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How Do You Handle Your Keys?
arisvega writes "I lost my backpack some time ago, but was lucky enough to have left my laptop at home that night, and my cell and keys in my pocket. The inevitable habit-change that followed was to start strapping my keys on my pants, so at least I would still be able to get home (as long as I kept my pants on). But I realized I had a lot of keys: one for the outer door, two for the inner, three more for my girlfriend's place, one for the office, one for the postbox, one for my bicycle, the car, the motorbike and the roof. ... Plus, I keep a tiny Swiss Army knife on my keychain that I really wouldn't want to part with. Needless to say, this makes a jingly bunch that eats through my pocket. I ask you, Slashdot people, how do you carry/safeguard a hefty, pronouncedly jingly bunch of keys? What are the alternatives? Any suggestions on clothing or technology? Would having 'The One Key' make things better, or worse?"
Stuff that matters.
move in with your girlfriend, that will save you 3 keys right there
And then carry around a crowbar, just like Gordon Freeman. It's the universal key!
Haven't owned a traditional key since 2005
2 car keys, 1 house key.
why do you need 3 keys for your girlfriend's place? You have 3 girlfriends?
Sent from my PDP-11
Everybody I know keeps their keys and trinkets around their neck on a lanyard along with their badges.
I prefer to use two keyrings: one with the bare essentials(1 key for car, 2 keys for house) and a big one for the more obscure keys that I could go pick up from home if I had to do something special. I also make backup duplicates of all my keys.
Hollow rocks and magnetic key holders are also good places to store backup keys in case you lock yourself out of the car or house.
All those keys can be replaced by a few lock picks or if you are lazy a small amount of bump keys will go far.
Everyone that disagrees with me is a paid shill
One for my house, one for car
Other work related keys are in a briefcase (with travels in the car or back at home/office)
Other keys stay in the house (for the garage, etc...)
three more for my girlfriends place
One for each keyhole.
three more for my girlfriends place
Why must you turn the internet into a house of lies, Ralph?
My work here is dung.
Put your "disposable" keys like the key to your bike, mailbox, the roof, and your gf's place on one key ring and keep it in your backpack, while keeping just your "essential" keys like car and front door strapped to your pants.
Get flat copies of your keys, and keep them in your wallet.
The only key I actually need to keep with me is my car key; I use the garage door remote to get into the house. But that is a non-issue anyway, since all your keys should be on the same keychain!
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
Some are storing their key rings inside those stretched out earlobe thingies. You might want to consider a mouth plate for storage of the swiss army knife.
Anybody want to invent business casual cargo pants? I'll buy..
I always carry my keys, lighter, cellphone and a few other things in my pockets, but then I always wear baggy pants with lots of pockets.
Back when I was in to street BMX riding I had everything in a backpack to minimize the risk of damaging anything (including myself) or losing stuff when I fell. The trick in those cases is to always keep track of your backpack. I can't really say I understand how some people manage to constantly misplace bags, I've had several girlfriends who would put their bag/purse down the moment they went indoors or sat down and then they'd be surprised that they'd miss 2/3 of all their incoming calls... If you have something important in your bag you make sure to keep the bag with you all the time (when sitting down on buses, trains and in other public places it's advisable to put one leg through one of the straps to make sure anyone who tries to grab it fails, it's hilarious when someone misses that little precaution)
Greylisting is to SMTP as NAT is to IPv4
When I was using a key "wallet" in my back pocket, and when I first started carrying them on a key ring in my front pocket. It got better over time though; once I realized how much damage they were doing, I started being more careful to arrange the keys on the key ring pointy side up before putting them in my pocket, so the part of the ring touching the bottom of the pocket was just the round loop and the soft tag. I haven't had a hole since then. Also makes for less of the whole "stabbing myself in the thigh" problem. A pen or pencil inserted pointy side up can still form holes if you sit down wrong due to the length and the sharp point, but unless you've got really long, really sharp keys and/or really shallow pockets, keys shouldn't cause the same problem.
$_ = "wftedskaebjgdpjgidbsmnjgcdwatb"; tr/a-z/oh, turtleneck Phrase Jar!/; print
I picked up a small S-clip binder similar to a D-Ring and clip it onto the bag I'm carrying at the time. Its noisy but it doesn't tear a hole in my pocket. I also pare the keys down to the bare minimum, if you need 3 keys for the girlfriend's place that must be a bad neighborhood.
I for one do not carry all the keys at once. I only carry the necessary keys with me, I got two house door keys (two apartments I frequent often), mailbox key (if Im checking mailbox when going up to apartment). The keys for roof, bike, motorbike, car are in a box next to the door, I simply add one of the keys I need on my keychain (I got a mountaineer carbine hook) and go out. Why would I want to bring keys for my bike, motorbike and roof with me if I a'int going to find the bike, motorbike or the roof at my work or at the cinema? Also the cost would go down significantly if I lost the keychain, I wont have to replace ALL my keys, only those which were lost and their corresponding locks.
One key to rule them all...
Become a beach bum, no keys needed!
I got tired of wearing holes in my pants from keys in general while moving PCs/servers while at client sites, so now I just carry everything except my wallet. Cell phone and keys in hand, so that I always know I have what I need. When you really need to, they go into the pockets of course, but getting in the habit of literally having them in hand means you always know where they are. It also forced me to reduce the keys I have by figuring out what I really needed to have _all_ the time, and what was just 'nice' to have.
I will shred my adversaries. Pull their eyes out just enough to turn them towards their mewing, mutilated faces. Illyria
Is slashdot so full of socially and practically inept failures that we need to discuss how to hold keys?
You put keys on a keyring.
If you have a lot of keys, you have separate keyrings. [My Keys], [Work Keys]. Have even more? [My Keys], [Work Keys], [My Keys I Don't Use Much].
Keyrings stay in your front pocket.
Keyrings should not be attached to backpacks, belt loops, or anything else that results in them being exposed or visible.
Carry [My Keys] with you all the time.
Carry [Work Keys] when going to work. Need to always have access? Keep duplicates in a place secured by [My Keys], such as your car. Carry [My Keys I Don't Use Much] only when necessary.
Worried about losing keys? That's what locksmiths are for. In fact, there's a wide range of real-world crafts and services that can solve just about every problem you, the anxious, paranoid, hypochondriac nerd can dream up.
You do not want a skeleton key.
You do not want something digital to replace your keys.
You do not need technology to solve this non-problem.
I think that the old saying about the wise adapting themselves to the world would be a better way to go. I have never been able to bring myself to use fancy key chain decorations.
Keys, plus a Swiss army knife and a couple of key cards. Invariably they eat a hole in a pants pocket. I tried wearing a photographers vest with rugged Velcro, lock down pockets but found it overly warm and bulky. I tried wearing the clutter around my neck, but again it was awkward, especially as a just so length to the necklace was never amenable to a Goldilocks' Solution. It even prompted me to look into the market for a type of light weight yoke with removable features like pockets and clips (ammo and otherwise :)). If you factor in all the wifi gear it's begs for a geeky, money making solution. I really think a pliable, extensible yoke with an extended capability for addons would be a good solution.
ideopath @ play
I keep my keys in my front right pocket. They don't go anywhere else. They're always there unless they are in my hand and I'm unlocking something. If I do set them down, I usually notice that they are missing (and also am in the habit of patting myself down to make sure they are there before leaving the house etc). The same goes for my cell phone in my other front pocket and my wallet in my back pocket. that's where they go and I simply don't put them anywhere else except for unusual situations. That usually solves my losing things issue and when people ask me how many times I've lost my phone, I can say 0.
For too many keys, since I didn't want to change my system, I eventually had to split up my key rings. One for every day, always have keys. Another for the car. Another for my photostudio. Another one for work keys. The work keys go on my lanyard at work and the others I only pick up and put in my pocket when I actually use them. They actually do fit better on different key rings rather than all on one. Otherwise, they sit in the same coffee mug on my desk at home.
Because i hardly ever need my keys when I'm sitting in front of my TV...
Also my house key is on a longer chain than my other keys so i can easily find it in the dark and while drunk....
Also if I'm ever chased by an mad axe-man I won't have to fumble around to get the key for my front door...
Laters Sol "Have you found the secrets of the universe? Asked Zebade "I'm sure I left them here somewhere"
Hang it on my belt.
Work key - big old thing
GF's car key on a key ring with brass Iguana fob
GF's car remove in key ring that has a Forza 3 fob
House key on key ring
Truck keys (2) on three key rings with a Chevrolet key fob
get a manpurse.
"National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
I run Linux on all of my locks and use a smart card reader to read my single key.
The best part is, I can ssh into my lock and see how often it has been used. If I ever lose my key, I just use a remote ssh exploit to crack my lock.
I had a power outage, once. But power backups saved the day. A simple hydrogen fuel cell located in each door will keep things running for decades!
I rarely have more than three keys on me at any given time. One for the house (all locks keyed the same), one for the vehicle I'm driving (SUV, Car, or motorbike), and optionally the mail key. Work is all proximity card readers, and there are precious few other locks that I ever use.
I did see an instructable or the like that had a way to put a number of keys into a leatherman by removing the tools.
Do you really need all those keys on you? It seems to me that the *three* keys for your girlfriend's place are probably somewhat redundant. Maybe they're front/back/basement keys, in which case you probably need only one unless you're living there. Your roof key can probably be stashed at home.
Cargo pants are really nice, if you can wear them. In general, keyfobs aren't worth the hassle. If you need what they have--the SAK, for instance--take them off the keychain and carry them either in your pack, which you apparently have with you most of the time, or in some other pocket. Though the later doesn't reduce the total volume of hardware, it does spread it out, and is thus much more comfortable.
then you don't need to carry all these different keys with you. you can have just one that works everywhere.
although the bank was a little annoyed when I tried to open my safe deposit box.
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
I recently got my keys down to 1 house key, 1 USB memory stick, and 1 key/FOB thing for my car. I really wish my FOB opened my house door. The USB memory stick is optional.
I figure it's about keys.
I have a screwlock carabiner meant for keys on a thick nylon string (maybe 1.5ft long) attached to my wallet which lives in my front pocket.
Motorcycle key goes in right jacket pocket, always.
Just don't lock anything. And leave your car key in your car's ignition.
I mean, it's still illegal to steal stuff, so no one's going to.
Seriously, though... when I had a mess of keys, I had the same problem. You've mentioned a couple issues that need to be addressed.
1. Emergency backup. One option is to make friends with your neighbors and give them a key if you trust them. Another is to have a backup key near your pad with a combination lock on it's case. You can also buy these for your car, you can attach them under the chassis. They also have ones you install behind a license plate -- you'll need some WD40 and a wrench to get at that one probably, but it's pretty secure.
2. Jingling mass of back-spasm inducing keys on a ring. To reduce jingling, get those plastic colored things that go over the head of the key. It'll help. To reduce the mess of keys, consider storing the infrequently used ones elsewhere. Like in a locked case in your glovebox, or somewhere at home.
What I did:
Installed new locks on my house, all part of a set. A single key lets me open any door, including activating the motorized garage door. If you rent, see if your landlord would go for it. It's not hard to install new locks, and a complete set might run $150-200 on the cheap end (my set was $180 four years ago). I have a lanyard with a house key dupe and my bike lock key on it. When I go for a ride or to run errands on it, I leave behind my other keys and grab the lanyard.
For emergency backup, I have a spare house-key in a combination-lock case hidden on my property, and the same for my car. Someone I implicitly trust, who is an emergency medical contact, also has a copy.
One other note... a fishing buddy of mine rigged a laptop strap with pockets that snap shut he sewed onto one side of the pad. Fashionable? Not remotely. But it allows him to keep his keys on him, jingle-free, when we're on a stream.
"Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
Only eleven keys? Get a keyring and buy a better brand of clothes that use sterner stuff for the pockets. (Or learn to sew and patch.)
Seriously, eleven keys aren't all that much.
Have 2 carabiner clips - my usual configuration is:
clip 1 : my car key and my house keys (2 separate rings) - ad other rings if you require
clip 2 : an "inka" pen, a "utili-key", my RSA key, my work ID, and a lanyard
Usually the two carabiners are clipped together and I usually have that clipped to my pants. However, it's very quick to rearrange for the appropriate solution and keep at most 2 sets. The lanyard is handy as a quick grab/hang hind of thing. I typically have my keys around my neck when running out the house this lets me lock the door quickly regardless of all the other crud I'm juggling.
*whispers* I tend to take my ID carabiner + car key (leaving others in car) when flying. I've flown + 20 times with my utili-key and that hasn't been an issue.
I'm sure there's a Layer 1 thru 3 analogy in my keyring arrangement somewhere.
I have lock boxes with punch codes at my static locations. This reduces keys significantly. Items on the move, IE bike, motorbike, roof, etc. you kind of need on you. for vehicles I use a lock box with a magnet on the back and attach to the vehicle in a hidden location.
You could just bet a "bump key" and use it on the devices with a tumbler but that may not be as quick as the original and you look shady doing it.
--TR
1. Move in with your girlfriend. -1 key
2. Get a front door with keyless entry. -1 key
3. Get keyless entry at work. -1 key (this should be a nobrainer anyway)
4. and so on.
5. Drop the army knife. Get a stainless survival credit card.
You are now down to a car key, and you can keep a spare hidden under the car.
don't cut it off www.mgmbill.org
Just learn an Open Lock spell. They tend to be pretty universal in my experience.
What about your SecureID key? I need that with me all the time too. Besides that, 2 keys total on me. 1 key for my house (change all your house locks to the same key and your GF's too). 1 key for my car. All other keys are in my house or my car glove box. Sure I can forget them but they are not that critical so I don't need a key on me that I only use once a month or once a year.
rule them all, One Key to find them, One Key to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.
Sorry ;~)
"How did you get in Rococo, you don't have a key."
"No only half a key. I had to split it with the sound effects man"
And why on earth would you be carrying around three keys to your girlfriend's place? Is the front door key not sufficient?
I suppose I deserve reading this, after complaining that there are too many iPad stories on Slashdot.
I have all my keys on a Jaegermeister lanyard and only take the ones I need with me. I have a ring with the house keys, a ring with my car key, a ring with my friend's keys, and a ring with another car's key. I simply swap things out as needed, and have spares stashed in convenient places (like a spare car key at my friend's house). The lanyard, aside from being bad ass, acts as a cushion in my pocket to keep me from getting jabbed and making noise. My suggestion is to take less with you. I've never had my keys eat through a pocket, and I've never been caught without the right keys. I've also never lost my keys or had them stolen...
isn't that why most pants have pockets? for keys and such? the only trick i do is i keep my phone in the left pocket by itself so it doesn't get scratched. everything else goes into the right pocket. as far as an alternative? i don't know. I don't want to keep it dangling around my waist hooked on, so I keep it safely stowed in a pocket. I wouldn't necessarily feel comfortable with a one-key-for-everything concept. Too many eggs in one basket for me, personally.
i bought it at paragon sporting goods on 18th st in manhattan
its on their website, made by a company called pacsafe, the picture describes the entire solution:
http://www.paragonsports.com/product/PacSafe-WalletSafe-Tri-Fold-Travel-Wallet_10551_10051_5148529_-1.htm
i only have one key, so i store it in the billfold on a ring, so i only have to think and worry about a cell phone and a wallet when i leave the house, the keys are not a separate mental category
if you have a bunch of keys, you can still use this scheme, as the pacsafe comes with a chain (that i discarded but you would use)
now: if i can somehow put the cellphone in the wallet, i'm really happy. but the way cellphones are going, we'll probably be putting the wallet in the cellphone
in 5-10 years we'll probably be paying for everything with our cellphones (like they do in scandinavia already), so no wallet, and we'll probably be opening and closing doors with them too, so no keys
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
You probably only need to keep the house key and the car key one your person; in addition to the corresponding activity key.
