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Lost (and need) a Hiscox case key
I'm looking for some suggestions -- I have managed to lose the case keys to my Hiscox cases, and one of them has locked itself. Luckily, the latch was open when it locked, so at least I could get my mandolin out.
I've reached out twice to Hiscox via email and not heard back. I also reached out to Elderly (where I bought my cases) and they said that they've tried to get spare keys from Hiscox with no luck, and recommended I reach out to Hiscox directly.
I know the keys are all the same. Any suggestions for other places I could try to get a new key?
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Re: Lost (and need) a Hiscox case key
Locksmith? Luggage (repair) shop?
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Re: Lost (and need) a Hiscox case key
You can call them. Phone number on website +44 (0)1543 571420
Jamie
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Re: Lost (and need) a Hiscox case key
First thing you do with the key to your new instrument case, is either [A] throw it away, [2] remove it to that drawer in your bedside table that you fill with the detritus of your life, or [iii] consign it to the accessories pocket of the case, in a small Ziploc envelope, and never ever take it out. I've done all three.
The case lock won't keep your instrument safe from thieves; each case has a convenient handle, enabling the thief to pick up the entire case, with the instrument inside, and make off with it. Then he/she can jimmy the case open, at leisure. Over my many mis-spent years, I've heard of instruments being stolen, but I've never heard of a case where the thief opened an unlocked case, took out the instrument, and left the case behind.
The only function of instrument case locks, IMHO, is to create the situation described in this thread. It's the illusion of security, without the substance, and yes, people have locked instruments inside their cases, then lost the keys. Fair warning!
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Re: Lost (and need) a Hiscox case key
Agree, Alan. Mine stay in the case storage pocket, though with the OP’s experience I may move them to the detritus drawer. I can’t recall ever locking any of mine, and agree that, other than keeping small children from snooping, they’re generally useless from a security perspective. I guess maybe they offer a slight added layer of protection from the case accidentally opening during travel (or if it’s checked luggage on a plane, Heaven forbid)…
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Re: Lost (and need) a Hiscox case key
P M me with your address and I will send you one when I get home. Currently on RV tour. Should be home in a few weeks or perhaps sooner if my travels take me close to home.
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Re: Lost (and need) a Hiscox case key
I had a broken latch on a Hiscox case once. Emailed them and they sent a replacement no charge (with rivets), no questions asked. Posted to New Zealand!
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Re: Lost (and need) a Hiscox case key
Thanks all for the comments, and to @Pittsburgh Bill for the very kind offer (I've PM'd you with my info, thank you!).
I've heard good things about Hiscox support, and have been surprised that my emails have gone unanswered after a couple weeks. I even tried from a different email just in case a reply went to my spam folder, but nothing. Could easily be COVID related slowdowns, lots of things are still tough out there. Trying to avoid an international phone call if I can.
@allenhopkins nailed it, that's what I've always done with case keys, and this time it bit me. At least the case was open when it happened, so I could do the gig! A lesson for me, I'll make sure I know where those keys are in the future that's for sure!
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Re: Lost (and need) a Hiscox case key
I dug into this a little, and it looks like the keys for Hiscox cases are all the same, a Cheney #40 key. That matches my the key for my case, too, which for experimental reasons I locked for the first time ever.
There are listings one Ebay for them if you can't get them from Hiscox, although the ones I see are Ebay Canada and UK:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/25492498846...oAAOSwiPxgV2Bj
https://www.ebay.com/itm/33406068675...wAAOSwQJxg3Yu2
On the other hand, if you ever wanted to try your hand at lock-picking...
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Re: Lost (and need) a Hiscox case key
Thanks for that info, @A 4, well dug!
I did try a little lock picking -- I even have the right tools, from a security conference I was at a few years ago. Sadly my skills are not all that sharp yet. :)
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Re: Lost (and need) a Hiscox case key
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Re: Lost (and need) a Hiscox case key
Another possibility is European vacation season. They might be just shut down for a few weeks in the summer.
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Re: Lost (and need) a Hiscox case key
Quote:
Originally Posted by
JEStanek
Another possibility is European vacation season. They might be just shut down for a few weeks in the summer.
