Keys | Part 1

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For years I’ve kept this wonky key collection.
All shapes and sizes.

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It really started with my Grandad after he died when I was about 10. He used to shoot pheasants and rabbits (pests, apparently) around the farms and fields of Leeds. He had all sorts of things like guns, slingshots, tools, keys, belts.

When clearing out his things from his shed there was a tin of really old chunky keys which I remember catching my eyes.

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I loved the way they looked and felt. I bet each has a unique story. Some of them are very old and WAY bigger than they are them now.
They could be keys to a castle!

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We took them home and they lived in the garage for more years to just be forgotten.

I discovered it again about 5 years ago and started to build the weird collection up even more.
(sorry about the label 😂 I added it when moving house)

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They’re not arranged or stored in any order.
There’s also no plan for the keys as of yet other than maybe an interesting mounted art piece for the house.

I just add keys to the tin when I find one that doesn’t have a use anymore.

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The plan is to clean all the keys with my kids.
Make it a fun project. Here’s my eldest helping to sort them out.

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I’ve read that Cola is a good deep cleaner for rusted metals, so after a bath of washing up liquid to de-grease we will soak them in Coke for 24 hours.

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If Coke is good for eroding metals then I certainly don’t want that shit in my stomach, even if it does taste a bit moreish.
Let’s face it, Coke is sugary sweet delicious 😂
Great for rotting teeth and cleaning keys!
Ahhhh, Classic Coke!

Keep an eye open for Part 2 :)

hive-132936 upcycle ecency curie palnet teamuk ocd
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37 comments
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Old keys are pretty cool. Damn that's a lot of them - a shit load!
I see a few bottle openers in there as well. I suppose that those are a type of key as well

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Haha! And yes there were quite a few bottle openers in there that we sifted through. Still gonna clean them up and put them to use! 🍻

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(Edited)

this was one of the most intresting for me posts in a while. and a great story to read. I am collecting keys too and my box is apparently by 200 times less intresting and impressive than yours.... sadly I didnt inherit anything from my grannies except of an old handmade boot knife... and the real vintage keys like in your photos - they may be obtained only at the price of the valued vintage staff... damn times. I cannot buy anything, out of the question! - and the stuff like that never comes into my hands. my keys are shiny and far less intresting, heh. nominated your story for #OCD curation. cheers! and a !BEER

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Oh wow, that’s such a lovely comment!
Yeah I liked writing about this and I hoped it would resonate with someone.
I’ve no idea how anyone would value these keys. I didn’t even think they would have value to be honest, only my own sentimental value.

New shiny keys are ace though, you can do a fun project with those I’m sure.
Thanks for the curation nomination, that very kind of you 🙌🏻

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(Edited)

I understand it this way (sorry, now I will say a cynical thing) - the planet's population is growing, many also want to own a vintage collection of their own, want to enjoy old things, but those things simply have nowhere to come from! and what the folks are supposed to do, then? rob the previous owners? the number of old things is limited, moreover, some of them become unusable over time, and become "erased" from circulation. according to the law of supply / demand, supply is limited and decreases, and demand only grows from year to year.

A typical example: in the early 2000s, I used to buy a lot of mag/newspaper clippings on Ebay, whole cuttings collections costed me ... £ 5-10 excluding shipping. nowadays many sellers put this £ 10 label tag on ONE newspaper page!

I'm not a collector, I just like old things, and my grandparents left almost nothing of this kind to my family. nowadays it is impossible to buy such a thing on the market - given the current pricing trends for vintage - it is impossible. thats it....

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this is one from my collection -- used it as a props in this sudden improvised photosession. thanks one more time, was pleased to enjoy your "valued" keys and talk about it :)

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I've got a fair few old keys. I actually just brought one in that's been hanging in the shed for years, It's one of those old style ones, but I've no idea what it's for. I do have one big old lock with a key. I had though of making a mount to hang it on the wall.

I was thinking there must be loads of old keys around as they are tough things that will last. I am trying to clear out useless stuff lately, so some pointless keys may go to the scrap metal dump.

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They can be aesthetic but mainly useless, these old keys.

Sounds like your lock and key would be perfect as a mounted piece on the wall

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at least 3 use cases that I can imagine:

a) props for photography
b) creation of a good Feng Shui conditions
c) decorating the room, providing all the supposed aesthetical benefits the vintage stuff can give.

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Agree. I’ve used my keys in a music video to decent effect!

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so some pointless keys may go to the scrap metal dump.

dont do that, Steve! better sell them over eBay 🙏

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Maybe I can sell them to @ashtv

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This sounds interesting! I’d love to see some pics.
I could pay HBD for keys and postage. Let’s see what you’ve got!

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Well I was joking a bit as I want to keep the interesting ones. I will have to see what else I have. I am trying to clear out some junk generally.

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ofc, for some juicy HIVEs :)))

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When we had our house painted, I used Coke to clean all the brass work that came off the front door and the windows. Worked pretty well! You have a LOT of keys to clean. Good job you have helpers! :)

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Ah that’s cool! I bet it works well on brass. I’ve never done a Coke clean before but I’ll leave it over night and see.

My workers can be helpful, sometimes.

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That's an interesting story man and a hell of a lot of keys, why not make one giant key out of them all like the throne in Game of Thrones made out of all the swords haha

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That is a GREAT idea!

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Some of those old iron or steel keys might not benefit from an acid bath. Whatever surface treatment or protectant is on them could be affected. If it's just oil protecting them, the soap bath can take that away. Anything magnetic would probably benefit from a light coat of gun oil.

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Good to know, cheers 👍🏻
So far the Cola seems to have done bugger all

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to have done bugger all

what d'you mean - they became even more rusty?..

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Haha nah, I mean to be fair they do appear slightly less brown after the few hours they’ve had. I’ve taken them out now and I’ll see how they look after drying out.

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ok. I agree with gun oil aforementioned. cheers!

!BEER

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was wondering how will that go. tried to give the a polish before letting them dry?

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You’ll have to wait for the next post 😉

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(Also yes, it seemed to have worked nicely😀)

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I found myself here because I was curious to know how you ended up owning such huge amount of keys 😂
Great to see you still have some old stuffs from your Dad intact

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