You might for instance keep the keys to the girlfriends place in the glove box of your car along with the keys to the office. Put them on separate light weight rings you can quickly join to the main ring that holds your house and car key. When you return the car remove the office or girlfriend keys and return them to the glove box. Make sure you stay in the habit of always doing this right away so you never forget and those keys are always where they should be.
The mailbox key could be hung next to the front door of your place (on the inside duh), so you just grab it when you step out to get the mail,same with the bike keys.
Repeal the 17th Amendment TODAY! Also Please Read http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.html
What about the keyfob for the car? Keep the roof key, postbox, motorbike and presumably bicycle on a separate keychain if that's at all an option. After all, you only take one vehicle per day, unless you're actively out biking, in which case you only need a house key and the bike key. Yes?
I'm curious why you and the GF each have two locks on the interior door needing keys, if you were able to leave off one of each of those, that would save you two more. So now you would be down to 2 (yours) + 2 (hers) + 1 (office) + 1 (postbox) + 1 (car) which seems slightly more manageable.
I carry 7 on mine, but I married the GF a number of years back, saving me two keys. My two new keys are old apartment (story in and of itself, but I need to keep it) and key to my fireproof box at home.
Next thought: Why the insistence on a pocket knife?
As for the "One Key" ~ No.
2^3 * 31 * 647
I have my keys split into about 5 small bunches, clipped onto a large carabiner:
http://mediumstack.com/abhibeckert/15962865
When driving the car around town I take the car key off, and leave the other keys in the cup holder. I only take the car key itself when I leave the car (except at home). On my motorbike, I also take the bike key's bunch off, and clip the rest onto a belt loop on my jeans (or in my backpack for a serious ride). When I go for a walk, I only take the small bunch of house keys with me... etc.
Keys are supposed to be secure. If you really need it, keep a few critical ones on a small keychain in your pocket and secondary ones on another in a less secure place such as bag, man-purse, etc.
(1st sig) If this were a snappy sig, you'd be reading it right now. (2nd sig) I'm a karma whore. >Insert FUD here
I think submitter needs to start carrying *MORE* keys. Then get rid of the ones he doesn't need. His pocket will feel *so* much lighter!
Get rid of anything large and bulky on the keychain. That means the swiss army knife. Replace it with a proper Leatherman or Gerber multiool with a leather case on a leather belt. Same goes for car keyfobs. Keyless entry is nice, but you still need the ignition key anyway, and the keyfob will just run out of batteries someday.
Talk work into getting badge access instead of having yet another set of keys. Badge readers are probably more secure for that kind of thing (two-factor authentication and they can disable lost badges right away). Then you can keep your badge in your backpack with your laptop, since you'll probably be pretty useless at work anyway without your laptop. I used to forget my badge in random pockets once in a while, but with a little discipline you learn to keep it with your laptop. And getting locked out of work once in a while isn't so bad, and you can always check out a temporary badge for the day.
Some day we'll have a smart programmable RFID chip in a badge or phone or wristband (like in spas and nudist colonies) that store all of our authentication tokens, that will work on vending machines and credit card machines and cars and home doors and act as a license and passport and student ID. Probably in Japan first. But for now, my wallet is thin enough and my keyring slim enough and my Leatherman useful enough not to spend much time worrying about it.
Those well-known geniuses have figured it out in between the hair salon and the notary. It's called a keybox. http://www.google.com/products?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=s&hl=en&q=keybox&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=PEjjS5f_AoSKlwfe_a2SAg&sa=X&oi=product_result_group&ct=title&resnum=3&ved=0CEMQrQQwAg
I have two smallish sets of keys. One has keys for both cars and the front door of the house. The other has keys for the back door, garage, bike lock and my locker at work. If I am driving I can usually get by with the car keys. If cycling I use the other set and the car keys live in the bottom of my backpack. I have a gadget to connect the two if I want to carry both.
But my useless suggestion is not to lose your backpack.
http://michaelsmith.id.au
I have four keys and the remote fob on my keyring
- Apartment building key, I use it daily
- Apartment key, I use it daily
- Car key, I use it daily
- Office key, I use it daily
- Lock/unlock fob for car, I use it daily
Let's take a look at your keys:
- one for the outer [apt] door - probably daily
- two for the inner [apt door] - probably daily
- three more for my girlfriends place - probably NOT daily
- one for the office - probably daily
- one for the postbox - probably NOT daily
- one for my bicycle - which do you use daily, car, motorbike or bicycle?
- the car
- the motorbike
- the roof - probably NOT daily
- a tiny Swiss Army knife - probably NOT daily
Trim your primary keyring to your apt keys, office key, and primary transport and you'll be down to 5 keys. Keep the others on separate keyring(s) that you can either keep in your backpack (girlfriends apt keys you want with you, but not pants pocket), or in your apt (roof key, postal key)
http://www.walletgear.com/product_info.php?products_id=401
Holds about 10 keys.
Whenever I have something that I bring everywhere and cannot put in a pocket and do not want to search through my backpack for I tie it to my pants belt loops.
Lanyards work well.
Troll is not a replacement for I disagree.
I bought some quick-release key attachers and put one in, and one on, my purse. I keep one set of keys on the outside for easy access, and one inside for backup. I never forget my purse, so by proxy I never forget my keys... except when I forget to re-attach them. Like I did when I got home earlier today. Hooray for backups!
I am, by the way, male. However, I think the term 'murse' is stupid, as is man-bag. It's a fucking purse. Just because I keep a camera, portable tripod, and a nintendo DS inside instead of a selection of grooming products, doesn't make it not a purse.
"I will trust Google to 'do no evil' until the founders no longer run it." Hello Alphabet.
I have a solid brass key ring, like this. I've had it for about 20 years. It's got a series of four thick rings attached to it, on which are about 14 keys and my SecurID fob for work. I hook the clip around the belt loop above my right front pocket, and the keys themselves hang down into the pocket. I've been wearing my keys this way since high school, and it's never failed me. (I wear jeans 99% of the time, which helps; on the rare occasions I have to wear slacks, usually I attach the clip to the upper corner of the pocket itself, and the keys still hang down inside it.)
I don't keep my pocketknife on my key ring; it's too big.
"Destroy science and religion. Science would re-emerge exactly the same; but not religion." - Penn Jillette, paraphrased
One Key that fits all is dangerous. You just need to decide how much variety fits your lifestyle.
I attach my keys and Super Leatherman to chute cord which loops around my belt. (It's an old trick to ensure they didn't fall off in an aircraft or while riding a motorcycle.)
They fit fine in my pocket, and chute cord is durable and conformal.
I only carry flat keys (other than the PATS key for my truck) so bulk is no problem. The keyring(s) are secured by looping the chute cord through the ring, while the Leatherman is on a common latch of the type used on dog leashes. Keys cannot fall off and Leatherman is quicker to detach and unlikely to fall off. Use strong keyrings.
"Chute" cord:
http://www.botachtactical.com/550cord100.html
"This post is an artistic work of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."
Replace those keys with a small set of lock picks :)
I only carry 2 keys on my key chain the one for my front door, and the one for my back door, and a set of lock picks in my pocket.
If your goal is to ensure that you are able to get back home, why bother having all those keys with you? It's time to break up your keys into several groups. After all, you have multiple directories for all the files on your system, so why not gorup the keys?
You'll need the two keys for your own doors, plus a key for the vehicle you need. You can leave the knife, keys to your girlfriend's, etc. in your backpack.
I personally carry around four keys, which easily fits in my pocket -- two for my bike (my main mode of transportation), one for the gate, and one for the apartment door. I have a mail key, but that never leaves the apartment. I also have keys to my (separated) parents' places, but they're stored in a secure location in my home unless I need them.
I keep a spare key for my car in my wallet. I also have a spare house key in a desk drawer. If I loose my keys, I can still make it home and find someone to get me in.
No, I will not work for your startup
Better yet, just leave the key in the lock, then you don't have any keys to worry about carrying around.
Alternatively
(1) If the house locks have different keyways, replace them so they all have the same type of keyway.
(2) Re-key the house locks so the same key opens them all.
(3) Get a combination lock/finger-print reader installed on your car door and ignition
(4) Get wherever you need, using only one key
???
(5) Profit
Just get one of those retractable Janitor key rings that clip onto your belt/pants.
Buy better pants! I easily carry as many keys, plus a swiss army knife, chapstik, and a 8 GB USB memory stick in my left front pocket. Wallet, pen and iPhone in the right front pocket. I buy my pants at Target, for crying out loud, for less then $20 a pair and the pockets wear out in about two to three YEARS!
Buy better pants!
My keys are stored and grouped on individual key rings. All four key rings are joined with two key rings made from aviation cable available from here: http://countycomm.com/ring.htm I wear a Maxpedition Keyper key retention loop on my belt that the key rings attach to. The Keyper is available here: http://www.maxpedition.com/store/pc/KEYPER-34p203.htm Other non-key objects that are part of my everyday carry include a Gerber flashlight, a fingernail clipper, and store loyalty cards. I don't think it's a good idea for one to only use one's pockets for storing any physical object that you need with you on a daily basis. This includes your keys, wallet, cell phone, change, etc. I highly recommend the use of a belt bag that can keep your wallet, cell phone, change, and other objects from getting lost. What I use for this is the Maxpedition M-1 Waistpack available here: http://www.maxpedition.com/store/pc/M-1-WAISTPACK-6p128.htm Avoid small non-locking carabiners like the plague! I nearly lost one of my key rings at a store once. I was lucky in that some unknown stranger turned in the key ring to the store. When I'm in casual clothing, I put my key rings on a large metal locking carabiner that I have attached directly to my belt. How you organize your keys is entirely up to you. Whatever you do, just make sure from now on in that nothing gets lost.
but I keep it simple, I have 3 keys and they never leave my pocket: - 1 for the house - 1 for the car - 1 for the mailbox That's all... There are 3 different doors to access my house, each with a different key, but I just have one of them, I always use the same door. As for your three girlfriends... Just keep one. Share the others addresses with fellow Slashdot readers. You'll have less keys and more friends. ;-)
I place a handkerchief in my pocket before I put my keys in, the handkerchief then protects the pocket from the sharp keys and pocket knife, and also provides padding that will at least muffle the noise of jingling keys in your pocket.
Those are "emergency" use keys, and you'd be lucky if they even worked once.
"it’s a plastic version of the key that only allows you to open the car door, but it’s not strong enough to be used in the ignition hole."
There is simply no way that key could be used more than a few times before it was worn out.
How do I dress myself in the morning?
I split my keys out into smaller groups and only take what I will need on that trip, and always have them in my front right pocket (that's where keys go!), and phone in front left.
One keyring is my car key and remote unlock doodad. My key to my wife's car is a combo key+remote and is not on a ring, but is adequate size to not be easily lost or mistaken. My work keys are an RF dongle and three metal keys on their own ring. Both cars have a remote garage door opener and I don't need house keys. In fact, now that I think about it, the only time I use physical keys anymore is to start a car and unlock the door to my office which is often already open with my office-mate already there. My car has a start button but still requires a key - though many even newer cars don't require physical key. The days I bike to work my key collection gets pretty simple.
How much longer until we don't use classic keys anymore?
The main thing to carrying keys is to not load up the keyring with a bunch of useless crap. Efficiency is paramount. And too much junk on the ring makes you look like a 13 year old girl. If the knife is small enough to mix in with a key ring then it's too small to be useful - if it's big enough to be useful then it's too big to fit on a key ring. Separate them and give the knife its own deserved pocket or leave it behind where it's safe.
No sig for you. YOU GET NO SIG!
Most of those keys are used rarely at best, so why are you carrying them around with you? Are you so neurotic that must have every key that you might possibly some day need on your person at all times? Right now I have the front door key and my two bike keys on me. The rest are safe at home, where they belong.
The only thing worse than a Democrat is a Republican.
I'm posting this as I stare at all the different keys and key chain items I carry around. They include my own house keys (3), my neighbor's keys (2), car keys (3), car alarm fob (2), RSA SecurID token, trigger lock keys (4), ThinkPad dock key (1), padlock keys (2). These are only the primary keys as the backups are stored elsewhere. Add to this the optional items such as a couple Leatherman Squirt S4s and Micra, Gerber Clutch and Shortcut, keychain flashlights, and assorted carabiners and I can understand your plight. After losing a set of keys after the disengagable clip came apart somewhere along Ft. Lauderdale beach, I looked for alternatives.
First, separate all your keys based on need. I carry around my Leatherman Micra, main house key, ignition and car alarm fob on one ring. On your second ring, add the garage key, car trunk key, Shell Gas RFID fob. On the third ring, place your firearm trigger lock key, the docking station key, and padlock keys. On the fourth ring, place the remainder.
Next, acquire a locking carabiner. Don't opt for the spring loaded ones you get for $5 for a 6 pack at WalMart. You need climbing gear biners. These can be had from Altrec or Eddie Bauer or even Home Depot. Attach the primary key ring set to this carabiner.
You'll then need to purchase a pair of cargo pants, and -- this is important -- make sure that it has belt loops that can accomodate at least a 2" leather belt.
Purchase a durable and reinforced leather belt. Along with this, pick up a belt-attachable key minder. Black leather ones are cool, but nothing says rugged like camo. You can attach the second and third rings to this belt. It will also have plenty of room for your cell phone holster, your Leatherman Wave, binoculars, primary flashlight, and optionally a spool of 550 paracord.
Finally, you'll need to purchase a MOLLE vest. These can be had for $60 used at an army surplus store but new ones can run into the hundreds of dollars. An ALICE capable vest is an option, but I prefer the MOLLE attachments. With this vest you can add several key rings and similar attachment devices.
I got rid of my house key by using a cypher lock (They are about $100 from a home center).
My work has a badge reader, so there's nothing for that.
There's no reason why you need your motorcycle keys and your car keys, just leave the extras at home.
I travel with only my car keys, and when I get my next car, it will just be the remote, not actual key.
I do have some keys for things like my parent's house, and mail box. I keep these on a separate ring in my car. There's a very low probability of my car being stolen, and then them finding my parent's house.
I personally use a carabiner to clip to my belt loops. on that goes seperate keyrings with groups of keys.
i imagine a setup of the following for you;
one for the house keys, roof key, postbox.
one for your girlfriend's place keys.
one for the office and normal vehicle for commute.
one for other vehicles
Swiss Army knife
keep the rings as small as you can find them.
take only what you need, when you need it.
