please talk through other keyways...

[@JamesBakerOhio]

I'll third that.. Please sir, more keyways and details about them. Never gets old and the way you present the content makes in fun and sticky so I can remember it. Thank you for your obvious efforts and sharing your time and talent 👏

[@gjacobson76]

I was a locksmith for 11 years. I ran into a Schlage B keyway on an old house. I had to re drill the hole and install a new lock. The locksmith company I worked for started in 1905, and we did not have blanks for it. I used to run into the Schlage A locks. Those keys were punched on a special cutter. I used to encourage people to replace them. I find your channel very educational and entertaining. Keep up the good work.

[@Kartoffelmeister89]

I would cut A keys on a normal key cutter locked in the jaws. They would vibrate madly if you tried to do anything but a light cut. Cudahy Wisconsin is absolutely full of ancient homes and those locks were frequently encountered even in 2000s

[@JuneNafziger]

I’m going to have to look to see if the hardware store I work at has B key blanks, I know we have A, but I don’t know about B…

[@phyphor]

I saw you shout out to Tech Connections on Twitter, and it's good to see it here, too! You continue to be a true mensch!

[@Coderjo.]

"I could never hope to be as cool and as intelligent and as great as a lot of the creators I admire." But Dev... You are!

[@antonvillalta9205]

Fun fact, Schlage letter keyways didn't end at L, they had a restricted reverse of all of the lettered keyways, super ancient stuff, there were a few hospitals where I'm from that used to use them. . . Then they got into the numbered keyways. you can find this stuff lingering around, especially in the San Francisco Bay Area, where Schlage was based. Including a d keyway plug.

[@Jake9066]

I learned two things today: 1) what the "D" keyway is, and 2) that I'm already subbed to the three channels that got shoutouts

[@sgchatterjee]

Isn't it a great feeling to learn that there is a similar mindset out there? I enjoyed learning about the Inrange connection the most.

[@wobblysauce]

Not the only one.

[@invisibledave]

If you love dry humor, you will absolutely love Technology Connections. Go back and watch every video.

[@SkitFireS]

In probably less than 10 years, this little video essay series of yours might be the go-to for schlage information. I've just started getting into locksmithing and your content has been invaluable, thank you for talking to a camera about what you love!

[@theprofessionalhobbyist802]

I'm really loving this week's content. I've often wondered why there was no D keyway and the first video explaining the various keyway differences was great. I know it takes time to dig into the "why" behind the way things are, and I appreciate your willingness to do just that. Thanks for putting all this together!

[@knghtbrd]

Thanks Schlage for digging through your archives for this kind of historically interesting content! And it is interesting … it won't help any of us do anything except appreciate what's been done before. Stuff to know just because it's cool.

[@VeraTR909]

Cool that Schlage shared those blueprints and stuff ;) very interesting.

[@DeviantOllam]

Yeah it awesome to have cool friends!

[@alexknouse9133]

This series is making a rough week at work manageable. The presentation, and tone of your voice, and the way you pog over all this obscure lock history is so relaxing and engaging.Thank you again Dev, you're going above and beyond as usual

[@krazyx86]

You're such an uplifting and encouraging guy, Deviant.. Thanks again for all your work!

[@Vares65]

1:29 Oh wow, as soon as I saw the A lock I recognized it from my childhood. It was on an interior doorway as I recall, like a laundry room or something. Even as a kid we knew they weren't very secure. Think I could pop it with a paper clip. Cool to learn about it, thanks!

[@ETC_Rohaly_USCG]

Love the shoutouts to all! The fact you gave Technology Connections a shout, I know you follow Techmoan... I binge on them both almost every day!

