---
title: "Kwikset pinning chart and Schlage pin calculator · LockCommand"
description: "Free Kwikset and Schlage pinning chart calculator. Type the key cuts and get the bottom, master and top pin for every chamber, with MACS checked and a card to print."
url: https://lockcommand.com/tools/pinning-calculator
---

[Free tool · no account needed](https://lockcommand.com/tools)

# Kwikset and Schlage pinning chart calculator

Type the cuts on the key and get the pin for every chamber. Add a master key and it works out the master pins too, checks MACS, draws the pin stacks and prints a pinning card.

## Lock and keys

Example keys from the maker’s manual

Depths 1 to 7, MACS 4. Cuts read bow to tip.

5 digits, first cut nearest the bow. Spaces or dashes are fine.

### Kwikset 5-pin (KW1) specs

**Depth step**

.023"

**Depths**

1 to 7 (#7 for builders' and master keys only)

**MACS**

4

**Progression**

Single-step allowed

**Cut spacing**

.247", .397", .547", .697", .847" from the shoulder

**Root depths**

1: .329", 2: .306", 3: .283", 4: .260", 5: .237", 6: .214", 7: .191"

## Pins for each chamber

| Chamber | Cuts (key 1 / key 2) | Bottom pin | Master pin | Top pin |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | 5 / 3 | #3 (.218") | #2 (.046") | .160" |
| 2 | 4 / 4 | #4 (.241") | None | .160" |
| 3 | 6 / 2 | #2 (.195") | #4 (.092") | .160" |
| 4 | 3 / 5 | #3 (.218") | #2 (.046") | .160" |
| 5 | 5 / 2 | #2 (.195") | #3 (.069") | .160" |

Chamber 1 is nearest the bow. Master keyed, so every chamber takes a .160" top pin, not the standard .180".

Check against your manufacturer's pinning chart before you load the plug.

## Chamber diagram

Bottom pin  Master pin  Top pin  Shear line with key 1  Where the master key lines up

## Pinning card

Pinning card

Date: ______________

**Door or job**

Unit 4, front door

**Lock**

Kwikset 5-pin (KW1)

**Key 1**

54635

**Master key**

34252

| Chamber | Bottom | Master | Top |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | #3 | #2 | .160" |
| 2 | #4 | None | .160" |
| 3 | #2 | #4 | .160" |
| 4 | #3 | #2 | .160" |
| 5 | #2 | #3 | .160" |

Chamber 1 is nearest the bow. Check against your manufacturer's pinning chart. Made with the free pinning calculator at lockcommand.com/tools.

Snap the printed card and add it to the job with before and after photos, so the next tech knows how that lock is pinned.

[Keep job photos in LockCommand](https://app.lockcommand.com/sign-up?from=tool-pinning-calculator)

## How to use it

Rekeying a residential cylinder comes down to one rule: the cut number on the key is the bottom pin number. A 4 cut takes a #4 bottom pin, in Kwikset and in Schlage. The calculator does that lookup for every chamber, adds master pins when two keys must work, and stops the keys that can't be cut in the first place. The two pin charts below are the numbers it uses.

### Kwikset pinning chart

Kwikset (KW1) cuts are .023" apart. The bottom pins run from #1 at .172" to #6 at .287", and master pins are .023" times their number. Top pins are all one size: .180" in a single keyed lock and .160" in every chamber of a master keyed or construction keyed one. Kwikset makes no factory #7 bottom pin; the 7 depth is for builders' and factory master keys.

| Cut | Root depth | Bottom pin | Master pin |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| #1 | .329" | .172" | .023" |
| #2 | .306" | .195" | .046" |
| #3 | .283" | .218" | .069" |
| #4 | .260" | .241" | .092" |
| #5 | .237" | .264" | .115" |
| #6 | .214" | .287" | .138" |
| #7 | .191" | None (no factory #7) | None |