I used to have similar problem. Just bring the essential keys, the most important is probably your house keys, the outer door, if possible hide the inner door key somewhere after the first door, ditto with your girfriend's place key. I kept the office keys in my office bag, just bring one key of your transport, motorbike, bike or car, attach each of it on different keychain, you won't be able to ride all three at a time anyway. Keep all unused keys in one place in your home, put the roof key with those keys. There, at one time you probably will only bring three keys at a time ;) (your place's main door, your GF, your vehicle key)
Work like you don't need the money, love like you've never been hurt, and dance like you do when nobody's watching
I keep my keys on rings grouped together (house keys on a ring, each vehicle on a ring) and all on one clip I clip to my belt or on my belt loops. That way I can separate them if I need to (ie. keeping weight of my ignition) but carry them all at once.
Anything can be found funny, from a certain point of view.
Why do you have 3 keys for one home? Isn't it possible to keep the other keys in a relatively safe place inside your girlfriend's home and pick them up as needed?
If you really need immediate access to all these doors, why don't you change the locks so they all have the same key? Even better, you could even extent this to your home, and have a one key to rule them all.
Also try to reduce the number of keys. For example, try using combination locks. It is easy to do the shift in the case of padlocks, and also cheap, depending on your security needs.
Finally, I bet you do not use the car, the bike and the motorcicle at the same time. Take care of keeping you bike locked even at home (so you won't forget the keys), and this is only one key more to your keyring.
In the ideal situation, this would mean: 1 key for your home and your girlfriend's, 1 key for the current vehicle, and some codes to remember. Even if you can't reach the ideal case, the situation sounds much more manageable now.
This comment may contain speech figures. Reader discretion is advised.
three more for my girlfriend's place
Or
three more for my girlfriends' place
How many girlfriends? And why are you keeping them locked in places requiring so many keys?
Either a Key Wallet
http://www.amazon.com/Genuine-Leather-Holder-Wallet-Available/dp/B0007IQF5Y
or a belt clip key chain, which keeps the keys outside of your pockets.
http://www.keychains4you.com/belt-clip-key-rings.html
I have two bunches of keys. One is all I need for a day-to-day life (embarrassingly, just my front door and car key). The other bunch has everything else - all the other house door keys (4 in all!), cycle lock key, garage key, shed key, work bike shed key). No car key on that bunch.
I tend to always have one set or a another, but 90% of the time if I'm dressed for work I'll have my "simple" keychain, which is not too bulky, and 20 or 30% of the time at home I'll have the more bulky one.
If I've cycled to work I will put my keys in my cycle shoes so that I don't leave without changing back into them (I can't unlock my bike without them..) If I buy some perishable foods, then to remind me to take them, I'll put my keys in the fridge with the food.
I couldn't stand being like my wife and not knowing where my keys are. Mine are *always* in my front pocket, unless I've cycled to work, in which case they're in my shoes. Or in the fridge.
Don't mention lockers/exercise where keys are impractical/etc, but I have a system for them too.
Note to ACs: I won't mod you up, even if you are being funny or insightful. So take a chance! It's not real life!
I only need 2, one for the car and one for the house. You should marry or live with your friend, keep your bike in your home or in your office, etc. Why would you want to lock a bike outside or own more homes than one couple can possibly need. If you fight a lot, just go to a bar like normal guys.
If you must moderate, please moderate as irrelevent, not something bad, because I'm sure someone will find this interest
I carry a sort of man-bag. It's just big enough to fit my netbook, a small notebook, a pen, tupperware lunch box and, yes, my keys. Wallet and phone, too, should I take them out of my pockets.
I've always got everything with me but since "everything" is a collection of small things, it isn't a burden.
Get a knife that is also a money clip.
No need for a wallet AND you can stab muggers while giving them your cash.
I've had to replace carabiners twice due to wearing out of the latch spring. A new one costs $3-4 at a local hardware store.
eskwayrd = m^2c^4
Ring a locksmith, and have them change the locks at your place so that one key opens everything.
I've done this, and it means I now carry one key for my house.
It's been suggested that it's "less secure", but with the old system of a key-per-door. However I had all my keys on a keyring, so if I'd lost that I'd be in the same boat anyway.
I'm no worse off now for security, but am far better off for my keys.
just use the middle mouse button to smash down the door. then arm the m-com station, put some c4 down, run away and then explode the building.
The fact that this story is not in idle, or the fact that it has so many "serious" replies?
Next up: An in-depth analysis of what brand of adhesive tape is best to mend your glasses.
How about a moderation of -1 pedantic.
I cant believe a bunch of computer geeks cant see the obvious, yes have backups (then again geeks generally don't do backups). I have backups that are broken up sets, work, home, car, porn server. Also I have a general backup set in my main carry bag that I take to work just in case I forget my keys on the way out the door in the morning (I catch a bus as parking is a nightmare were I work so forgetting my car keys is a problem). But at the end of the day the best backup is to leave a set with your wife or girlfriend or a good mate you can ring to get you out of trouble.
All my traditional metal keys have their big honking thumb twist pad sawed off, leaving just enough for me to drill a small hole so as to slide the remaining stick onto a split ring key holder. The split ring provides ample leverage to turn nearly any lock that isn't corroded. The metal in most keys is so soft that they are easy to cut down and file smooth. Very little skill required - tools: vise, hacksaw, file. Now sometimes "the man" ain't happy to have "his" company key defaced, especially if it has a code stamped onto the thumb twist pad. If you fear the man, at least leave his stamped code intact. And those modern personal transportation device keys with the remote functions glommed onto the thumb twist pad? If you can give up the remote functions...
I have six or seven keys on a lanyard, which makes them easier to find in my backpack or purse. They always have a specific pocket they go in, there. I also take them out of the backpack and leave them hanging around my neck (sometimes in my jacket or shirt) if I am about to take groceries home (50m walk), or biking and stopping short distances for errands, or am coming home later at night to my apartment. I don't want to have to go digging for them.
When I arrive home, they always get hung up on the doorknob.
I'm going to need a leatherman tool in four months, and I hate wearing belts (they cut into my skin in some spots), so my whole process may have to change. Something carabiner-oriented might be a solution.
I carry my keys around on a carabiner clipped to my right, rear belt loop. I've been doing this since I started carrying keys twelve years ago. As I walked around, I can hear them jingle to remind me that they haven't fallen off/gotten lost. If I put on a pair of pants, and forget to clip them on, it feels odd as the weight is missing from that side of my body and I immediately start patting my sides to figure out what's missing. They give me something to fiddle with while I sit at the computer. They have earned me some pretty entertaining nicknames. Most importantly, I can whip them out and unlock something in half a second. Personally, the carabiner works delightfully for me as I got used to the jingling a long time ago. Although, I will caution you that getting into cars with nice seats can be dangerous if you sit down hard. Sharp keys will destroy the upholstery.
Also, when I want to take them off, I keep them in the same spot next to my bed every night, without fail. Habits can be good sometimes.
Motorcycles, Robots, Space Gossip and More!
If you can't keep track of 10 things you need every day, with the help of pockets, you are unworthy to post on Slashdot.
Keyrings are for public key cryptography, not for little bits of metal.
1 - Try a belt clip.
2 - If you still have too many keys - leave the house ones in your vehicle and just carry the vehicle key.
3 - there are some good keycase products out there (size of a zippo with 6 slide out key blanks)
4.....
5......
6 - Profit?
Roof key, bicycle key and motorcycle key I'd leave at home. Unless you're out with one of the bikes then I'd leave others at home. You're only ever going to use the roof key at home and you can only drive one vehicle at a time. I've just saved you three keys. Two for the inner door? Get a locksmith and get them matched. Just saved you another key. Three for the GF's place...inner door and outer door? Probably don't need the third one at all times, why not just leave it at her place? Saved you another key. Now we are down to seven keys, which is incidentally the same number I carry.
My summer ninja nerd configuration is:
Six door keys of varying types on a ring in the left pocket. Keys to my van and my cell in my right. I wear my Leatherman on my right hip on the belt, my Maglite on the left. Box cutter and USB stick in the right back pocket, wallet in the left. Sunglasses and a pen go in the left breast pocket of the work shirt, Sharpie on the left. Works well for me so far, though it makes air-flight a bit troublesome.
Bibo Ergo Sum.
I carry seven keys and a flash drive. The carabiner is great because it goes on and comes off quickly, and it's easy to pat myself down to know I still have it. I've made a habit of checking for keys, wallet, cell phone every time I go through a door.
I have two key rings, connected by a keyclip that is basically a stick with a loop at either end. It keeps the two sets of keys far enough apart so that they do not form a giant mass. At the moment I sort them by indoor (apartment suite, mailbox, parents house, work toilet) and outdoor keys (apartment entrance, car, bike lock, office door). I use grocery store club cards to separate some of the keys so I can find the key I need without looking at the whole set.
I'm sure this in/out combo will change as necessary.
If I get more work keys (filing cabinets, IT room, etc) I will start a new, separate key ring.
I've never lost my keys, coat or purse, but I have had my wallet stolen twice (I wasn't being careless in either theft, IYMK), which is why I have ditched purses altogether and keep my wallet close to my skin. Also, my shoulder problem seems to have mysteriously disappeared since ditching purses... but I'm guessing you're a guy and don't have this problem.
Yeah, I said it. I hate having crap in my pockets. This let's me carry my wallet (without sitting on it), my phone, keys, sunglasses / regular glasses, a small hard drive (I always keep a complete backup of my personal data with me), etc. http://www.tumi.com/alpha/leather-travel-kit-114156/
This has had no effect on my junk or where I prefer to put it...
I still cannot find the droids I am looking for...
Step one, get ur penis replaced with a vagina
Step two, buy a prada fairy bag
Step three, place your keys inside
Any police uniform shop will have them. They have a loop through which you run your belt, and a clip
which holds one or two keyrings, and a leather flap to protect your pants. I've used one for twenty years.
Why do you need to carry all of them at once?
Designate a place at home (drawer?) where you put your keys when you're not using them. Then separate your car, motorcycle, and bike lock keys from your main key ring. If you're using one of those vehicles, you're probably not going to use any other.
Next, do you need to have your girlfriend's keys on you all the time? If you're with her, then she probably has hers. If you're going to visit her, she's probably already there and can let you in. Are there really situations that happen often when you're going to her place alone and she's not there? I'm guessing that you have a set mostly for emergencies; if so, leave them in the drawer unless you know you'll need them, i.e., optimize for the common case.
Next, get a knife with a belt loop. Also, how often do you use the "roof" key? If it's not often, put it on its own ring with a key tag and leave it in the drawer.
Perhaps use detachable key rings, or just multiple rings attached to a central "hub" ring, to break your keys into "roles":
http://www.amazon.com/ROOTS-Equipment-RE99-Detachable-Keychain/dp/B000KPUEQU
For your day-to-day stuff, you probably only need:
* 3: your home
* 1: postal box
* 1: work
* 1: vehicle you're planning on using
Leave everything else at home unless you know you'll need it ahead of time.
Keep your PO Box key on a separate key ring, as well as all the others. Either one key per ring+tag or all on one you keep in the house. It's what even my grandfather does with his keys, and has always done (Maybe it's the training and experience of the Air Force making him be organized.. Colonel and all). He has I'd bet around 100 keys, one to each family member's car just in case we lose one or lock ourselves out, plus all the clubs and what not he volunteers for. Each has a tag, and when you need to say borrow his big Dodge Ram you grab the key and go.
I have multiple sets of keys, and I only take one, depending on what transportation I use when I leave my house. For example, when I bike to work I have one set of keys that have my bike lock and my office keys. If I'm taking the car, I've got another set of keys - I have keys to a friend's house who I only visit when I drive, and I don't need the front door house key because I'm coming back in through the garage. When I go running, I take just the front door and the mail key.
Sounds like that might be something that would work for you :) I bet you don't visit the same places when you've got your bicycle, your motorbike or your car :)
--
#include <malloc.h>
free(your.mind);
In a more respectable time, men did more of a "Spectacles, Testicles, Wallet, and Watch." Now everyone I know does more like a One Handed Charleston, checking the pockets for wallet, keys, and cellphone.
You never expect irony, do you?
Want to be a professional wrestler? Visit www.iyfwrestling.com
@iyfwrestling
I have multiple vehicles and thus multiple sets of keys, I realized I had too many keys if I kept them all together and the possibility of loosing all my keys at once was a fear. So I made a bunch of copies of my House key and made multiple key rings:
I have a keyring for the Truck that has the Truck keys + a House key.
I have a keyring for my Honda Fit that has my Fit Key + a House key + The Mail keys as I always go get mail with the Fit.
I have a keyring for my Stella that is the Stella Key + a House key.
I have a keyring for my Yamaha that is the Yamaha Key + a House key.
I have a keyring that has my Shed Key + a House key.
So, with the exception of the Fit Key Ring having the Mail keys I always have the minimum keys needed to get to my other key sets which I keep in my house.
I have a small leather pouch for keys, with top and side zippers, and two key rings (I have six keys on each) that are connected to the pouch by short chains. No jingling or damage to clothes, and it takes only a second to open or close. As long as I don't put in really bulky keys, it's a flat pack and a bit smaller than a wallet. It is usually in one of my front pockets.
Seriously, what are you 12?
You are just now trying to figure out how to carry keys around?
Slow news day... Mods let this go through?
For shaaaame
This is really simple, and for being the smarter sex, you guys really suck.
Get a bag.
Put keys in bag, optionally on multiple keyrings.
Put knife in bag.
Always carry bag when away from house.
Wear pants that don't make you look eighty pounds overweight.
Keep close only those keys required to get you home.
My keys are in my pocket, I really can't lose them any more easily than I can lose my pants. Same naked-feeling if I don't have 'em. This leads to a "joke" (and I abuse that word to its limit) that I run into the ground with wearying repetition whenever I don't have my keys (because, say, someone is borrowing them): [Sloppy slaps his front pocket], "I don't have my pants on."
As copyright owner of this comment, I authorize everyone to defeat any technological measure which limits access to it.
Get a jacket/coat with good and big pockets and keep everything there.
I have:
11 keys
bottle opener
Cellphone
"wallet content"(no need for a wallet)
USB-memories/sd-cards
and sometimes other stuff like books, sodas etc in it without any problem.
Change all the locks on your place and your girlfriends place to use the same key. Make a key ring for each vehicle with only that vehicles key and one abode key. You might have a few other must-have keys. Put them on your main vehicles key ring.
more cowbell
Just toss "leather key case" into google. Sometimes called a key wallet. I used one for quite a while to avoid the holes in pockets problem. The only corresponding problem(s) I encountered were that they can be difficult to find at brick and mortar stores, the ones I did find were cheap and thus the metal clips for the keys would often spring open or break off from the wallet and the ones I found were small and really didn't handle more than half a dozen keys if you still wanted to close it. I'm guessing a higher-end and larger version would remedy most of these issues (save the finding one locally).
Get all your keys and use the one key to bind them all.
Probably wont open any locks, but at least the jingling will be gone.