[@derekbroestler7687]

This series of videos has been awesome for me on a FEW levels, as a locksmith, as a locksmith for whom Schlage is usually my go to recommendation for most applications, and especially today as a locksmith who also specializes in antiques, because I too geek out on obscure lock history.... I'd always just assumed that the Schlage A keyway was in fact the old wafer design, but never had confirmation from a reputable source before. Just like I'd always just assumed there was a Schlage D, but that it had been discontinued, but it's awesome to know exactly what it IS after all these years. The JMA YA-17D COMPLETELY blew my mind.... I don't deal with JMA products much (because, well, ANOTHER set of terminology to learn and I've never had a situation where JMA was the only source for a blank before).... THIS brings up the legal question though... Does that mean that I, as a locksmith, can actually copy keys for customer's mailboxes and PO boxes that use that key blank, LEGALLY??? I get asked about every two months and I've always just told the customer "No, you HAVE to get them from the USPS, same with the locks, I'm not even allowed to touch the mailbox if it's got that lock on it" That's what I was taught by the locksmith who taught me, that's always been the conventional wisdom with every locksmith I know, and considering that if it IS illegal, it's GONNA be a felony and USPIS is one of those agencies you ESPECIALLY do NOT want to land on their radar.... So it never even occurred to me to ACTUALLY look into it... Now I'm thinking I will, even though I already got a funny feeling the local Postmaster is gonna be less than helpful on that call... lol Thanks again for the great content!!!

[@JuneNafziger]

3 years late but I’m guessing that you can’t touch the *mailbox* because that’s a whole can of worms with fraud and theft, but you might be able to copy the keys. I know my job carries a few postal keys, but maybe not the reverse Y1…

[@derekbroestler7687]

@@JuneNafziger Yeah the reverse Y1 USPS DND key is specifically what I was referring to. I do have loads of CompX / National mailbox key blanks and replacement locks (including the USPS CERTIFIED locks), as well as other assorted brands and I can service all those no problem. What makes the reverse Y1 different is that boxes with those locks are property of USPS and so they're legally PO boxes even if the customer doesn't have PO BOX in their mailing address. That situation is THANKFULLY getting more rare, even in the three years since this comment, but it still happens every once in a while, typically in older condo and apartment complexes where I live. Oh, and BTW, I DID call the local postmaster after this comment and got a "I don't know" and got escalated about 12 times without an answer, so I finally just gave up. So even today, minus getting a direct answer from either a lawyer, or the Postmaster General of the US, in writing, I still won't do it just because it's not worth the hassle if it turns out that while I can PHYSICALLY do it, it's not legal, especially when the cost of giving a blanket "I'm sorry, you have to go through the post office" only costs me about $250 a year these days.

[@JuneNafziger]

@@derekbroestler7687 I actually just looked while I was at work today, and we do totally have the reverse Y1, it’s stamped as Ilco 1016 P1, so it’s at least out there, no clue about legality though.

[@derekbroestler7687]

@@JuneNafziger Interesting.... I'll have to keep that in mind, thanks for the heads up!!!!

[@Nite0wl]

You also showed the W keyway briefly (the example of the A series wafer lock where the key had a large trapezoidal head). It was a later addition to the Schlage Wafer family to expand the number of unique keying codes by simply adding a second key blank and keyway profile.

[@tfodthogtmfof7644]

It’s a fuzzy wall! It looked textured but knowing it is truly a big red furry backdrop makes it so much cooler! Massive furry muppet monster background makes me want to touch it. Lol. Thanks for all the awesome content Dev!

[@DeviantOllam]

Hah, that furry wall was a pandemic project with Tarah and I enjoyed it very much. 😁👍

[@wobblysauce]

What you don't realize is that he is really laying down and it is all magnets holding things on the table.

[@JiSe6669]

So one could almost say that the D keyway is Deviant! Thank you for a great series.

[@DeviantOllam]

👍😁👍

[@henrikoldcorn]

As AvE puts it: “make cool shit, put it on the Internet”.

[@wobblysauce]

Water them ducks.

[@sixstringedthing]

Keep Richard in the clamping device gentlemen.

[@aziraphalesshop]

I have suspicions that good old Uncle Bumblefuck is the Canadian alluded to at the end.

