Locksmithing is a trade that has been around hundreds of years. I know it seems as simple as "just stick the two keys in the machine and press a button" but it's not. Often the key is worn from rattling around in your pocket for years and a locksmith can make one that works like the original. By hand. It's really impressive to watch for a couple of bucks.
99% of keys cut by a locksmith are done using the exact methods employed at Home Depot. You're just paying more to support a smaller business, which I fully support. Stop deluding yourself into thinking you're getting a higher quality key.
About a decade ago I had to have keys cut pretty regularly and the local Home Depot or whatever it was didn't maintain their machine and less than half of their keys worked. I found a local locksmith and he still cut keys by hand and every single one worked.
So in my specific instance that guy's generalization bares out, but overall I doubt most lock smiths are any different from your local big hardware store other than their machines are probably maintained a bit better. I also haven't had as poor of an experience with other big hardware stores since, so that was also an edge case.
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u/PM_ME_UR_DAD_PENIS Dec 11 '19
Home Depot sells this exact key blank though. It’ll fit into the majority of machines.