I lost my key about a month ago, but when I found I was still able to gain access to my apartment without it I decided not to replace it. One less thing to worry about.
http://www.scottevest.com/v3_store/40_hoodie.shtml
i prefer to keep my keys in my front pants pocket. one for the keys, the other for the phone. i trained myself to always keep my keys in the left pocket and phone in the right; you have to if you've ever had a nice touchscreen phone or pda or gadget. just a smart idea imo.
leaving your non-essential keys at a secure location is the best bet (ie at home), why do i need the padlock key to my chest thats at home w/me? or locking them all up at home so its still secure but you only need one key to get to it.
just my .02
Better yet, have an old leatherman belt case or cell phone holder? Have a spring loaded cord for keys that you hate to use when it jingles? Combine, recycle and triumph. It seems that the key ball fits in the case on your belt. The retractable cord keeps em on you and handy. No jingles. Add a bit of something fluffy to the case to take up any space left (if your key ball is small) and you can even pass the absolute silence test. IE "The Dune (tm) don't jingle your keys like poorly tied water tokens test" for you in the know. On the other hand, as he parent said, use less or flat keys. I personally go the Dune route as I am cool that way.
Keep the keys in your car, you'll probably be driving to most of the places anyway.
The other solution is to move to some cold country where you have to wear a jacked all year long. Those things have huge pockets you know.
Having a heap of extra crap on your bike/car keys makes then swing/dangle about and destroy either the interior trim of your car or the finish on the triple clamp of you bike.
I have 5 sets of keys (other than work stuff, that stays at work - external access to work is via swipe card).
I only take the keys with me for whatever vehicle (which is in the barrel until i get off it and then it goes in my pocket) along with the house key/garage door opener.
I see zero point in carrying around a multitude of keys for stuff I am not likely to need until i get back to the house.
I run: Windows, OS X, Linux, FreeBSD. Just because you have a hammer, doesn't mean everything is a nail.
I used to lose them when... lock them in... forget them in...
until I moved to a place where most folks leave them in the truck and leave their house unlocked 24/7/365. It's rather refreshing to trust by default and make only exceptions where some asshole has proven themselves unworthy of it. Yes, my local store also allows you to pump your gas without paying first, too. If they don't recognize you they'll just smile & wave, then write down your plate number while you're pumping.
Please, come into my house unannounced; my dogs could use the practice. If you take my vehicle, thanks for leaving yours behind (likely nicer than mine, too) as I doubt you walked the several miles up my road.
I used to carry around all of the keys that I own (Chicago home, San Fran home, my car, wife's car, office, etc).
It's ridiculous. Now I split my keys using a little 3-part/3-ring thing that lets me make the uber-ring if I feel inclined. Keys are broken into groups by city, and keys for rarely-accessed things sit on a rack in the home of the city of use. It's a minor inconvenience to remember to grab an appropriate key once you make a point of splitting them up.
Trust me, you'll get used to it.
For the risk of locking myself out, I keep house-keys at work (prox-card) and spare car keys on a rack at home. I'd have to get mugged and fired ('cause I could always get a security guard to escort me to my office, 24/7) if I were completely without my stuff.
The keys that I need for the city I'm in are, as a result, almost always in my pocket. They're small enough to not be something that I feel that I need to unload, and, as a result, I very rarely can't find my keys. I've honestly considered putting an HID reader at home to make life easier, but partitioning of my keys has kept my tech-seeking brain from obsessing too much.
I have a leather squeeze-top key pouch (yeah, I know, "key purse") that I use to hold my keys. It contains two rings: (1) a fixed ring I use for house keys and the like, and (2) a detachable ring I use for my car key. It keeps the keys together, muffles any jungles, and prevents them from stabbing through the pockets in my suits.
put then in your pocket. Strapping them to your pants makes you look like a douche.
Hell, get rid of keys. We need push button entry to be standard.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
Have a belt that is attached to me and have a chain thats attached to the belt and have keys and the "Gerber Artifact" on the chain. It gets caught on the seat buckle all the time
One thing I suggest is getting all your keys duplicated in a lighter-weight metal. It can significantly cut down on the weight. To help eliminate the jiggling sound you could try keep the keys bound together using a shoelace tightly tied through the hole on the keys.
key..and weapon.. and passport.
When I sneeze, watch the fuck out!
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
Scottevest (www.scottevest.com). The Woz wears them.
... for the g.f.s place?
Dude! Catch a clue the next time she changes the locks.
Have gnu, will travel.
. . . and you will not need a key - http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/05/greathomesanddestinations/05gh-costarica.html
I shove my car remote in the right front coin pocket of my jeans, and let the rest of the keys dangle. That way the keys don't poke my leg or eat through my pocket liner. They do jingle, but it's not unbearable, and I've noticed that if/when I enter a quiet room I'll grab the keys with my hand or just carry them. The need for silent walking is rarer than you might think.
At the risk of getting modded down further I'm going to post a few links. Either of my recommendations will require you to reduce your number of keys but it's definitely worth it. I use the leatherman hack myself with my car key, my house key and my office key and then keep everything else in my car. http://www.instructables.com/id/Swiss-Army-Keys-Key-and-Leatherman-Mod/ http://www.gmtplusnine.com/2007/08/13/japan-made-key-holder/ (Very nice key holder made by a pair of watch makers, you'll pay for it though)
Do you really need them all, all the time? I've gone modular with my keys - Each group gets it's own keyring and the lot goes on a mini karabiner. I have college keys (room, college key), bike keys (Two bike locks), drinking keys (Bottle opener, discount card thing), car key (Goes on its own so I can detach it and avoid driving jangles), house keys. When I'm going to head out, I grab/ditch until I have just what I need. Means if I lose them I lose less, I don't have bogloads of keys all the time, and it stops me getting sidetracked and going for random cycles when I shouldn't (It's a 3 minute walk from my bike to my room where the keys are, which is long enough to make me think out whether i really have time for it)
-- All your booze are belong to us.
Have gnu, will travel.
All of my keys are in the belt holster. Moreover keyring is tied to the holster with a 1 meter long rope. Tip: Arrange your keys in some order on the keyring; Preferably in the order of opening/closing of the doors.
So carry the keys on your keyring you need all the time. Your place, your girlfriend's place, your office, whatever. Your grandparents' garage key can stay at home, or in your car, or somewhere off your person until you need it.
Also, I used to carry a knife on my keyring as well, and a mechanic told me that it was bad for the ignition mechanism to have a bunch of heavy stuff hanging off the keyring. He might have been BSing me, but he said he was serious, so I followed the advice and took my knife off.
Game... blouses.
I carry my keys, a flash drive and a multitool hanging off a belt holding loop in my pants with a clasp thing that came on a $1 pen from a shop that sells crap. It's one of those clasp things they use in camping
https://gearupeurope.com/Clasps/images/black_clasp_large.jpg
Kinda like this one
I put my cellphone(iphone) and wallet in one pocket. Then my keys and everything else that i don't care if it can get scratched in the other. If i have a second item that i don't want scratched(name your latest glossy electronic device here), I put in on the opposite side of my wallet so the phone doesn't scratch it.
http://www.ytmnd.com/users/alphasuede/
It's a European Carryall!
Sex, Lies, and Videotape.
Get a key sleeve or a Velcro key silencer or just get an elastic hairband and wrap it around your keys. Consider adding plastic key covers the keys for additional silencing. Alternately, look into a full key case.
Go watch Sex, Lies & Videotape. There's a message for you.
There's more to it than this.
Such a configuration (called master keying in the US) reduces security. See Matt Blaze's paper on the subject at http://www.crypto.com/papers/mk.pdf (Abloy is mentioned by name as being vulnerable to the described attack).
Too many keys
Phone attached to the belt and displayed
Thinking you are cool because you have an atypical gadget (eReader)
how about putting contact information in the backpack so the chance of recovery is increased from non-existant to slim?
http://lifehacker.com/399031/diy-leatherman-key-mod
i bought a $5 multitool at the hardware store and removed the tools from it. get some copies of your keys made, cut them down to fit, and stick them in place of the tools. the multitool i bought holds eight keys, four in either handle. that just happens to be the number of keys i have too~
http://www.accountkiller.com/removal-requested
Why don't you keep them in your purse, next to the jar with your testicles?
If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
Really. I used to carry around a caribenier full of keys. Literally, 2 dozen. Then I:
got out of college (-12 keys, I ran a bunch of student orgs)
got my own car (-2 keys for my parents' cars)
bought a house (-3 apartment keys, -2 for my parents' house)
got married (-2 girlfriend's keys)
I still carry a few on my one keyring:
My car
Wife's car
House
Bike lock
Office
They all stack nicely into my left front pocket with my change. The right front holds the phone. Left rear is my wallet. The pockets are always the same, as is their contents. It's a system that's worked well. As soon as I stand up, I can instantly tell if something is missing, and it's saved my bacon once or twice. Also, by keeping all my keys on one ring, I can't leave the house or the office or my bike or my car without having the ring with me. It's insurance.
This is not a sig. this is a duck. quack.
I have several keys but never have a problem with them destroying my pants pockets because I have a dangling strap that hangs out of my pocket which holds the keys off the bottom of my pocket. Therefore they never wear out.
Surprised nobody mentioned this yet. I use a carabiner attached to my belt loops, which is a great place for all my keys, although it is a bit noisy. When I arrive at work or home I just take the whole carabiner key set off my pants and set it somewhere until I need to go. Carabiners also give you street cred with indie rockers and mountain climbers!
Of course, I have the opposite problem - I'm always losing my keys in my handbag, and have ended up favouring huge novelty keyrings in order to make them easy to find.
House, car and office. They fit easily in my pocket.
To avoid premature pocket erosion, you can get a small key purse. You can think of this as a floppy wallet for your keys, if that makes you think it's less girly. Before I got a key purse, sorry, key wallet, my key pocket was always the first thing to go in old trousers. Now it's the last - usually it's the crotch that rots through instead after several thousand days of wear. This of course creates a whole different set of problems.
Da Blog
The one key system
:q!
Line your pocket with a thin mylar film, then fill it with oil. Now your keys won't jingle, friction will be reduced on your pockets, and all the locks you use will stay lubricated.
...not to be confused with a [man] purse.
Every housing lock I control, I swap over to run off the same Kwikset smart key.
With them, I can re-key to any other Kwikset key I like in a few seconds. If my wife or I lose a key, if we decide a friend who was trusted with a spare isn't so trustworthy now, we can rekey each lock in a few seconds and be good to go again rather than having to replace the whole damn lock. Plus, as I've re-keyed all the locks, the new key continues working in every door rather than being yet another variant.
They're not perfect but then most household locks aren't - they're simply good enough to deter most people.
one for the outer door, two for the inner, three more for my girlfriends place, one for the office ... and the roof
At the very least, that's one key in place of your three plus the roof. Depending on how close your girlfriend and you are, it could be one for all seven. If you were very lazy and happy with security through obscurity with your co-workers, you could key all six of your home/girlfriend's locks off your work key. That'd be eight keys condensed in to one.
That one plus the bike/car/motorcycle keys is only four and now pretty easy to carry. If your car is your daily ride and the bike/motorcycle are occasional toy rides, you can likely swap them off to a second keyring for just those occasions. At that point, a building and a car key on a keyring, even with your swiss army knife, isn't going to be that bulky at all.
I now have only the essentials on my keyring. One house key, one car key, car remote, bottle opener. Makes life seem so much easier every time I pull the keys out of my pocket.
Bloody hell man, it must take you a half hour to get in and out of your house. Re-key your house so you only need one key, or only lock the deadbolt. Have your girlfriend do the same. That would eliminate a half a dozen keys right there. Maybe you should move somewhere where you don't need 4 locks on your home.
Loose fitting
At least three pockets, with at least one near the knee (hopefully not in an especially pendulous location)
Pockets that are designed to be actually used.
I keep my keys in my top right front pocket, which is big, my wallet in my lower right leg pocket, music player/cell phone in top left pocket.
Cell phone used to be in the bottom left leg pocket, but I got a Nexus One and got rid of my iPod promptly.
Guns don't kill people, "with glowing hearts" kills people.
Break-up those keys! I've a key-safe at home bolted to a wall. It's burgler proof and contains keys for everyting. I've a bunch that stays with me all the time, but it's only 3 keys - one for the car, one for the trailer that hooks to the car, and one for the house.
Everything else is at home, locked in a steel box.
While I don't have as many keys to manage as you do, I do use a system that ensures I've always got them with me. I have a wallet chain (that is actually converted from a dog choke-chain) connected to a real climbers carabiner that has my keys and my utili-key tool on it. I use the caribiner to attach it all to my belt loop. Whenever I go anywhere, I need my wallet (ID and monies), and the keys are always attached so I never leave without them. I have to admit, having a bunch of keys hanging from the belt loop is sometimes loud and annoying, so I stuff the hanging keys into the nearest pocket to muffle them. Aside from that, the convenience of always having my wallet, keys, and a tool all attached has never steered me wrong.
For a system with so many keys, I'd keep the commonly used and most important keys on the carabiner and keep the rest in a easy-to-access tray somewhere. Add whatever keys you need for the trip before you head out and swap them out next time you leave. Just a thought. Hope this helps!
http://www.kaba-ilco.com/access_control/products/simplex.aspx?id=5
The 7100 series has lasted 10 years on my home with no sign of any wear & tear.
My EDC (Every Day Carry) consists of one or two sets of keys. One has keys for my two cars, my (US issue type) P38, and a few store discount/club cards. My other keychain has the key for my truck, house, garage, office, shed, and a couple more. I don't always carry both. I also carry at least one knife, usually a SAK of some form. I also have my wallet (for cards only) and money clip with cash. That's about it. I never lose anything and rarely forget any of it. Oh, and work gives me a phone so I carry that with a BT headset I bought myself. If it's part of your routine and always on your person, you generally won't forget any of it because you'll feel naked!
keep your keys from eating out your pockets by putting iron on patches on pocket cloth.
I have my keys on a Carabiner. The core set stay there all the time, other groups (like car keys) or tools (like a little USB Swiss army knife) get clipped on and off as needed. The set then gets clipped on the belt loop nearest my pocket and slipped into the top of the pocket. The weight never pulls on the pocket itself.
Don't use any. Car keys stay where they belong, in the ignition, house keys I have not seen for 12 years. I do not carry any keys, at all, period. 14 years, no one has ever robbed me, stolen my car etc. Stop living the media-fear world and grow up. Keys are stupid, if someone came and broke very window in my house, no one would hear, they could then load whatever they wanted into a van, no one would see and be off, all while making a huge racket and a lot of noise. Same with cars, nobody steals cars, if they do, they get caught and busted quick. Stop living in fear.
I hide each key in a treasure chest that is hidden around my home. However, you have to go through a series of hoops to get the chests to drop down and appear, and I think on one of them you have to use the Lens of Truth or the Scarecrow Song to get the time block so that you can climb up to reach it.
Donno, you could always use Farore's Wind or something..
This guy added keys as tools to his multi-tool.
http://geek.phatus.com/2009/08/swiss-army-keys-tutorial-and-instructable/
I've always carried a fair number of keys with me... They always bugged me when I kept them in my pocket...
I used to use a leather-snapping belt-loop—bought it from Hot Topic. Nice to have keys with easy access right on my belt, but the belt loop can undone one day and I lost my keys.
I then bought two of them, one with a looong chain, so there was a double-check. But it was unwieldy, and heavy.