[@ericgoldman7533]

Aww heck yeah! A Technology Connections callout!

[@monraet]

This video made my day. Collected locks and keys for over 40 years and never seen a Schlage "D" Keyway. Thanks Deviant.....

[@baylinkdashyt]

I do feel like I ought to point out that A and B batteries were the name of the *voltage* that was being put to use in those old battery powered radios for which those were primarily used... where as AAA, AA, C and D are *sizes* of battery; all are 1.5VDC nominal. And i don't so much mean voltage as "voltage rail"; I think A was filament, and B was plate supply. On reflection, this is almost exactly parallel, I think, to the A keyway vs A *series* thing with the Schlage locks: different namespace, even though the names are all single capital letters applying to locks.

[@Biped]

Hell yeah! Could you please continue to share some of the channel gems that you watch? I never heard about technology connections (strange, huh? That's the power of the content bubble) and I'm very glad you brought it up!

[@jasonperry6046]

I have been loving this week's content. Can't wait to see what is next. Thanks to you I am the go to person in my family for all things locks. Everyone has an Abus 83 series and slowly everyone is moving over to schlage keyways.

[@Wombbatts]

My front door of the house I grew up in was built in 1957, it had a Schlage A keyway knob. I have only seen one other example of an A keyway lock, and my front door key opened it.

[@n3wSong54]

3:50 - This is the best use of foreshadowing/video editing magic I've seen in awhile. Accept my applause.

[@DeviantOllam]

😊

[@curley6531]

very cool information all about schlage!! who would have thought...........thanks

[@JD-gn6du]

I’m loving Schaleg week, and some of the obscure knowledge you’ve sharing… so far the blueprints of the early Keyways are my favorite image shared in the video. Complete thumbs up

[@cdigames]

Fun fact, I live in an apartment building built in the 60s with Schlage "A" series wafer locks and keys for the door handle locks. Now in the 80s everything was supplemented with Kwikset KW1 deadbolts.

[@ethan2226]

The Schlage D Keyway is the Reverse of the C Keyway that is restricted. The D Keyway is part of the Reverse Family which includes the D, DQ, Q, QS, S, ST, T, U, V, X, and Y keyways.

[@PS.Lomedhi]

i truly enjoy deep histories of things, and I’ve been digging the Schlage deep dive.

[@ETC_Rohaly_USCG]

Just changed out my neighbor’s “A” Schlage for a newer one. Can’t remember if a SC or KW, but my “payment” was a 1948, Gen1 Rem 11-48... lol *edit* might even be a “Gen 0” based off the S/N and stamps

[@mattoliverau]

lovin the content, keep it coming! Great contacts to get the 'D' story, so interesting.

[@FriedPi-mc5yt]

Dang dude, this series just keeps getting better. I hope you have an idea for your next series of videos. I’m not bored of this one. I’m just not wanting you to quit doing them. LOL!

[@MrKalashnikov47]

Ive never even attempted to pick a lock, aside from when i play fallout, but thats only because im an hvac technician and i always have a cordless angle grinder. But my god these videos are intriguing to any mechanically inclined observer with a thirst for knowledge 👌 thanks!

[@ericapelz260]

Many years ago, I was the maintenance technician for an apartment building with Schlage A lock sets. With as worn as they were, kids could pick them. Before I left that job, I replaced most of them with Kwikset Titans. I could rekey an apartment about as fast as I could open the door.

[@johncarver3944]

Very interesting. Thanks!

[@EyeMWing]

I am reasonably certain I have a Schlage A-keyway around here somewhere... Thing looks deadly familiar.

[@klemmr3233]

This is fascinating material. I'm just getting to know my Lishi SC4, which arrived yesterday from China. Thanks Dev.

