Brick-and-mortar stores that carry replacement locks for file cabinets?

July 27, 2015 9:23 AM

Are there any bricks-and-mortar stores that carry replacement locks for file cabinets? I've tried two stores, one from a chain that used to carry them, without success. I would prefer a lock such that the replacement key couldn't be ordered by a cashier reading the sales receipt, or by someone looking at the outside of the installed lock, but these days that might be asking too much.
posted by Baeria to Shopping (8 answers total)

Places that sell those cabinets don't sell the locks any more, only online (Office Depot, Office Max, or Staples)

The only body that may have something like this is your local locksmith, and I doubt they stock things like that. Maybe call them up and see if they'll custom order for you, then just go in and pay in cash. :)
posted by kschang at 9:41 AM on July 27, 2015

do you need a new lock, or can you change the old lock? if it's an old cabinet lock of good quality, it may have a tumbler lock. if so, you may be able to remove the lock and take it to a locksmith, who, perhaps, can disassemble it and re-arrange the pins. that gives you a "new" lock, in the sense that old keys won't be able to open it.

that's a lot of maybes, but it's certainly possible with tumbler locks in doors (i've done it before).
posted by andrewcooke at 11:17 AM on July 27, 2015

If the drawback to an online sale is that they have your address and could find your cabinet, what about having the lock mailed to someone else's house?
posted by puddledork at 11:17 AM on July 27, 2015

Best answer: If you're worried about threats like cashiers (and perhaps people taking down shipping addresses), that says to me that you're planning to put some relatively high-value assets in the cabinet.

I hope you understand that filing cabinet locks are usually horrible, at the level of "without very little practice, you truly can open that lock in a minute or so with tools made out of paper clips". And the mechanisms behind those locks are often worse.

If you're expecting the kind of coordinated, determined attack that would keep track of a key number from a retail sale (or even go to the trouble of ordering a key by number), I suspect that the cabinet itself isn't going to be up to protecting against it. The only exception to that might be if the cabinet were constantly in an attended location where you really expected people to be paying attention.

You can get more secure filing cabinets, but I suspect that if you had one of those, you wouldn't have to ask where to go to get the lock rekeyed. And even with those, I doubt you'd want to just leave the cabinet sitting around unattended and rely on its lock as your main security, if your threat model is really what it seems to be.

If you do want to guard against key orders by people who read the numbers off the lock, you can always grind off the numbers. But, seriously, unless it's an unusual filing cabinet, picking the lock is faster than figuring out how to order the key.
posted by Hizonner at 11:59 AM on July 27, 2015

Response by poster: kschang, do you know why stores no longer sell the replacement locks? In a free market, if there's demand, there should be supply, right? And this business of printing the key # on the outside of the lock, that some security containers do, aren't they concerned?
It all seems odd, unless they're in cahoots with an alarm company or something.
posted by Baeria at 12:06 PM on July 27, 2015

Response by poster: And Hizonner: good point, wrong surmise.
posted by Baeria at 12:36 PM on July 27, 2015

@Baeria -- too many SKUs to track per store. If the inventory isn't moved by X days it'll have to be clearanc'ed. It's easier to leave it as "online only" where it can often be drop-shipped by the manufacturer or fulfilled from central warehouse. Demand is too low to justify keeping such items on the shelf.

As for the number, unless thief happen across the SAME number (and they try to make sure the same numbers don't end up in the same area, mix it up really good) or can easily obtain replacement keys (simple for locksmith, hard for us plebes) there's really no point in worry about that.

As I said, custom order a replacement lock via locksmith, go there and pay for it in cash. No address given out, no way to track it back to you.

Or you can just buy another cabinet with a proper lock this time.
posted by kschang at 12:26 AM on July 28, 2015

Almost any competent locksmith can help you out. File cabinet locks are relatively simple and standard. Most are cam style locks.

https://securitysnobs.com/Types-Of-Locks.html

Your locksmith will probably suggest that if you care about security, you try a tubular cam lock, which will be somewhat more difficult to copy/pick.

However, the overall level of security of a filing cabinet is extremely low, and most locking mechanisms can be brute forced, often just by pulling on the drawer until it opens. You can move up to placing a hasp on the drawer(s) in question which will mean that gaining access probably requires some significant bending of things in order to get in.

You need to identify what your actual security concern is. The normal lock on a filing cabinet is designed to keep honest people out. Bumping that up to a tubular lock primarily defends against someone finding another filing cabinet key that happens to be keyed the same (the number of potential keys is depressingly small). Going with the hasp increases security to the point where someone needs a crowbar, but anyone with a crowbar will still get in. Getting a security-oriented filing cabinet bumps up the difficulty level even more.
posted by jgreco at 5:30 AM on July 28, 2015