Then I was given a wonderful gift one year. A seatbelt buckle that looped onto the belt, that held your keys. You undid the "seatbelt" and your keys came off, to use to open doors or start your car. Very good to use when you have a handful of stuff.
Something like this: http://www.keyring.com/seat-belt-buckle-key-holder-with-keychain.aspx
I also have a 2nd keyring on my belt, to hold extra keys I may not always need right away. It's like the "tactical keyring holder" but cheaper (yet not as good).
Yes, I do jingle when I walk. Sometimes I kind of feel like a janitor. However, my keys are always at the right place, and they have been safe and secure on my person for several years now. And I wouldn't have it any other way.
I have every key I've ever used on several interlocking rings. Some of them match equipment or dwellings I haven't lived in for 15 years. It's very hard to lose your keys when you feel lighter if you don't have them. ;)
Figure out what keys you need at any given moment and only carry them.
I always carry mine in a pocket, usually pants, sometimes jacket.
On the way to work, I carry house keys (2), my car key, and the mailbox key. I badge in and out of work.
I keep my desk and docking station (work) keys in a drawer at work, hidden under some stuff. I only lock one cabinet, where I keep stuff like network cables and other things that tend to disappear, but I almost never use them, and my cube neighbors know where they are in case they need some of my stuff.
At work, i just carry the badge (required) and my car key. (If there's a fire, you want your car key. I got caught standing outside in the cold once when I could have gone home if I'd had my key.) The other keys just lay on top of my desk; if you're a worrier, you could put them in a drawer. I've never worked anywhere I worried about someone truly stealing stuff. (Swiping a network cable is different from stealing.)
If my wife and I go out, I just bring the house and mailbox keys, because she's happier driving and I'm happier not watching her shriek in fear while I drive. Her car has one of those "leave it in your pocket/purse" fobs, and I hate waiting to get in while she digs for her keys.
The preferred solution is to not have a problem.
I leave all my vehicle keys in my vehicles, my wife does the same.
When we were first married we had our vehicle stolen 4 times. The last time it was stolen the insurance agent asked if I had locked the doors. I told him I quit locking it because I didn't want the thieves to break the window. He looked at the history and noticed that they had replaced the window the other times. So for me I just decided I like the convenience of just leaving my keys in the vehicle.
http://p8ste.com - Web based Clipboard
Here is the ultra-minimalist approach. These aren't mine but I have done the same thing to my set. It makes stashing complete sets in multiple place practical.
http://edcforums.com/showthread.php/51958-Ultra-Ultra-minimalist-keyring
If my cell phone could learn to be key to car, truck, office, electric gate & garage door, then remaining keys could be kept in safe in truck. Then all I would need to carry is pants, cell phone & towel.
...I don't have much on the key ring.
And I want to do away with the apartment door key by switching to a keyless entry setup I plan to build. :D
Friend: "The NIC is misconfigured..." Me: "No prob, I'll just telnet in and fix it." *Silence*
I carry my keys in a leather handcuff case on my belt. It muffles the sound and there is no way they are poking holes through it (unlike my pockets which is why I switched). Non-pointy things that most people keep on their keyring go in my pockets. Any sturdy, abrasion resistant belt pouch will work just as well.
Add some line to the clip between it and the keys if necessary and clip it next to a pocket/zip on the bag.
Put keys and etc. into a pocket/inside the bag while keeping them clipped to the outside for easy retrieval.
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
Isn't that obvious?
For someone so outraged by the topic at hand, you seem to have a rather elaborate set of rules, regulations and orders regarding the subject.
And you are rather verbose about it.
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
I'm with you, I carry one car key, all by itself, no fob.
I have a small key ring with a house key, P.O. box key and girlfriends house key, all other keys stay at home in an organizer unless needed (radio station, clients offices, storage shed, trailer hitch lock, toolbox, etc.).
And move to a small town where you don't NEED so many damn keys.
And clip your keys to a belt loop on your pants.
What fits in 16MB these days?
To respond to the OP, I have multiple key sets, depending on my mode of transportation: car, truck, bike. I grew up on a farm and I learned this from my parents. I also had a locksmith key all my locks in my house so one key opens all the doors plus deadbolts. So normally I have just two keys on my ring: house and car.
Plus an 8 GB flash drive and a bottle opener because you never know when you might need to get drunk and install Linux on someone's machine.
I lost my keys today, so my opinion doesn't count.
I'm god, but it's a bit of a drag really...
I had this exact same problem, and I had the same worries about losing the keys if I kept them in a backpack or laptop bag. Eventually, the inconvenience overcame the fear. Office keys, house keys, server room keys, church keys... you name it. They add up quick! The keys were getting WAY out of control. Here's how I handled it.
1: Split the keys into two groups: ones you use constantly and ones you use occasionally. My first group is car keys, house key, library card, and shopping discount cards. My other key ring has everything else on it.
2: Toss the first group in your pocket.
3: Find an old laptop bag or buy a messenger bag (a.k.a. man-purse, a.k.a. murse), and make the extra key ring a permanent part of that bag.
4: Start carrying it with you everywhere.
Right now I'm just carrying an old laptop bag, but I like this one: http://amzn.to/bOBu5v (a la Jack Bauer) for several reasons. It comes in black and blends in like a laptop bag. Very rugged and versatile yet inexpensive. If you get a small, padded laptop case it can fit inside (depending on the size of your laptop).
Anyhow, I've used this setup for about two months now and I like it a TON better. The office is usually open by the time I get there, so I rarely even have to take my laptop bag out of the car unless I need something else in the bag. In fact, I only have to grab that extra key ring an average of once a week or so (YMMV). Very handy addition to my life with the exception of having to carry two bags around whenever I want to lug my laptop too (or consolidate). I like to draw and sketch, so I use the extra bag to hold my pencils, drawing pads, etc.
-- Stu
/. ID under 2,000. I feel old now.
I handle my keys with my hands. How else?
I have a pants pocket on the right side. My keys have been there for 38 years (since I got a drivers license). I might have carried a house key before that but my memory is fading.
Professional Politicians are not the solution, they ARE the problem.
This seems very much like something OP might be looking for.
move in with your girlfriend, that will save you 3 keys right there
If he's asking a question like this on slashdot, I don't think he's ready for that. I don't know about you, but I was made responsible for a set of keys to the house sometime around the age of 7 or 8. I'm surprised he's not asking slashdot about toilet habits "What happens when you want to go poopies?"
These posts express my own personal views, not those of my employer
A key wallet is the way to go. I used to keep my keys on a ring (*SSH joke goes here*), but a few years ago I switched to keeping my keys in one of the mesh compartments of my wallet. Granted I only have a few keys. For a larger set of keys, you will want to use a real key wallet with hooks for the keys built into the wallet itself. If you need a key, just push the hook, detach the key, use the key, and return it. Most of them are pretty cheap, and I know that Sears Roebucks carries a few which are not only affordable but have all the compartments you'd want in a standard wallet too.
Dang, now *I* want to buy a real key wallet.
Most men are not thought unwise until they speak.
yeaaaaaah. Nice try.
For less than the cost of $latest_must_have_gadget, you can usually replace all of the locks on your place with ones that are keyed the same. Do the same with your girlfriend's place. YMMV if you're a renter, but if so, you shouldn't have a problem as long as you 1) keep the old locks and 2) make sure the owner has whatever copies they need. Learn to separate what you need to have ON you at all times (your important keys; house, car, etc.) and things that are NICE to have, but you could make it a couple of days while you got them replaced if need be. Keep them separate, perhaps with some kind of clip (really, you don't need climbing-grade gear for this unless you're in a very rough profession) to put them together at home or during some travel. Always keep the three or so keys you need on you; don't worry too much about the rest.
Duh.
On a key ring. With nothing that can be traced back to me. I have other way to get in the house, if needed.
A house key (I spent the $100 to get all my doors keyed alike), a car key, and my wifes car key. All other keys I keep on hooks in a wall box at the house. I do have a ring of keys I might need on the road in my car (clients offices, parents houses, safe deposit box etc). It simplifies things greatly. I just added a kay to my daughters truck, but think I am going to put it in the box too.
Chuck
a hip pouch.
Fucking fagboy.
You all have too many keys. I have two:
1. My car key. I only use my car on weekends; during the week the car key sits in a jacket pocket in a closet. If I actually drive somewhere, the key is in the ignition during the drive, and in my jacket or pants pocket while I'm there.
2. My bike key. I keep it in my pannier.
I don't lock my house, because what a pain that is. I have lived in a major city (Boston) for 23 years, and the only time anyone came in the house who shouldn't have, it was the police, because my neighbor's alarm was going off and they had the wrong address. (No, we don't have an alarm either.)
I have the keys I use every work day and I carry them in my right front pocket. This has the key fob to get into work, car key, beer opener, key to storage at my desk, house key and bicycle lock key. Then I have a weekend set that I carry all weekend that has all the keys in the work day set plus a ton of others. It has both cars, all kinds of padlocks, the key for the roof top carrier I use once a year, basically everything I would ever need. If I reflected on this more there would be a better system I am sure. I switched to this after deciding it was crazy to carry so many keys. About once a weekend I am pissed and have to walk back to the house for the other set for the other car keys. That car has a big electronic door opener and huge ignition key. My wife uses that car and I am glad I don't carry that every day.
Here's my keyring:
Car (detachable from main set)
1 Car Key
1 Keyfob
Main Set
1 Lanyard
2 USB Drives
1 Front Door Key
1 Mailbox Key
1 Building Key
2 Home Keys (as in parent's place)
1 Dojo Key
1 Office Key
2 Trigger Lock Keys
1 Handcuff Key
I stuff my wallet in one front pocket and my keys in the other. Plenty of room. I've got more than you but I don't see the problem really.
The problem I deal with daily is my neighbor that never carries any keys at all. Instead, he just props the building door open all day long inviting God knows who or what inside the building (hence the trigger lock keys staying on my person). I consider that a bigger problem in the long run than having too few keys. I'd gladly carry more if he would simply carry one.
I guess it's just a matter of perspective.... Hey! Are you my neighbor?!?!?
Sounds silly, but once a parking valet couldn't find my car key... I would have been stuck 35 miles from home if I didn't have my spare car key. Also once shoved a set of keys into my pocket, but not deeply enough. They promptly fell out into the snow - silently, stealthily. It didn't occur to me that this happened, I thought that I had perhaps left them somewhere. Panicked for a moment, then used my backup set of car and housekeys. Found the "lost" set as soon as the snow melted away.
I've followed slashdot for so many years w/o ever feeling the urge to post. This is the end.. the economy is so bad.... jobs are in the toilet... but now SLASHDOT sucks SO bad..
Like all the Gas Station guys used to have on their belts...
Key-Bak Heavy Duty Locking Retractable Key Reels
http://www.kyledesigns.com/product/KEYREELLOCK/Key-Bak-Heavy-Duty-Locking-Retractable-Key-Reels.html
The more keys you have, the more important you feel.
You mean carabiner, or "'biner". Not to be confused with any synonyms.
The Nite-Ize 'S-biner' is awesome at first glance, but don't rely on it to keep your stuff safe. One twist and whatever precious item you had tethered is instantly and unceremoniously shed.
As appealing as they are, stick to the standard, single-gate carabiner, but don't skimp on quality. A decent one is really worth $5.
There's a rather old-timey solution to this problem. I, too, was tried of wearing holes in my pockets from the numerous keys I had to carry around. Get yourself a leather key wallet. It is a wallet sized object with a set of key holders inside. You can store your keys in a relatively small area, and no more tearing up your pockets. Some of them even include change purses.
"Enough of this wretched, whining monkey life." -- Marcus Aurelius, _Meditations_, Book 9, 37
For 15 years (I'm 33) I've kept my keys in the ignition of my truck. I don't lock my house, I don't lock my vehicles. A beep card gets me in my office building, a keypad gets me in my office. I do keep my bicycle lock key in my wallet though. Keys suck.
Grind down your keys and fit them into a cheap leatherman. You only use one at a time anyways, so flick it out like any other blade and presto! There is a blog somewhere about it. Much more pocket friendly, and if done right, looks very nice.
I mean, man, like you are so hopeless. First you lose your backpack, so next you are going to lose your pants, your shirt, your wallet, your virginity and your self respect. And you are worried about just a few keys?
First you have to keep from losing things. Like the backpack. You have to sit down and meditate on this. I can see losing a set of keys through a hole in your pocket, but a whole backpack!
I have all kinds of keys. I have keys to four automobiles, three homes, locking gas caps, gun safes, padlocks, handcuffs and a bunch of other shit. How do I protect them all? I put them in my fucking pocket. Was it really necessary to ask this?
LK
"Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
Wow, and here I thought the three keys I carry around were too many. (I keep separate keyrings for my car and for my rarely used ones). Unfortunately, one is a postbox key, so I can't have it duplicated and do anything interesting. That said, one idea I was toying around with was to duplicate the keys, then get someone with a machine shop to cut the base of the duplicates until they were only as wide as the rest of the key. Then I could swap them out for some unused tools on my pocket multitool. Some googling reveals that this isn't a novel idea.
Your girlfriend won't let you keep it once you marry her and move in to her place anyway (to save a total of 5 keys, 3 for your place, 1 for the motorbike, 1 for the postbox). Leave the roof unlocked unless you're worried about paratrooper assaults (lose one more key), ride your bicycle everywhere and get rid of the car (if it's nice, your new wife probably won't let you keep that either), let your new wife stay home all the time and raise the kids allowing you to drop the three keys for her place (-3 keys), and finally just leave the office key on the premises so you won't forget it some day (-1 key). That leaves you with 1 key for the bike lock and one knife to worry about. If you get a cheaper bike lock, you can toss the bike key and just jimmy it with your knife.
“Imagine the convenience of having just one key for all your locks, and it’s the key you always have with you,” said Mike Long, director of new market development for Strattec. The revolutionary new design has already been named “best new product” by the Associated Locksmiths of America.
Check out http://www.leftlanenews.com/strattec-bolt-lock-one-car-key-does-it-all.html
I carry two small keychains. One has the key to my car and all of my grocery/gas station/pharmacy loyalty cards and the other has my apartment key, mailbox key, and a bottle opener. I take them with me most everywhere along with my wallet, cellphone, and, often, my camera. They all go in my pants pockets. I have yet to lose any of them. If I do decide to leave one behind, I will often leave my apartment key in my car because I can't really get back to my apartment without my car anyway. Or if I don't drive, I leave my car key at my apartment. I have never even considered this question... I can't imagine wandering around somewhere without all my stuff unless I have specifically planned to leave some of it behind.
1) Title "How Do You Handle Your Keys?", harumph? wtf, click /. mole... ...they are seriously trying to answer the question, wtf (again) ...time passes...
2) First poster, yup I agree with that
3) 2nd poster, wtf (again). He cant be serious, maybe it's a
4) Who posted this crap, yet nagging doubts about my nerdliness
5) Wait more posts
6) Oh thank the deity of your choice, there are jokes...
7) Hmm, not funny...maybe there's actual content on Ars Technica...
n+8) How did my post get rated...oh damn...I'm filtering my own post
First, get rid of some keys. Many houses have exterior doors with both a lock on the knob and a deadlock. I've replaced all of the knobs with keyless versions. #1, the knob lock is pointless if you use the deadbolt. #2, if the only lock is a deadbolt, you *cannot* lock yourself out.