[@jessthemullet]

Small Town business family, we have a group of plumbing/service guys that work for us. Over the years, some of the old-school residents would actually leave us a house key so we could go in and work on something for them. That practice is by and large a thing of the past, but we've got a drawer full of keys. Most of which have names on them that have been dead for longer than I've been alive, and houses have been demolished, built, and demolished again in the lots those keys initially belonged to. I recognize the Schlage A key, though. Even with that drawer full of keys, there are only a few, but we kept them because they were interesting keys. (that definitely don't fit anything at those addresses anymore)

[@xtangero]

Awesome content! Really been enjoying this deep dive

[@greghoneycutt]

I'm loving it, and anxious for some yale stuff. My facility is yale...unless you want to do some amag/symmetry videos.

[@tacticalgeek7513]

I can remember when I was a kid, we lived in two separate houses in the L.A. area that had Schlage "A" keyway front door knobs. I remember them distinctly because of the shape of the key and they fascinated me to no end. Please produce other videos like this because I love the premise. I learn a lot and also have a lot of my nagging nerdish questions answered in them. BTW, just ordered the SC-20 Lishi and it looks like it'll arrive on Monday. Can't wait. On another note, have you traveled on Amtrak and wanted to be able to lock the sleeper 'bedroom' when you leave the cabin? I heard that they can't be locked from the outside. Any thoughts?

[@das675]

cool series, good work - really enjoying learning about all this.

[@gregiep]

I’m looking forward to you explanation of your pinning tray design.

[@brandtharen]

I have a couple of A keyway keys that came from my grandfather's set of keys that must have been on a house door at some point in the 1960s or newer, I don't have the lock or handle set though. When I first saw it I was very confused having at that point only ever seen C keyway Schlage locks and keys.

[@kasper_429]

Well I wasn't expecting that explanation as to why there's no (at least commercially available) D keyway, but that's awesome! Never thought about something as simple as just flipping the keyway shape around. Ingenious. Have you thought about doing this series, but with other brands like Kwikset, Yale, etc.? That could get interesting. I love learning about neat obscure stuff like this, especially as a locksport noob lol.

[@iggymac3473]

loving all the info my friend keep them coming

[@ponderinggeek7861]

Love this. Hope there is more discussion on keyways. This very much fascinates me. I have a Schlage key that's in the "WTSR" keyway which I believe is part of the Quad family. But I would love to know more about it and what the keyway was used for.

[@Vares65]

Loving the Schlage series, thanks for all the cool info.

[@cursedvoid]

I am thoroughly enjoying all of the interesting knowledge that you have on keyways. Also might as well give you something in return, so now i present to people in the locksport community with "Shlagavulin" Whiskey and locks all in one, Do be careful not to swallow the pins.

[@bowlsallbroken]

I am (not)bored by all the Schlage content 😁. Anything (lock, key, blank) with that "D" keyway would be one hell of a collector's item...

[@TheMyname707]

7:08 You mean by the magic of buying two of them, he sometimes has more than one item? ✌️ BTW I clicked thumbs up three times. Didn't hurt.

[@DeviantOllam]

so did i on your comment!

[@josiahrieder]

I love your videos and have learned a lot from you thank you for sharing your knowledge

[@DeviantOllam]

You are most welcome 😁👍

[@Arachnoid_of_the_underverse]

Great set of videos and I love the stories regarding the history of locks. Just a thought on your give-aways maybe you could upload the files for some of the stuff you designed like your pinning trays for folk to print off at home thus no outlay for yourself and a win for your subscribers. Stay safe, stay sharp.

[@earlfossler3577]

Great videos!

[@Hymensintact]

I'm really enjoying this series. Lots of neat information in these. I'd love to see some kind of series from you that utilizes every day items as "tools" for bypass or picking. As an example, is it possible to pick a lock with a men's grooming kit? Or What could you use in the field to make a replacement key? (Having seen people make them out of a piece of thin plastic and then cutting the shape of the key) Could use the comments section as a "Will it pick?" Type of challenge.