### Schlage pinning chart

Schlage Classic (SC1) cuts are .015" apart, from 0 to 9. Bottom pins run from #0 at .165" to #9 at .300". Master pins start at #2 (.030"), because Schlage keys its systems in two-step progression and makes no #1. The top pin depends on the chamber's pin stack total, the bottom number plus the master number: 0 to 3 takes a #1 (.235"), 4 to 6 a #2 (.200"), and 7 to 9 a #3 (.165").

| Cut | Root depth | Bottom pin | Master pin |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| #0 | .335" | .165" | None |
| #1 | .320" | .180" | None (no #1) |
| #2 | .305" | .195" | .030" |
| #3 | .290" | .210" | .045" |
| #4 | .275" | .225" | .060" |
| #5 | .260" | .240" | .075" |
| #6 | .245" | .255" | .090" |
| #7 | .230" | .270" | .105" |
| #8 | .215" | .285" | .120" |
| #9 | .200" | .300" | .135" |

### How to use the calculator

1. Pick the lock: Kwikset or Schlage, 5 or 6 pins.
2. Type the customer's key, first cut nearest the bow. 54635, 5-4-6-3-5 and 5 4 6 3 5 all work.
3. For a master keyed cylinder, add the master key. For a lock that two different change keys must open, pick "Second change key".
4. Load the pins from the table, test every key, then print the card or save it as a PDF for the job file.

### How to read the key

Use a key gauge or the code. Both makers read their keys from the bow to the tip, so cut 1 is the one nearest the shoulder. On a Kwikset gauge, set the flat of the cut against the step and read the number beside it. A 6-pin Kwikset key has an extra cut ahead of cut 1 that Kwikset calls the 0-position. In a 5-pin plug you skip it; in a 6-pin plug it's the first chamber. Kwikset doesn't print key codes on its packaging, so the gauge is usually the only way.

### Two keys in one lock: master pins

With two keys, the smaller cut in each chamber is the bottom pin and the difference between the two cuts is the master pin. No difference means no master pin. Kwikset manual example: tenant key 5-4-6-3-5, master key 3-4-2-5-2. The smaller cuts give bottom pins 3-4-2-3-2 and the differences give master pins 2-0-4-2-3. Chamber 2 has no master pin because both keys have a 4 there, and every chamber takes a .160" top pin. That's the example the tool opens with, so you can check it against the master keying pages of the manual.

A Schlage example, from Allegion's manuals: change key 123029 with master 361605. Bottom pins are 1-2-1-0-0-5 and master pins 2-4-2-6-2-4. The stack totals are 3, 6, 3, 6, 2 and 9, so the top pins are #1, #2, #1, #2, #1 and #3. Two keys whose cuts are one apart in any chamber can't share a Schlage cylinder, because there is no #1 master pin. The tool stops you there. For a whole building rather than one door, the [master key planner](https://lockcommand.com/tools/master-key-planner) works out the change keys for you.

### MACS: keys that can't be cut

MACS (maximum adjacent cut specification) is the biggest difference allowed between two cuts side by side. Go past it and the steep step leaves no flat for the pin, so the key binds going in or won't come back out. Kwikset is 4 and Schlage is 7. A Kwikset key of 1-6-2-4-3 is not a real key: 1 next to 6 is five steps.

### Are Kwikset and Schlage pins the same?

No. The steps (.023" against .015"), the pin lengths and the numbering are all different, so a Kwikset pin kit can't pin a Schlage plug or the other way round. Buy a kit for each, or a combined kit with both sets. Kwikset SmartKey locks aren't repinned at all: they rekey with the current key, the new key and a SmartKey tool, or a reset cradle when the key is lost.

Rekeying for someone who just moved in? Check ID and proof that they live there before you start. LockCommand keeps [ID and proof photos](https://lockcommand.com/features/id-and-proof) on the job with the before and after photos. For interchangeable cores, use the [SFIC pinning calculator](https://lockcommand.com/tools/sfic-pinning-calculator) instead: a core has a second shear line.

### Sources

Last checked October 2026.