Second, split to multiple rings. There's no reason for me to carry my motorcycle keys when I'm driving my car. I have separate rings for each vehicle, with a house key on each. The rings are kept in a keybox, and I only take the one I need. I then have a separate ring with miscellaneous keys, but it mostly stays in the keybox.
I mean, seriously, why are you carrying around your *roof* key?
First I'm going to tell you all about my keys, then I'm going to criticize you. This makes me feel important.
I have my keys divided into two separate rings. The first ring has 1 house key and 3 car keys. The second ring has a redundant car key (for the car I drive primarily) and house key for convenience as well as 2 work keys, the key to my tool shed, 2 house keys which I can't identify, 1 mailbox key I forgot to return, and a key for a Kensington lock.
All said, that's 13 keys. I keep both rings in my pocket. It hasn't been a problem.
I recommend that you buy pants which are in your correct size. It seems obvious to me that having too many keys isn't the problem -- it's just that your pockets are too small.
If you can't afford larger pants, might I recommend losing some weight? Anyhow, the point is that your keys shouldn't be eating holes in your pockets unless you're doing something wrong. (Are you sleeping in your work pants or something?)
Given the problems you have with managing simple everyday objects, I'd also suggest moving in with your girlfriend. She'll easily be able to handle little life details like selecting appropriate clothing, keeping track of important things like keys, and will more than happily tell you when it's time to change your pants.
Required reading for internet skeptics
I have one "main" keychain which has the following:
* half of detachable two-part keychain pic
* house key
* "smart" car key (Toyota smart key, looks like just a fob, has a physical key "hidden" inside that is basically never taken out.)
* 4 GB metal USB flash drive (Sandisk Cruzer Titanium, to be precise.)
* security keyfob for work (last place I worked used a badge for this, so this is new in the past two months.)
The other half contains:
* other half of detachable two-part keychain
* physical key and security/door remote for second car
* house key (sometimes I only grab this half, so I need to have a house key on each,)
* key for parents' house
* fireproof safe key
FInally, I have my bicycling keychain:
* house key
* bike lock key
- on a smaller-than-normal loop, with no adornments. Fits in a pocket comfortably while biking.
- During the Summer months when I bike to work, I'll transfer my work security keyfob to this one.
Another non-functioning site was "uncertainty.microsoft.com."
The purpose of that site was not known.
I can have quite a few keys, too, especially when I have the good fortune to have a job. As I believe in carrying them all the time, for consistency, the question becomes how to manage them. What I have done is to get 3 medium-sized key rings and 3 small ones. The keys are organized into "things that move", "things that don't move", and "tools/etc", although whatever suits you will do here. Each set is put on the medium-sized key ring, along with a small ring. The 3 different sets are then clipped, using the small rings, onto a small carabiner or a brass hook (heavier) together. The basic idea is to get the keys split up enough to lie flat, so that they don't poke your pockets and the like. While I wear mine outside of my pants, on a belt loop, you can also clip them onto a belt loop and tuck the keys into your front or back pocket, where they will hang nice and flat and not poke anything. After a little practice, you get pretty good at getting the keys on and off of the belt loop. Ok, maybe it's the redneck way, but I haven't lost my keys in 32 years of carrying them this way, so it's been working for me this far.
Bud - Leave a spare set of keys with someone you trust and live easy.
I had more than a few pairs of pants with pockets eaten through by keys. After eliminating all but the most essential keys, I bought a leather key wallet. The wallet protects your pocket lining from the keys, and pretty much silences them. I would opt for the kind with plain hooks instead of the latching kind because they're simpler and far less likely to break. This is the old-fashion solution and strikes me as far more elegant than a carabiner.
News Flash: Godzilla hates infrastructure.
I keep my keys on two rings - ring one has my car key, car fob, and some shit for Food Lion and the like. The second has my house key, my friends' house key, my badge, a bottle opener, and my desk key maybe, can't remember. They both go on a carabiner, that in turn clips to my belt loop, usually on the left so I don't have to unhook it to get in the office (just give 'er the ol' side-ass). When I'm at work, I just remove the car-key ring and leave it at my desk, don't need it while I'm working and then my jingle reduces considerably. Unless I'm going out for a smoke, getting lunch or going to the bathroom and I don't keep my keys on me at all = ninja.
Keep all the keys for you various house locks in the house.Hidden if you feel paranoid. Whats the use of carrying them around?
Well, I don't have a car, so I don't have any car keys. I have precisely one key, to my house.
However, why not just figure out how to break into your house? You're posting on Slashdot, so I'm sure you'd find it an interesting exercise. It'd also help in case you DO carry around keys and find yourself getting locked out.
(Only caveat: neighbors might call the cops. But they'll get you in once you establish it's your home, even if they have to break a window.)
We all knew Slashdot was full of aspies, but you must have full blown autism not to be able to handle a set of keys!
And the suggestions are the nerdiest things ever! A Fanny Pack! A key-chain!
Stick them in your pocket, and don't touch yourself asspie!
Simple. I have all the locks to my house (Front, Back, Garage) keyed alike, thus...
One key for my house.
One key and remote for my car.
One key and remote for my wife's car.
Several keys for the office (building, Suite, Office, File Cabinet, etc...).
I have 4 key rings, each for above and they have the little connecting push things that allow you to join two keychains together.
My car's key ring (is the Main that I almost always have with me) has a small spring loaded hook to attach it to either my backpack while in the office or my belt loop when I'm out and about.
As needed, I join it to either the House or the Office key so they can come along for the ride. I keep whatever I'm not using in my car.
You probably shouldn't carry so many keys from the one keyring. You'll damage the ignition cylinder of your car or motorcycle with that much weight hanging from it.
I highly recommend a leather pouch for keys (mine has a ring for keys attached to it). I'm not sure if it'd fit a million keys, but it should be fine for ~8 of them. It's very convenient: neither the pants nor the hands get cut/rubbed on by the keys.
Encrypt them!!!
The person with the most keys is generally the janitor. The CEO doesn't have a keyring nearly as big.
I don't carry keys.
I live in a safe neighbourhood so don't need to lock the house. I use a bus and foot power to get to work so have no need for keys (Unless you include my swipe card for work which sits permanently in my wallet - and all my work keys stay at work)
My list of items to carry consists solely of wallet and phone.
When I lived the USA I took all of my keys and made copies. I then used a drill to create a 1/4" hole in e middle of then all. Then I bolted them together. After bolting them together I used a grinder to remove all of the excess metal. In e end I had something that looked like a pocket knife. I would pull out the key needed sheen in use and fold in back when not in use.
It was so small that I never found a reason not to have it in my pocket. It felt like pure freedom. When I get back I will do the same again.
If the incompetent wanker who tried to blow up Times Square had read this thread and learned how to handle his keys in an efficient way he would be in Waziristan by now taking crap from UBL for forgetting to open the valves on the propane canisters.
A. He would not have had to take the train home.
B. He would not have had to call his landlord to let him in his own house.
C. He might well have then made his flight
I for one am glad he did not read this useful thread.
Not losing your keys is sometimes, well, key. As for me I have the various sets on different rings hanging in a mango wood key house that is on the wall next to the front door. I take the rings I need on a given outing and distribute them about my person.
"No fear. No envy. No meanness." Liam Clancy
If only you could switch your door locks to electronic locks then you could have one ring to rule them all ;-) http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Java_Ring.jpg
We recently moved house to a 3 bed semi, the owners left us with 5 (external facing) door keys. A quick trip to a locksmith and they replaced all 5 with high security locks with a single matching key.
Instructables has a very nice key holder/thing made from a bicycle multi-tool. It doesn't have the nice Leatherman pliers but personally I prefer it. http://www.instructables.com/id/Friendly-Folding-Keychain/
"There are three schools of magic..."
As in IT security: Don't carry what you don't need.
I assume your car and bike are both stationed at your home. So why would you want to carry their keys with you all the time? That's a bit like working as root - it's a small convenience at the price of a huge security risk, namely if you make a mistake, you lose everything.
Same for your roof. That's a key I keep at home at all times and only take out when I go up there. Why would I want to take that with me?
Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
1) Keep your keys on you at all times. The last time my keys left me when I left the house was because my brother was getting married and I needed to wear a nice suit, which showed every bulge, in front of lots of people - my parents minded them for the hour or so I needed them to and I got them straight back afterwards. Don't put them down when you've unlocked something (e.g. on the office table while you get coffee) and have a "place" for them at home... that you can always find them once you're indoors (my gf uses this as an indicator for whether I'm home or not, because the keys *do not* leave my side if I go out for even a second - literally, when I put the bins out, my keys go with me because otherwise the one night that I do it and my gf isn't home, I know that I *will* end up locking myself out accidentally).
2) Don't strap them to your trousers (pants)... it makes them visible and awkward to handle - you find yourself unclipping the damn things all the time or buying one of those stupid "keys-on-a-elastic-string" things that just break. Plus, if someone steals them (unlikely, I know) or they fall off (cheap pants), you won't feel it but you *may* hear it depending on where you are. My gf is quite amazed how I can tell what's in my pockets and whether I've forgotten something before I've even got out the door - I have a *terrible* memory but I know when I can *feel* all the things I should. It also helps because living in London, I often get bumped into on the Tube etc. and it takes seconds to pat my pocket and make sure I haven't been robbed. I've never managed to get more than about 6 feet from where I was sitting without realising that something must have fallen out.
3) Get a solid key-ring. Not some 50p thing from the local shops. Especially if they occasionally hang off your noisy motorcycle while you're travelling at motorway speeds - you do *not* want them coming off then because you probably *won't* notice. I use a mountaineering carabina on which hang good strong keyrings. How strong? Well, my laptop bag's shoulder strap broke both it's original metal clips because of the sheer weight and abuse that bag gets - so I threaded two of those keyrings through the loops and hook the shoulder strap onto them - two years later, they aren't even out of shape in any way yet that bag recently came back from Italy with 18kgs of stuff in as "hand baggage" (carry-on to Americans).
I also have a metal belt clip that I put on the carabina. The carabina allows me to take rings on and off very easily and individually, let me feel secure that it's not going to let the keys fall off without deliberate manual effort on my part, attach it to anything in such a way it's not just going to fall off/break *and* keep it loose in my pocket without extra pointy things poking into me. I tend towards the latter, personally. I have broken no end of keyrings, belt-hooks, and other gadgets by getting my keys caught in my pocket / on something / wear and tear / carrying heavy boxes and "snapping" anything plastic around my belt. It also means that it's now almost impossible to do what I'd previously done several times which was pull out my keys from my pocket and have them spray themselves across the street while I'm left holding an empty keyring / belt clip.
4) I'm forgetful so this might not apply - I take *every* key with me wherever I go. Otherwise I *would* end up just getting out of the house and then going back for my car keys, or locking myself out, or travelling across town to my parents and then finding out I don't have my keys when I get there. Currently that's about 10 keys. I have a separate set of keys for work with a similar arrangement. I have never actually been locked out, or lost my keys, but that's probably more by luck than judgement. However, I've *never* had them stolen, left them behind in the pub, etc. and that's not so reliant on luck.
5) Your keys can be minimised. You don't need to carry your roof key. Keep that indoors. I can understand about keeping the r
Can't believe you people. Put your keys, sar, and whatever else in your Levis watch pocket on one big ring chained to a nice handle, they still make em big, with rivets. Put the handle down your pant leg pocket, make em all wonder if your happy to see um. Makes a mighty fine fly or asshole swatter as well as being hard to lose.
/. # 26156519
I am a sittin here
in the magnetic pe_rin_e_um,
Just a waitin for that storm.....
ditty inspired on date unknown by Waffle Iron,
The solution is ancient.
You need a small pouch with a hole in the bottom.
Thread your chain/strap through the hole.
Fasten the end of the chain/strap that is on the "outside" of the pouch to your pants.
Fasten the end of the chain/strap that is on the "inside" of the pouch to your keys.
Pull on the chain/strap and the keys zip inside the pouch and will not wear your pockets down.
When you are about to open a lock just pull on the longest key to extract the keys from the pouch.
--
Making such a pouch is trivial for the crafty geek, or you can just go to your local leather-workern and get one made for you.
http://www.valleycountry.com.au/catalogue/country_lifestyle/accessories/key_rings/leather_key_pouch
I use a belt pouch. It has room enough to carry my wallet, my keychain (with 13 keys on it -- just counted -- plus a Photon Microlight and a Leatherman Micra, both attached via quickreleases), my Nokia N800 palmtop, 2 pens and a pencil (all three are A.G. Spalding Minis, BTW), and some bills and spare change in a front pocket (so I don't need to pull out the wallet for small payments). I carry my cell phone in its own (smallish) belt pouch, so my belt has the main belt pouch on the right side of the belt buckle, and the cell pouch on the left side.
Some "fashion" people told me that this arrangement is not really fashionable (yes, Edilson, that means you! ;-)), but I couldn't care less: it's practical, confortable, and enables me to carry all essentials on my person at all times with minimum risk of losing any of it).
Best Regards,
Durval Menezes.
I have never met a computer that didn't like me.
I don't drive to work, there's no reason to lock my house, and I have a building pass. The next question would be, what's a wallet?
The only keys I carry are my 2 car keys. On that key ring, I have the auto car door opener and that's it. (Please do note that heavy sets of car keys hanging off the car ignition switch will eventually wear out the switch). The keys to my house I have in the car in case my garage door opener fails. Simple: less is more!
Had the same problem. Just get this: http://www.lederfuchs.de/shop/de/Lederaccessoires/Schluesseltaschen/Schluesselglocke-Leder-BRANCO-Color::19.html (no idea what its called in english), and chain it to your pants using a key chain. the leather will protect your pockets and no more losing anything.
While you still might need to trim down on the number of keys you carry, at least this will protect your pockets, and any mobile that may be sharing a pocket with your keys.
And some of these pouches even have an additional smaller compartment that is handy for items such as USB keys.
I have several key rings on my caribeaner. 1 set is the car, 1 set for the home. but when I drive the car I take the house keys off and put them somewhere in the car. then when I reach the destination I only have to worry about the car keys. When you drive home put the key ring with the house keys back on and you are good to go.
Next installations of this magnificent series:
How do you tie your shoelaces?
Where to keep my cash?
And wait for the grand season finale:
How to wipe your arse!
Ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant.
I keep mine (OpenSSH and GPG public/private keys) in a dedicated directory, with 600 permissions, under $HOME and symbolic link from there.
Since I back up my entire home folder there's no risk of losing my keys.
Hi there, I also have around 6 keys that I need to carry.
However, I do a bit of strategic placing.
Its all a matter of getting into a rut... create a habit.
When I leave home, I pull out my car key...
and after opening the car, I leave my house keys in them and reaching my office, i retrieve my office keys bunch (which has my cabinet keys) and reach my room.
I have a motorcycle parked at the Office that I use in the noon to get around for lunch, shopping, etc. Its keys are on my Office table. SO at lunch I grab them alone and return them to their resting spot on return. In the evening, when am returning home, I leave my office keys in the car and get the house keys.
Hope this helps.