[@OrginalDravas]

Neat stuff

[@sillygolf14]

If you ever think of another interesting video like this please produce it this was great

[@DeviantOllam]

thanks! i have wanted to tell this story and i'm so glad to finally have a satisfying answer!

[@nrowlett]

I'm still loving this! Thanks Dev & Everyone who helped with this! - I'm sure some of us (me included) thought we understood the Schlage keyway world. It's so simple, right? Haha.. Only to have had the idea of; "yeah that makes sense". Just pulled out from under our feet. Love the knowledge, and history.

[@DeviantOllam]

i'm very happy with it all =)

[@rogerb4971]

This series has been killer! Thanks!

[@mikehooper3392]

But you are cool and you are presenting it right now this has been a wonderful week of learning thanks again

[@bleepbloopblahp]

Loving Schlage week. Look forward to more of this style content after Schlage week too.

[@TheRakerr]

That A keyway looks familiar, I think that's what the locking handsets in a early 1950's apartment I work at uses. It also has the cool 8 or 12" extensions (which are unobtanium) to move the handset closer to the middle of the door.

[@DeviantOllam]

oh that's amazingly retro. very mid-centruy modern.

[@markotb]

Schlage D, that is very cool. Im enjoying this series, thanks Deviant.

[@ryanwilson_canada]

Im assuming when you say milled aluminum and in Canada, you are speaking of Ave. Lol. Not boring at all Dev. Keep it up. Hope everyone is staying safe, and taking care.

[@cland2225]

Still great on day four! Thanks for the extra work and spent favors on the A and B blueprints as well as the back story to the D keyway. So does Schlage still use it for the post office? It seems like you would see special runs of reverse keyways for select customers if mot commercial quantities. Thanks again for great content and the fuzzy backdrop!

[@itsdarklikehell]

aah, nice content on youtube for once! GJ. I did enjoy this!

[@sketchyAnalogies]

'And through the magic of buying two of them...' love Technology Connections

[@TheKhopesh]

The reverse keyway thing as a security feature kinda seems silly to me in a world where solder exists. Like, if someone's going to break into your facility with all the prep work of buying a blank key, picking/finding that lock's pinning values, and cutting their own key for it... Then surely they could just buy 2 of the wrong-direction blanks, cut the blades to length, solder them together (for more surface area, don't just cut straight down, cut or sand it on the flat side at a sharp enough angle that when you've matched them, the faces have LOTS of surface area contact for the solder), carve the excess solder out from the contact points once it's hardened, cut a new key tip angle, and just like that you have a key blade long enough to fit +6 pins! Now you can cut your biting, maybe fancy it up with a proper bow if you REALLY want to, etc. When you provide it's perfect mirror opposite, the reverse keyway really doesn't do much to stop someone who's determined to have a working, "proper" key.

[@greymouseher]

I am just learning 3D printing and would love to be able to buy an STL file of the pinning trays (for printing for myself and my husband only). Let me know if that ever becomes available, please! I'm really enjoying this week and hope you continue on to other manufacturers - I'm a history and data geek!

[@flamephlegm]

This is fascinating!

[@DonOblivious]

buncha youtubers I'm already subscribed to. Can confirm they make good videos :)

[@umbralveritas]

Loved #SchlageWeek !!!

[@Kinkajou1015]

Why have C keyway when we can have Ͻ keyway? Also you are definitely in the same league as Alec. Just different specializations.

[@BrentKiley]

Loved the video and all your videos! So just curious, where is the security in the reverse keyway? Just the fact that finding key blanks would be harder so doing a duplicate would be harder? So you are guarding against someone just making a key from measurements? Never picked a lock before, but I'm guessing if you could pick the normal lock, the reverse wouldn't be any harder to pick?

[@DeviantOllam]

yes, it has to do principally with differentiating the blanks. by restricting the flow of blanks during the period that the profile is under patent, this affords some means of controlling whether people can make keys.

[@junglesairsoftblog6311]

Great content, keep up the good work!

