Commonwealth Lock Company

I cannot say enough in praise of my experience here yesterday. I had cleverly reset the built-​in the 3-​digit combination lock on 2 of my suitcases and forgotten the codei. Great, fast, courteous service and very low cost.

Called and took Medeco keys to copy after they said they had the right blanks and equipment to do so. Inquired as to whether the keys would work and was told, laughing, «we’re not a neighborhood hardware store. They will work, absolutely.» Serial numbers furnished. Keys didn’t work at all. Called and was told to bring the keys back (nearly an hour each way) and when I asked what could be done, was told «I don’t know. We’ll look at it. Must be something wrong with your cylinders» They won’t come to house, don’t offer on-​site service. Prior keys and cylinders worked fine. They dismissed this, and when I asked again, told to «bring all the cylinders along.» Sure.
Called a certified Medeco locksmith who came to the house, examined the copied keys and said that there had been too much material removed from the cuts in the blanks, showed me how he could tell (I’m obviously not a locksmith). Said he had heard the same before, and in fact just looking at the Unilocal reviews, that is correct.
I would never use them again. If you live around the corner and have simple locks, and plenty of patience, and your time is of almost no value, do as you choose. Otherwise, find a real locksmith with a proper attitude, training, and courtesy. Strongly DO NOT RECOMMEND.
Cost: $ 94 plus 3 ½ hours.
Value: 0 to negative

I stopped in twice. Both times I was ignored as I stood at the counter. I really wanted to stay local, but it seemed as though the guy resented my business. This last time he just kept arranging things behind the counter, going to throw out the garbage, anything, it seemed, not to wait on me. I’ve come in for keys before, and an older guy has done the job nicely and without this peculiar «ignore the customer» attitude, which makes me feel like I did something offensive by stepping in the door.

Stellar customer service. I needed a duplicate Kaba Peaks key for an office — marked do not duplicate. I called Commonwealth Lock, explained my situation Paula and although she said no, she referred me to a locksmith /​security company in Watertown. So I called that company, the person answering the phone took my info and told me to get over quickly before the crew went out on jobs. When I arrived one of the «guys» explained that they don’t carry the blank of the key that I detailed on the phone call. He also told me I was out of luck. From my car I called Kaba Ilco company, got the voicemail runaround and then was directed back to Commonwealth Lock. When I called Commonwealth back Paula explained they had misinformed me, BUT she asked for my number and promised to contact the company for me and get some clarity. She called me back with a name and number to resolve this. Even though they didn’t get my single-​key business today, I’ll be directing as much business as possible to to Commonwealth Lock company.

I got my apt keys done here. Cheap and works flawlessly.

Definitely the go-​to place for keys — in fact, for all things key and lock related. The older gentleman behind the key counter is an absolute prince. The younger guy — definitely not — and the other reviews about rude behavior, etc are well deserved. I sometimes wonder if he’s the owner’s son or what since it’s incomprehensible that they’d put up with his attitude otherwise. But they make great keys so I keep going back.
You can pick up just about anything that has to do with keys, locks, security etc here — there are lockboxes, gizmos to lock your windows, padlocks, safes — you name it. It seems to be the place where locksmiths go and in fact the store caters to them sometimes at the expense of other customers — you’ll have to wait a bit longer at the counter to pay.
All in all if you need new keys this is the place I’d come to first.

I stopped by here today to get a duplicate of my laser-​cut motorcycle key. A guy at the dealership had referred me here because they are one of the few shops in the area that have the machine to cut this type of key.
The guy behind the counter tells me it’s going to cost $ 25 to do the cutting (mind you I was providing the key blank which had already cost me $ 75). It was more than I had expected but I really needed the key duplicated so I was willing to pay it. Then he tells me I’ll have to leave my keys and I can come back to pick them up in an hour (special machine or not, I’m fairly certain it doesn’t take an hour to cut a single key). Finally (this is my favorite part) he makes sure to tell me «and we aren’t able to guarantee the cut will be correct.» And, just to top it off, during the whole exchange the guy is giving me an attitude like I’m terribly inconveniencing him by asking him to do this for me.
So let me get this straight… I’m supposed to wander around without my vehicle for an hour and pay you $ 25 (for labor only) to cut a single key that you aren’t even confident will actually work?
I walked out and called the dealership to suggest they find a new place to refer customers.

Been to this place several times. Always easy & their prices are competitive. Great job CoLoCo!

The name says it all – if you need keys, locks, or key/​lock accessories then this is the place for you. I’ve had a number of keys made here and they always come out to be under $ 2 per key. The old man who makes the keys is really nice, so that’s a positive.
From my experience the quality is similar to what you might get in a hardware store (note I’ve never had a hardware store key fail, but apparently the keys here NEVER fail), so if you have a store nearby that makes keys then there really isn’t a reason to trek to Porter Square, but if not, then come on down to the Commonwealth Lock Company. They also have a huge, huge, HUGE stock of keys so if you need a hard to find key, then they probably have it.

It took me four trips there to get a proper duplicate key for my car. The first time they copied the original one, it did not go into the keyhole. After second visit I could open the door with the duplicate key but could not ignite the car. On a third visit it got better but the car would or would not start depending on how I turn the key. After more than an hour and a half at the store and lots of frustration, I finally got a duplicate key that works alright. I paid 70 dollars, not sure whether the service was worth it.