..in this thread has mentioned the obvious. In most of the world (IE the 3rd world) everyone with stuff they really need to secure, hires a guard to watch it. So you never carry a single key, you just wave to the nice man with the gun, and walk on through, leaving your car or motorbike keys in the ignition for the valet to park. Seriously people, step up, if you want to ditch keys, spend some money amd hire yourself a bouncer, doorman, groundsman, valet, elevator guy, housekeeper, driver and bodyguard (to carry your phone).
Waiting for the other shoe to...
My rare-used keys and some other stuff is fixed inside the backpack with plastic cord ties ( http://hovyo.com/ebay/cab-gres/cab_4.gif ) and carabines ( http://image.made-in-china.com/2f0j00qewTJaKGEYbS/Snap-Hook-Carabine-Hook-Din5299-.jpg ) I prefer to carry keys separately, with no single key ring or something, becuause at any place I keep duplicates
As a key hater I only carry one key, good quality combination locks on everything but the car
That's what I found more convenient after more than 40 years of biker/geek life:
No key chain. I only have 2 chains, one chain for my wallet and one for my watch. Chains hinder keys and Swiss Army knife use (but not wallet or watch use).
Each key bundle (bike, house, work) is on its own key ring. All keys ring go on a carabiner. The carabiner is attached to my belt, on the opposed side of the chains. That way the keys are bundled but can be separated by function and the carabiner is easy to get on and off.
My Victorinox Swiss Army knife (Cybertool) goes either in a special Swiss Army knife pocket of my Dainese jacket or in the lighter pocket of my Perfecto jacket. Or in my Levis jean small pockett when it gets too hot to wear leather.
--
El Guerrero del Interfaz
See details here: http://www.reddit.com/r/DIY/comments/c106a/keychain_from_pneumatic_hose_quickrelease_can_be/
I have a pair of 60cm chromed steel key chains, one for my keys, one for my wallet, suffice to say I don't ever loose either and in all honesty the jingle jangle kinda rocks :D
Lifesigns: Present Hair: Escaped Age: Increasing
How about two sets of keyrings? One in each pocket? Better weight distribution and less bulk. Phone left hand pocket, wallet right, your overall distribution would be more balanced as a result. Your 3 keys on one, girlfriends three keys on another, motorbike key, bike key and roof key on your girlfriend's, post box key and car key on yours - this gives you somewhere to stay if you lose one of the sets AND a form of transportation either way.
All the best dreams are unachievable.
So from the post, there are ten keys plus the Swiss Army Knife. Here is what I did: the wife had my put one of those women-things that holds keys and matches the decor. I have three keyrings: work, home and utility.
What it sounds like is that you need to get some copies of your keys and make multiple keyrings. One keyring that has the key to the roof and the postbox. Honestly, how often are you going to the roof without stopping by your apartment and since you would need to be at your place to check the mail, why carry it around? Plus you always know where those keys are.Then keyrings each for your car, bike and motorbike that each has keys to your place and work. If you are using one mode of transportation, most likely you won't be using the other two. The GF's keys, put those on a separate keyring and only use them if she needs you to come over and unlock the door.
From my count:
Keyring 1 - roof and mailbox (two keys) leave at home.
Keyring 2 - car, three house keys, and work key (five keys).
Keyring 3 - bike lock, three house keys, and work key (five keys).
Keyring 4 - motorbike, three house keys, and work key (five keys).
Keyring 5 - girlfriend's keys (three keys).
Keyring 6 - the full set of keys that always gets left at home in case you feel the need to have a bulge in your pocket.
As for the Swiss Army knife - buy a couple more, you wouldn't need one for Keyring 1 or Keyring 5. If four keys and a Swiss Army knife continue to eat through your pockets, your pants may be too tight.
Also, if you are only using the bicycle for recreation, then all you need is the bicycle lock and house keys. Keep those on chain around your neck and don't worry any extra weight.
Other options, probably mentioned: murse, fanny pack, carbiner attached to your belt or backpack (which then adds a carbiner to the mix and more crap AND if you are dressing up, then you don't want the addition of a carbiner hanging off your belt) or learn to live without locks in a tent in the park.
"Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet." General James Mattis
Transfer your keys to a Keyport Slide.
I personally have a key ring that can connect to my belt via carabiner ring. On that I have a "primary" ring that I always keep attached to it - the two for my house, my car, and my bike. I have a separate ring that I can clip on the carabiner that I can unhook from it for my work keys. I have another ring for my parents and my in law's homes which works since they both live out of town. You may also consider reducing the number of keys that you need to use, much less carry. For example my shed has a pass-code lock. At the very least you may want to consider re-keying or replacing your locks to where many of them share the same key. That could help reduce your volume.
I use a modular system by use of a carabiner. Take off what I need, leave the rest somewhere accessible (like a backpack, glovebox, desk drawer, nightstand).
...
The modules on it are:
1) Motorcycle, Garage, Yard Gate
2) My house, crawlspace, shed
3) Parents house indoor & outdoor
4) Car + a ~dozen keychain consumer cards
5) Work keys + 2 factor id token
6) Karate Dojo key, bicycle lock
7) Parent's vehicle
I usually dont need more than 2 pairs of keys at a time, (vehicle and destination). Its not perfect, but I'm not sure whats more annoying, not having a key when I need it, or having a huge bulge in my pocket stab me in the leg constantly. Its still not as annoying as my girlfriend's yawara/Kubotan keychain
I use pgp to handle my keychain of trust, you insensitive clod!
We don't lock anything. House, car, or even bike parked at stores. OK, we lock the house if we're going to be away more than a day or so.
My "key ring" contains a pocket knife, an 8GB thumb drive and a flashlight.
guys - get a life. So many comments on this one ? :-)
Whats the next one ?
"How do you wipe your A## ?"
Cant believe it - cant even believe it that I commented on this
anyway - made me lough - so thanks anyway
A key wallet.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Black-Real-Leather-Wallet-Key-Case/dp/B0019MKB52
I was once out in the boonies wakeboarding and my friend accidentally dropped my keys in the lake. Everything on them, house, car etc. Had to get a locksmith to make me a new car key just to get home. After that I started keeping car keys and house keys separate and having two keyrings. Sometimes I didnt need both, say when I was going somewhere and wasnt driving. Lately, though, I've reduced the number of keys I have and am back to one keyring. The keys I dont use frequently in conjunction with car keys like motorcycle keys i leave at home on the hook.
I have a keychain that uses a spring-loaded clip to attach a second ring. The main, fixed ring holds the "vital" stuff (apartment, mailbox, office, RSA token, swisskey knife); all the other stuff is on secondary rings i can attach and detach at will (girlfriend's keys on one ring, bike keys on another, random friends who've given me keys on a third, parents' keys on a fourth).
This doesn't prevent me from leaving my girlfriend's keys in my kitchen drawer, of course, but in principle, it's a great system.
Media that can be recorded and distributed can be recorded and distributed.
-kfg
Valet key ring. That's the ticket!
Here are a few ways lifehacker has posted about new options to keychains; http://lifehacker.com/349647/diy-compact-keychain - Pop rivet your keys together, only helpful if you have less than 5 keys or so. http://lifehacker.com/399031/diy-leatherman-key-mod - Might work better with a pocket knife and no blades. Again limited to the number of keys.
Keep your high priority keys in your pocket, then make copies of the ones that you don't use to much to keep in your book bag. More keys, more options to distribute.
I mounted a key cabinet on the wall. Nothing fancy, bought it at Home Depot. I put the master key for each item or location (workshop, house, garage, etc.) on a separate tag in the box, labeled by item. Same for spare vehicle keys. I key alike where possible, for example, one key unlocks every door on my house, another the shop, a third the garage. I use the same padlock for almost everything, the exceptions being my fuel oil storage tank and box trailer. Fuel is too valuable to trust to a commonly available Master key code, and the trailer gets parked in some nasty spots, so it needs beefier locks on the doors and anti-theft cables. My wife and I each carry a ring with the keys to our primary vehicle on one end of a quick disconnect and keys for the house, shop, key cabinet, and the common master padlock on the other end. We have garage door openers, so no key needed there. My ring has an extra male quick disconnect which I use whenever I tow a trailer. I group sets of keys by trailer on a ring in the key cabinet, so I can just grab, hook and go. Each personal keyring has a carabiner. I keep mine on a belt loop, my wife hooks hers inside her purse. I also have a work truck, and a remote office and storage cage I rarely visit. Both sets of keys for the truck are kept in the cabinet. One set has a carabiner, the other is a spare. On the set I carry, I keep the office and storage cage keys, plus a set of gate keys for various other work facilities, and a spare quick disconnect so I can take my house/shop keys. Work has their shit together, there are four gate keys for the entire nation, and the facilities themselves all use an access system that allows security to track the comings and goings of employees and contractors. Any time I go anywhere, I carry less than a dozen keys at most, and often no more than half of that.
This isn't the sig you're looking for... Move along.
Dump the keys, learn how to pick locks. A lock picking kit is way lighter and smaller.
Life takes interesting turns, but the most interest is when you're off the beaten path.
For 15 years I bought slacks from stores like Lands End for prices like $45.
But the keys and pen in my pocket often wore through the pockets over 4 months.
I decided slacks get designed for the delicate look, resulting in un-delicate wear.
For 2 years now, I instead wear twill slack-like workers pants to my dress-in-a-tie office.
I searched internet for something like "automotive" and "pants",
from which I started purchasing Red Kap and Dickies pants.
I now largely buy Red Kap pants which sometimes have a button rather than clasp closure.
The Red Kap models that have satisfied me are
PT10
PT62
PZ20 -- I started wearing to see if they pill less
PT60 -- I started wearing to see if they pill less
These pants cost $15 to $18, which made me wary since I was comfortable with Lands End pants costing $45.
These inexpensive pants are not "cheap" pants,
as I have never worn a hole in Red Kap pockets and (unlike Lands End) I have had no seams rip.
While I have bought Red Kap from a few companies,
I now buy from
http://www.automotiveworkwear.com
So, find who needs durable pants (mechanics) and buy the pants they buy.
Was I the online one thinking about ssh and openssl, after reading the title?
First off, reduce the number of keys you *have* to carry. Then bind the remaining ones with a rubber band. Viola, no more jingly noise.
Get a coat with Time Lord pockets: they're bigger on the inside.
As an added bonus, you can store a screwdriver, a bottle of water, emergency meal, flashlight, spare cell phone, spare sunglasses, etc. etc. in there.
This guy is obviously a mess and might as well use a fanny pack... nobody could think less of him.
I have all sorts of keys (two cars and a motorcycle, plus office, house, bike lock) a paypal fob and a microtech.
Solution? Carabiner. just clip it to a belt loop and go.
In Soviet Russia jokes are formulaic and decidedly non-humorous.
Here's your solution -- keep your keyrings, etc. in a sporran.
Also gives you a great excuse to wear a kilt and calf-length socks.
I don't know if anyone has suggested it yet, however if i read correctly and the problem is jingling a RUBBER BAND sounds like quite a simple solution... those along with paper clips and duct tape are usually the best solution
-nwmann
I use my keys as a potential weapon. Simply get one of those I Love Jesus straps that allows you to hang your keys from your neck. Make certain that you have enough weight in keys or whatever hanging from your key chain. When i walk about I carry the strap in my hand in such a way that I can quickly swing and bash any attacker. If you need more weight hang a small padlock on the keyring.
Not only will it not rub against you leg while you walk it will also add to your appearance as no keys will bulge in your pocket and hitting an attacker up side the head by swinging that keyring on a strap will put down a strong attacker.
So... I was surprised noone had posted this...
recently, i had an office/studio and was looking at the 5 keys for that studio (building front, building back, washroom, office front, office back, studio) plus the 2 for my home. 3 partners in the business. We brought in a locksmith who for a relatively small charge (a few hundred dollars) set us up with the following:
1 key for each partner that opened ALL the doors on that partners home, and all the keys in the building. They would not open the other partners' houses.
1 key for office staff that opened everything at the building except the studio
1 key for studio staff that opened everything except the office
1 key that opened everything in the building but not our houses
1 key that opened only the washroom (so we could give the public a key to use the washroom)
1 key that opened only the building front and back - we had copies made and gave this to the other tenants (as we had changed the locks to the building - with the building management firm's blessing of course) who were happy to trade two keys for 1
I have used a similar strategy for anything I have control over ever since.
For anything metallic, stick the key to it in the box, and magnet it to the underside. IE: The underside of your car.
For the rest, put the key in the hidey-rock, and place in a convenient yet inconspicuous location
Now you never need to carry the key with you. It's already there. Sure, someone might find it and use it, but if they were that determined to break into your house / car / girlfriend, they'd do it anyways.
UTF-8: There and Back Again
I carry a purse. Why men don't have something to carry their stuff in is one of those mysteries of culture and civilization.
In addition, I divide my keys up into sets: car keys on one ring, house keys on another, mom's house keys on a third, because I really don't trust random valet parking employees with the keys to my house, safety deposit box, etc. They only get the car ring, or even the sub-ring for that particular car (I have the car keys on dependent rings for each car, because pulling one key off from a bunch when you leave it for repairs is a tedious PITA.) So, when I go for a walk in the park, I don't have to lug along my purse--just DL and the car ring in my pockets. At work I have a change-purse for lunch money, and badge access, so I don't have to lug around my purse all day.
So, if you don't want to carry a purse, divide your keys into sets by usage, and only carry the rings you need for that errand or activity. Keep the rest in a standard place.
---dragoness
My personal solution to the OP's question is a zip-up pouch that I place on my trousers' belt (similar to those you might put your phone in).
Keys are easily accessible, they do not punch through pockets and it is easy to place that pouch in the same place every evening when going to bed - therefore quasi-impossible to forget or mislead. I always wear a belt, that may not be for everyone, but as I don't tend to change trousers' many times a day it makes it quite convenient to not even think about where my keys are: when they are not on my belt, they have to be in the only location where I put them at night or in my hands. Rule one: whenever I open the door out of the house I check that I have my keys with me (and my wallet and my phone too).
HPH,
w.
i too have (or had) home, g/f, work, shop, and vehicles keys...
plus my storage space, bicycle and motorcycle locks, pool cue locker at the local billiards, and a whole bunch associated with the motorcycle racing trailer etc. yes i obsess over keys a lot. makes me feel twelve but whatever.
a couple of things i accepted:
- while at a normal 'work-day' i don't need to be able to go 'elsewhere' on spur of moment.
- most of my office keys can stay in the office.
- i don't need to check my snail mail every single damn day.
what i ended up doing works very well for me but does take a bit of planning (but honestly if you're even semi conscious it's not hard).
i made four separate rings (because this would be nuts to carry with me even most of the time):
1) HOME. thankfully only two keys for me, two more for g/f, key for the pool cue locker, and a final sixth to my office door at work. six is more than i wanted but it's workable. this always goes in pocket. _always_
2) WORK. two keys for storage rooms, keys to four subordinate's offices (they have mine too), about five to various lockable file and parts drawers. this ring stays in my office and doesn't go home with me.