[@DeviantOllam]

Thanks, will do! :-)

[@Breakfast_and_Bullets]

9:13 - "...courtesy of another person up in Canada, who is maybe gonna produce other metal things..." It's AvE. I'm gonna call it now, it's gotta be AvE.

[@DeviantOllam]

oh man now everybody thinks that is who it is. hahaha. =)

[@Breakfast_and_Bullets]

@@DeviantOllam Prove me wrong, Mr. Ollam! 😁

[@Hymensintact]

Lol that shot just before showing the D keyway getting mirrored threw me off for a second until I realized it was foreshadowing lol

[@gregiep]

Very cool

[@RedTeamSenei]

Love it Dev! Great content

[@StrokeMahEgo]

7:10 "the magic of buying two of them"

[@kudui21]

Thanks. I after you revealed secret of the d keway I've laughed so hard that i had to explain to random people in park why I laugh like a maniac.

[@CM-mo7mv]

Cool thing also d like dexter (right) ... thanks for sharing. however I wonder did it never occur to them, that you could always source a left one blank and cut it down to use it backwards?! (essentially flipping the key too ) but then again it is about the time and effort you have to spend on a lock. PS I get your notion on the other YTs.

[@shieldcracker]

The best video in the series. I have learned new stuff. Here is some conjecture... Schlage invents the cylindrical lock (A-series with and aptly names the keyway A for its wafer cylinder) next Schlage produces the Deadbolt bored lock (B-series perhaps with keyway B for its pin tumbler cylinder). Do you know which lock used B keyway and if a C-series lock actually exist? I have never seen either one...

[@chrisdwalter]

@DeviantOllam I could watch lock videos all day long. I love this stuff and have been doing it for years, reverse engineering master keys both from change keys and from multiple cores with no keys. I started my own locksmith business in MN to further my skills.

[@brunojohnson4026]

I was definitely expecting an explanation a la Demitri Martin (he's got a bit about battery letters)

[@DeviantOllam]

Yeah, I enjoy him a lot!

[@kylecorey88]

I am a locksmith. .and most schlage blanks excep sc1 and sc4 , I have dozens of the other blanks I rarely even use.. the sc20 wafer blanks I got a tonne that will never be cut lol

[@DiphonFX]

The house I grew up in had an A keyway on the front door.

[@BlackSoap361]

Just think, if D is reverse of C, they could make reverses of all the other letters. A maison-keyed reverse P keyway. Collectors would go nuts.

[@Minionz]

Damn this is some crazy Schlage history. I love learning stuff like this.

[@KylejvT]

You're schlaging it man, love this content.

[@DeviantOllam]

thanks so much =)

[@maxmyzer9172]

[@unlockeduk]

great video love me some history

[@62Cristoforo]

In Canada the Schlage ‘D’ keyway is reserved for Royal Canadian Mounted Police use (RCMP), according to a master locksmith I know. Someone came in to the shop once, looking for a duplicate. Not without a signature. Now, about those B sized batteries ....

[@raincheck5892]

Love the history Dev…

[@Sidekick_Snowman]

I'm not really into locks & stuff, but I found this interesting

[@sigmaman5562]

According to one of the lock industry magazines-many years back, naturally-there was an article on the Schlage reverse keyways. I do not remember them, now, but I believe it began with “X” amd went down from there, in the same sequence, just reversed. If I can dig up the magazine then I will e-mail you photos of it. I have never seen one in real life. I have seen the letter keyways, of course. And the numbered keyways, many of which have look-a-likes/copy-key versions. I also have a few blanks, and even a padlock and key, of some 4-letter keyways. VTQP, and the like. Most is in storage, but the KS43 and its key I can photograph-right now-if you want.

[@bstrickler]

For the sign up, do we have to do it each time, or just a "once and done" entry thing?

[@bstrickler]

By the way, I love your content. It's always educational, and at least sometimes entertaining. We may disagree on some political issues, but you're still a good dude.

[@DeviantOllam]

Just once gets you entered every time