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The mechanical copiers have never been the best way to copy a key.

Each key manufacturer has a fixed set of depths to cut each position on the key at, which you can represent as a single digit. Combined for the whole key and you can talk about the data encoded into the piece of metal as a string of digits.

Telling you my apartment key is a kwikset KW1 with bitting 64265 is enough to cut a new key.



I suppose having a discrete set prevents error propagation also, avoiding copies drifting into unusability.




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