How does a lock and key work?
The Secret Handshake
How does a lock and key work?
You slide a key into a lock, turn it, and click — the door opens. But inside that little brass cylinder, something clever is happening. A secret handshake between metal shapes, perfectly matched.
Inside the lock, hidden pins are stacked like tiny metal columns. Each pin has two parts: a bottom pin that touches your key, and a top pin that sits above it. Right now, those top pins are jamming down into the cylinder, holding everything locked tight.