3) SHOP. two keys for the roll-top padlocks, one for the front door, and another for the inner private door. one more for shop mailbox. NOTE - i put my personal mailbox key on this ring, as well as one for 'padlocks' (which we'll get to)
4) RACING. one for the trailer tongue lock, one for the back and side-door padlocks, two backups for my buddy's pickup, two backup keys for the racebikes (they're production based so yes have keys), again i put my personal mailbox key on this ring, as well as one for 'padlocks'.
- if i'm just going to work, or out to play pool, or over to see her, i'm all set. same ring, always in pocket.
- if i'm going to my shop i grab that ring and it goes in my bag (because i'm almost always carrying something there anyway).
- ditto the racing 'ring'.
- all my vehicle keys have their own ring and just a leather fob since i can't stand that shit banging around on the ignition.
- if you look around you can find some very high quality weatherproof padlocks in multiple sets with one common key. look for the serial number on the package and dig in the shelves and you can find multiple packages. i've got eight nice all weather masterlocks common to one key. i use them for the b/c lock cables, the m/c lock cables, the storage locker padlock, etc.
so yes i generally only check my snail mail when i'm heading out to my shop, which is about twice a week. bit me. of course if i'm expecting something important i can just grab a ring when i'm doing laundry or something and go downstairs and check.
and i can now put my contact info prominently inside my bag for the return of the bag because it never contains keys associated with my home address.
-bc
Car key, wife's van key, home key
;)
the end... fits in my pocket well. The rest of you need less crap to be responsible for
Perhaps you have been using yours over the wrong body parts... I use mine in front... :-)
Best Regards,
Durval Menezes.
I have never met a computer that didn't like me.
I have:
Car keys (2)
Motorcycle Keys (3)
Scooter Keys (2)
House Keys (9)
Work keys (11)
MISC other keys that I use sometimes (20)
And more that I use less frequently.
I have multiple key chains.
What I do, is I put the most often used keys on one ring (house keys). These are the keys, that regardless of what else changes, I am going to need on a daily, or semi-daily basis.
I have a series of "Valet" key chains. This is a key chain that has two rings on it, and will seperate with the push of a button. I have the female receiver mounted on my daily key ring, and the male side mounted on the keyrings I use less frequently.
Next to my front door, I have a series of the female valet key parts hanging from hooks, and I hang my vehicle key rings from them. As I leave in the morning, I grab the keyring that is associated with the vehicle I am taking for the day, and clip it to my daily key ring.
Work keys are held on a "key-bak"retractable key chain clipped to my belt.
A note regarding ignition keys.
If you have your ignition key on a ring with a bunch of other keys, you are running a risk of injury, and damage to your car.
The added weight of a ridiculously large key wad hanging from the ignition switch will wear out the ignition switch prematurely, resulting in the switch either breaking, or just getting so worn out that you can use a screwdriver to start your car. Also, if you are in an accident and any of your keys are between you knee and the dash, those keys will be IN your knee once you stop. It hurts, trust me.
As for the other keys that are rarely used, but still important (like safe deposit boxes, storage lockers, etc.) get a key box, tag the keys individually (so you remember what they are) and hang them up. Better yet, keep them in a safe that is bolted through your floor, or at least bolted to a very large piece of furniture. (If someone won't take kindly to bolt holes in their building)
Keys left on your person are inherently insecure, so no one should really carry more keys around than what they really need for the day.
Carrying all your keys, all the time, is like wearing your parka to the beach because, hey, you've got a parka, you should have it with you... Car key and house key on one keychain. Bike key and house key on another. Maybe girlfriend's key too, if you frequently visit her by bike... Get the picture?
History doesn't repeat itself, but it rhymes quite often. -- Mark Twain
For your mangina? Sounds fishy to me.
Watashi wa chikyubutsurigakusha desu.
I do multiple sets of keys..
I have my truck key with a Swiss Army knife on one key chain (don't want a lot of weight hanging from the ignition switch and things hitting my leg)
then another set with the truck door opener, house keys (for multiple houses), some other small keys (trailer,etc). (by keeping the door opener from the truck key, I never get locked out of my truck) (and the house key from the truck key, I can leave the truck running to run in the house for something that I missed)
I have another with my work keys and flash drives
there is another set that is in my truck with some other house keys (other family/friend house keys) and some keys that I never use.
got another small set of keys (in truck) with the keys for the cap and car-top storage box.
I have yet another set of keys for my motorcycle that is just the keys for it and a small garage door opener. (if I ride the motorcycle the truck key ring stays home)
so I end up with two sets of keys that I normally carry. add a 3rd set when I'm working.
then the others will be in my truck or at home.
http://www.amazon.com/Kikkerland-SUPER-KEYRING-detatchable-Removable/dp/B000KPUETW
Problem solved.
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
with my knife, Surefire 6P and spare magazine (or HKS speedloader, depends on the day).
If you've got to carry that mess, get an old fashioned key case. At least it'll save wear and tear on your pants.
A heavy key ring can mess up the ignition of your car over time, among other things.
I realized I never really used my house key, so I took it off. The garage door opener in my truck did 90% of the work when I got home, and for the few other times, the numeric keypad remote on the wall for the garage door opener did the remaining 9%. I've got a key lockbox in the event the garage door opener or something fails. I suppose this is theoretically marginally less secure than a key that is in my possession at all times, but having a dog means anybody who's breaking in is already very determined & wouldn't be slowed down by that anyway.
I ditched the car alarm fob for my wife's car as I rarely drive it & can just use the key.
I have my truck key, truck key fob, wife's car key & the mailbox key. Work keys are on a separate ring & mostly stay at work.
Try and get your locks re-keyed to use the same key, so you can replace multiple keys with 1 key. Also get rid of decorative junk on your keyring, they don't serve much in the way of a technical purpose, but add weight & bulk.
I keep my keys on a smart card, and they're escrowed to a KMS
I have 15 keys, a USB thumb drive, and a mini-flashlight on my keyring and I've always just carried them in my front right pocket. I've never lost my keys because I have strict self-discipline about where they go. They always go back in my pocket, even if I'm setting them down just for a second. They go on the nightstand when I go to bed, not before, and they go back in the pocket when I get out of bed.
I've used two approaches for this. First, let me state that my key ring typically has: 3 house keys, 2 garage/shed keys, 4 work keys, safe/cabinet keys, and 5 vehicle keys.
* Multiple keyrings. These are attached with a carbiner clip and can be easily removed/added easily.
* A "key book-clip". This is something I made with a 2.5" or so square piece of steel, a small bolt, a toothed washer, and two nuts. The steel is bent 'crescent shaped' like a book binding. A hole gets drilled through the steel binding, and the keys become the 'book pages'. The bolt/screw goes through the hole with the keys, a nut, and the washer on the inside, with the other nut on the outside to hold it snug.
The corners of the "book" are rounded so there are no jagged edges. I've been trying to figure out how to use a tension clip to hold the keys in the binding, but it seems to work pretty well without one.
~/ssh slashdot.org ssh: connect to host slashdot.org port 22: too many beers
Dump the girlfriend. Knock down the extra doors and take the bus.
There may be no "I" in team, but there's also no "F" in way.
Maybe this will work for you:
http://www.mykeyport.com/
That's the way I keep my keys. Hook to one of the belt loops near the pocket and I can swing the keys into the pocket if they get too jingly.
I also do the same. I also used to be a jingley mess. I still am when I throw on my car keys. I do the Carabiner and belt loop thing, and have for years. However I have myself down to one key now (house key), and don't carry the rest with me, I keep them at home. The exception of course is when I have my car keys. If I am wearing a jacket, I put my car keys in one of the pockets, if not then it goes with my house key on my carabiner belt loop (5$ cheap no load) and I jingle a bit. Though some people sometimes make fun of the fact that I have a carabiner, and a key loop, with one key on it... Of course when it is full and jingly, you are the janitor, so you can't really win.
As an aside, a funny story: As I said I have been wearing my keys on a carabiner for years. I also get used to where they are. Anyway many years ago just after University, I was having a night out with friends at the bar. We got well and fully tanked. We decided to head back to my apartment as I lived downtown and was close to the bars. We were going to continue the party and order pizza etc... fun times. Anyway it was in the second floor of an apartment complex. It was also the middle of winter in Canada. Anyway we get back to the building and I reach down for my carabiner for my keys. They are gone. I freak out a bit and we are all a bit drunk. Anyway I had a fix to the situation. I went into the snowy parking lot in the back alley, and jumped up to climb up the icy (and not so sturdy) fire escape to the building next to mine. I then proceeded to jump across to the roof just under my window (and my friends watch from the parking lot falling down in the ice). Once on the roof, I try to force the window open, and end up just kicking it in (I didn't break the pane of glass somehow, just broke off the butterfly clips that held the frame in place, it landing on my bed probably helped). Now I climb into my apartment, and I am now able to buzz up my friends through security and let them in. Once everyone is in, we get down to business which is beers and ordering pizza. Someone asks me what I want to order, and I say "hold on" as I have to check to see how much cash I have left over from the bar as I have no idea. So I reach my hand into my pocket to get my wallet and find...my keys.
I keep an non-essential keys in my car's center console. Then just have my car key. Park the car in the garage (use the garage door opener) and have an alarm on your house. 1 Key is all I ever carry. Or get a car with prox capability and push button start and you never need to carry keys.
Cut or file the bows of all your keys so the new bow is only as thick as the blade of the key itself. Call this revised bow the tang of the key. Drill a hole in the tang of all your keys. Run a sturdy cotterpin through all the holes. Memorize the order of your keys, or use paint of polish on the tang. Now you fold out the one key you want to use and the other keys are a handle. You have now succeeded in reducing the total weight of your keys and they stack on one another so they no longer poke you in the leg or jingle. I call this an Ayres key.
I changed all the doorknobs at my house to use codes. I then took the keys and stuck them in a lockbox outside in case the batteries go dead on the doorknobs.
I now only carry my car keys and my work keys.
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Don't know about others, but my favorite was having two key rings, each on the end of a length of 550 cord that could drape around my neck like a maile lei. With enough keys on each end, it made for a fairly good improvised weapon as a striking instrument, and could also be used as a garotte (yes, I understand that that could go both ways if you kept it hanging around your neck.
It wasn't directly connected to the body, so if you needed to give your keys to someone without fiddling with something, you could. Worst case scenario, you could fit it in your pocket. The clinky clinky of the keys against your chest was a constant reminder that you still had your keys, and when you needed to use them, it was a simple grab and go -> no fiddling with pockets or unchaining something from your belt loop.
Since those halcyon days of yore, I've greatly simplified my keys so they just fit on one key ring in my pocket, but back in the day of a bazillion keys, 550 cord worked wonders.
One way to cut down... have your locks match one key..
Here is a customer we did a site for... interesting product and direction -- rather than you finding more keys to fit more locks, the locks fit your keys.
http://www.boltlock.com/
~Triverajosh
There are little box-shaped things you can get that act as a key dispenser or sorts. It's a key-length tall, a key-width deep, and wide enough to fit ~5-6 keys side by side the thin way. Each key fits into a slot at the top so that all keys are in the box, and each slot has a slider on the side of the box that pushes the respective key out far enough to expose the teeth, but still in the box and able to be retracted after use. It's sort of like those big pens that can write in a bunch of different colors, except they're your keys. It fits on a keychain, oversize keys won't fit, but it's a good start. Googled quickly, found this, but there are cheapo versions around as well.
If I were you, I'd buy key-rings in different colors (one of them would be a hello-kitty ring) and a cool key-management system like this one: http://www.outblush.com/women/images/2008/11/swoop-magnetic-key-file.gif
I only have a car key. The car has my mailbox key in it. My car also has a garage door opener. When I bike the neighborhood I don't take keys since I have a button box for the garage. Wife lives here, no roof access, and the house door has both locks locked.
If someone stole my car, they wouldn't know what house to use the opener (and I can wipe its access since it's a Sears opener). They could only steal my mail (a federal offense) if they could ever figure out which unmarked box among hundreds is mine.
Other keys (for the safe) are hidden in the house.
Science & open-source build trust from peer review. Learn systems you can trust.
I don't use these but thought it would eliminate the need for keys altogether: http://www.selfdefenseproducts.com/Beginner-Lock-Pick-Set-p-16146.html
You can go to a police supply store and buy a key keeper that uniformed officers use all over the world. It hangs on your belt with a leather snap-around wrap to keep your keys & knife together so they don't flop around making noise..How could a policeman sneak up on you if his keys were jingling on his belt.
Take your cue from the Slashdot logo for this section - use combination padlocks wherever you can.
A long time ago, I went to a locksmith and ordered a box of combination locks, all with the same combination. I memorized that one combination and now I'm set - anytime I can secure something with a padlock, I use one of those.
I realize this won't work for most of your keys, but maybe your bike?
If you want to share access with someone, don't give them the combination to all your locks - have him or her get another padlock and shackle them together, with a length of chain or cable, to secure the object. Anyone who can open either lock can get to it.
I usually carry two keyrings with me. One has a house key and my keys I routinely use for work. I also carry a keyring that has my car key and remote fob on it, and nothing else. That way if I lose my car key ring, I still have my other keys, and vice versa. Each of my vehicles has its own independent keyring. Keys I only need for around the house like garage, power equipment, gates, etc. are all on their own ring. Back in college it was the same way. totally seperate car key ring and then my dorm keys, lab keys, and whatnot. It is a system that has worked very well for me over the years. I have yet to lose a single key as far as I can remember. One keyring for all is an eggs in one basket situation.
I put a bolt thru mine instead of a key ring.
For you tech-geeks, one key. Simple, secure and cheap. With high encryption and a cool interface? http://www.iloq.com/
Beats the crap out of assa cliq...
That happens when you never enter home ... for 38 years
--- I am known for the ones who want to find me on the net. Is that a privacy risk or a privilege? One might wonder..
Get a small (4-5 piece) lockpicking kit. That way you don't have to carry any keys with you :)
My keys are safely and conveniently stored away in my secstore!
Oh? You don't mean cryptographic keys? Then nevermind =)
"When in doubt, use brute force." Ken Thompson
one word "carabiner" wear it through your belt loop
I split mine into four categories.
The work set only has work oriented keys. I usually leave these behind when on vacation or traveling.
I have a car set that I try to keep as light as possible so that it doesn't destroy the ignition switch. I seem to recall that having too many keys on a key chain can cause problems with the ignition. I KNOW that I had to replace at least one ignition switch on a car when I used to have the keychain of doom.
High use keys not in the prior categories go on the third keychain, which is actually a pair of keychains. This includes house keys, PO Box keys and assorted lock keys.
There are other keys that have a low usage rate and are therefore kept on a keychain that is stored in a location other than the bedroom. In some instances their backups are stored in a secured location, just in case the primary set gets misplaced.
Note on wear and tear of pockets: A lot depends upon the quality of the pockets. I have two brands of jeans that I purchased at the same time and wear at about the same frequency. One brand has holes in the pockets after three years of usage. The other brand has intact pockets. They both cost about the same.
I hate keys so I don't lock my house and installed a toggle switch in my subaru so that it doesn't use a key.
I actually just did the key trim. I have one ring with car remote, home remote, office key, and USB Stick. The rest of the keys are on a bigger ring and the rings fit together. I leave the slug in the car, lock with remote and walk away happy. My pants stay up.