- Kwikset, [Rekeying with Kwikset Locks](https://images.kwikset.com/is/content/Kwikset/Redesign%202019/Literature/Documents/KW-REKEY-MANUAL.pdf) : .023" pin steps, cut number equals pin number, gauging bow to tip, the 0-position on 6-pin keys, master pins from the difference, #7 for builders' keys, .160" top pins for master keying, and the worked examples.
- Schlage, [Primus service manual](https://commercial.schlage.com/content/dam/allegion-us-2/web-files/schlage/technical-documents/Schlage_Primus_Service_Manual_108482.pdf) (same specs as Schlage Classic keys) and [large format core manual](https://commercial.schlage.com/content/dam/allegion-us-2/web-files/schlage/technical-documents/Schlage_LFIC_Service_Manual_015806.pdf) : MACS 7, .015" steps, two-step progression, cuts read bow to tip, root depths, spacing, bottom pins #0 to #9, master pins #2 to #9 and top pins by stack total.
- Allegion, [What is the maximum adjacent cut specification or MACS?](https://kc.allegion.com/kb/article/what-is-the-maximum-adjacent-cut-specification-or-macs) : MACS 7 for Schlage conventional keyways.
- Tyler J. Thomas, [Key Bitting Specifications](https://lsamichigan.org/Tech/KeyBittingSpecifications-TylerJThomas.pdf) (2025), and the [CLK Supplies MACS chart](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0839/9519/files/MACS.pdf) : Kwikset MACS 4, root depths, spacing, pin lengths, .160" top pins when master keyed, and no factory #7 pin.

Check against your manufacturer's pinning chart before you load a plug. Specs can change between product lines.

## Questions

### What size pins does Kwikset use?

Kwikset bottom pins go from #1 (.172 inch) to #6 (.287 inch) in .023 inch steps. Master pins are .023 inch times their number, #1 to #6. Top pins are .180 inch, or .160 inch in a master keyed cylinder.

### Does the cut number always match the bottom pin number?

For Kwikset and Schlage residential cylinders, yes. Kwikset's rekey manual says the key cut numbers correspond to the numbered bottom pins in the kit, and Schlage numbers its bottom pins 0 to 9 to match its depths.

### Are Kwikset and Schlage pins interchangeable?

No. Kwikset steps are .023 inch and Schlage steps are .015 inch, and the pin lengths differ, so each brand needs its own pins.

### Which top pins go in a master keyed Kwikset?

Kwikset's manual says to use the .160 inch top pins in a master keyed cylinder, not the standard .180 inch ones.

### Why won't it let me master key two Schlage keys that are one cut apart?

Schlage doesn't make a #1 master pin. Its systems use two-step progression, so the cuts on two keys in the same chamber should differ by 0, 2, 4, 6 or 8.

### Can I use a #7 cut on a Kwikset key?

Kwikset reserves the #7 cut for builders' keys, so it shows up on master and construction keys. The tool warns you if a customer's key has one, because Kwikset makes no factory #7 bottom pin.

### Does it handle 6-pin locks?

Yes, Kwikset and Schlage 6-pin. On a 6-pin Kwikset key the extra cut sits one space ahead of the first 5-pin cut, nearest the bow. Kwikset calls it the 0-position.

## More for your shop

- [Master key planner Plan a small master key system: change keys by total position progression, pins for every lock and a key schedule.](https://lockcommand.com/tools/master-key-planner)
- [SFIC core pinning (A2) A2 SFIC pinning chart: bottom, master, build-up and top pins from the control and operating keys.](https://lockcommand.com/tools/sfic-pinning-calculator)
- [Commercial rekey quote builder Price a building rekey by doors, cylinders and keys, with master key setup, and print the bid.](https://lockcommand.com/tools/commercial-rekey-bid)
- [ID & proof ID and proof of ownership photos, a customer signature and before and after photos on every job.](https://lockcommand.com/features/id-and-proof)
- [Price book builder Build a locksmith price list with low and high prices, trip fee and after-hours surcharge, and print it.](https://lockcommand.com/tools/price-book-builder)

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