I can’t believe that I’ve been going to the Healthworks across the street for 20 years and have been a landlord for the past 10 years who regularly gets keys duplicated and that I only just now found out about this place (I come from the other side of Mass. Ave, so just never venture to this block).
They had the crazy porch key that my tenant lost that no one else had the blank for. They had the blank for the miniature mailbox key (I have the original, which must be at least 50 years old). The gentleman making the tiny key took out a sharpening tool and smoothed the edges. All the regular keys were cut very quickly.
Great prices, terrific service. I was looking for a specific type of key chain (that I could label), and they had all kinds to pick from.
I am getting my keys cut here from now on.

Why does it feel like I am entering a land of magic when I walk into this shop where the men smell like tobacco and there are keys (keys to everything!) lining the walls…
True, it may take 10 minutes for the old man there to copy your keys, but watching him work makes me smile.
And did I mention they copy anything!!! The tiny key to my mailbox? The lock box at work? The crazy long key to the odd lock in my apartment? Car keys???
Yup.
This is the place.
It sort of makes me feel like I’ve got one foot in a fantasy novel and another in 1940. I am almost considering making extra copies of keys just to go back!

Despite it’s modest exterior with the tainted windows that make the place look like it’s possibly closed, I took a leap of faith and tried to go there to get a key replicated. I had previously attempted that feat at the nearby Tags Hardware but the people there suck and the copies didn’t work at all.
Here I knew that things would be different when I saw the staff measure the key multiple times using various tools before punching out the duplicate from a blank. It was rather interesting to watch and the entire process was rather quick and painless. And best of all affordable.
The duplicates work perfectly and I left a very happy customer. The guy was friendly and they also sell all kinds of other key-​related items and other gizmos. A great store.

My car mechanic recommended these guys. I had a broken and mangled VW car key, my only key with no duplicate. Thought I was totally screwed.
The keycutter, Tom (I think that was his name), commented that it was really mangled but he’d try and straighten it out and cut a new one, but no promises.
Came back 30 minutes later (regular keys are cut while you wait) and he had a replacement key for less than $ 3.00. Crossed my fingers, ended up working perfectly.
I tried an Ace Hardware years ago and they couldn’t properly duplicate a VW key.
TOTALLY recommend these guys.
Excellent customer service and setting of customer expectations.
Also one block from Porter Square/​Red Line which helps alot.

This place is awesome. I came in ten minutes before closing to make two copies of a key. Took him roughly thirty seconds and I didn’t even have to take it off my key ring (I always break a nail…). And it was $ 3.19. Cheap! He even knew my property owner just by looking at my key. (Which I take to mean that he’s the guy you go to.) By the looks of the place, they could copy anything.
Too bad it’s just locksmithing; I could appreciate this kind of service more often.

This place has been around *forever* — in fact, my mom (who lived in Porter Square 30 years ago) recommended it to me when I first moved here.
See, when I moved into my apartment a year ago, we were given keys to the front door only. But we have a back door — two of them in fact. What’s the point of having a back door if you can’t actually use it? So I finally took the locks off and brought the cylinders over to Commonwealth Lock Co. to get some keys made. Twenty minutes later, I had keys keyed to work in both locks, all for under $ 10. Seriously, it can’t get any better than that.

OK, so the guy who helped me is old enough to be John McCain’s dad and he moved at the speed that you’d expect from someone of Methuselah’s age (slooooow), but he was awesome and delivered exactly what I needed: two duplicate keys for a bicycle lock that uses an obscure, tiny key (one that my local hardware store was unable to duplicate).
Total cost for two keys? $ 3.15 (Cheap!) And the duplicate works even better than the original. Hell’s yeah.
The only drawback is that it doesn’t have the greatest hours if you don’t live nearby (open 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., weekdays only). But it’s conveniently located close to the Porter Square T stop, so a quick pre– or post-​work trip is usually doable.

I agree with O.M.
I come here repeatedly for key duplicates and the service is expedient and friendly. I think that the 1 star review should be ignored– in terms of the services they offer. It’s not really relevant (I mean– who’s to say that they weren’t up to no good– I’m glad they were tight lipped in that situation.)
The keys are accurate duplicates and the prices are right– especially when I put them on the company tab!

The staff here are really rude. I went in with my friend Mike, who is an amateur locksmith (certified). Mike had some questions about various supplies, and the guy he asked was completely disdainful and intentionally unhelpful. After that, we went over to the other counter to buy some key blanks (the main reason we were there). At the second counter, the staff refused to sell blanks to us because we couldn’t prove to them that one of us was a locksmith. I have no idea what they thought we were going to do with them, other than, you know… make keys… but they seemed to think this was a major ethical issue, and they were aggressively rude about it.
So we went to Tags Hardware a few steps away, where the staff were friendly and helpful. I know which store we’ll be returning to for future business.

I panicked when my only key for my old, old car torqued in the lock. There it was, twisted in two different directions. And I needed it for ignition. The guy at the gas station hammered it out enough so I could rattle home, but I needed another copy, fast. Since I didn’t want to trust this job to the dudes at Tags, I went to Commonwealth Lock Company.
I can’t believe it. The key they made is somehow better than the original. It glides in and glides out. The warp of the original key is gone, as is the tear from the twisting. I’m impressed. For this $ 2.50 job I can use my car until it dies. Thank you, Commonwealth Lock Company! Thank you!