Nearly right! I’d never have believed this but, after visiting their website it’s clear that they are having a summer shutdown period but this runs from 23 July ‘til 9 August.
I thought factory shutdowns were something which died out back in the 1960s although most of the mainland of Europe goes away on holiday for most of August.
As for case keys, in 50 odd years of playing, I can never remember using one although it’s nice to have one with a 100 year old instrument case.
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Re: Lost (and need) a Hiscox case key
Any large manufacturing area that uses machines to do the work will have regular outages for maintenance, calibration, expansion, or construction in the facility. In my business they happen regularly. Tolerances being off just a bit can impact hundreds of units of product. We use that time for annual training or collective vacations.
Jamie
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Re: Lost (and need) a Hiscox case key
Maybe it’s because much of the UK has turned from manufacturing to the service sector. Prior to the 60s, whole towns would close down and people would take the special trains for a week at the seaside. The Hiscox closedown is certainly the first one I’ve heard of for many years. Doubtless somebody will prove me wrong.
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Re: Lost (and need) a Hiscox case key
" after visiting their website it’s clear that they are having a summer shutdown period but this runs from 23 July ‘til 9 August."
We have a machinery parts supplier in Denmark that is shutdown from July 23- Aug 9.
Adam
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Re: Lost (and need) a Hiscox case key
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Ray(T)
I thought factory shutdowns were something which died out back in the 1960s although most of the mainland of Europe goes away on holiday for most of August.
As for case keys, in 50 odd years of playing, I can never remember using one although it’s nice to have one with a 100 year old instrument case.
Europeans have a different view of work/life balance than Americans. Heck, most Americans (me included) don't take all the vacation days they are entitled to in any given year. And many (again, me included) work during vacations and holidays. Not sure it's necessarily "better."
I actually did use a case key way back when I was playing guitar for a band that supported a community singing group. If I left the guitar out during breaks or just put it in the case, someone would pick it up and start messing with it. The lock allowed me to go get something to drink or make a pit stop without worry. (That was my then-brand-new 1968 Gibson ES-335. Man, am I old!)
But, I agree. Other than making a latch a little less likely to spring open during shipping or in a baggage compartment (or to keep interlopers out), I don't see much use for it.
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Re: Lost (and need) a Hiscox case key
Europeans even have a different view of work/life balance than people in the UK. Originally, I suspect, of the hotter weather, in Europe, a 2 hour lunch break is common and many shops, even supermarkets, still close for an hour. In the UK, pre-pandemic, larger supermarkets were open 24 hous a day.
I always held to the principle that I worked to live rather than lived to work and started planning my retirement at the age of 18. I missed the target and stayed working until 58 although for my last 6 years I only worked half time. I took every bit of leave I was entitled to along the way!
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Re: Lost (and need) a Hiscox case key
The pandemic seems to have made quite a few in UK question their work/life balance, especially those with the minority of unsympathetic employers who told them to return to the office before it's clearly safe. It's possible that home working will become an employment bargaining area from now in UK. A few big banks here are saying they're downsizing their office space and having most staff work from home most of the time, where possible. Hiscox isn't a big operation, they may shut for 2 weeks every year.
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Re: Lost (and need) a Hiscox case key
I can see them shutting the operation down if it’s a small operation - but only for two weeks? Unlike the US most people in the UK are entitled to 4 weeks a year.
As for home working, it’s really nothing new. I was offered the chance to do it and, unlike several coleagues, turned it down. I’ve been retired for nearly 12 years.
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Re: Lost (and need) a Hiscox case key
Well, all we are doing is speculating on the why's of their timing. You now know when thy will be back to contact for a key, unless a friend sends you a copy sooner.
Jamie
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Re: Lost (and need) a Hiscox case key
@Pittsburgh Bill just popped a key in the mail to me, so I should be in good shape now. Huge thanks there!
Should Hiscox eventually reply to me I'll have a spare. Big thanks to all for the tips and help, much appreciated.
-Drew
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Re: Lost (and need) a Hiscox case key
I received the key from @Pittsburgh Bill today in the mail, and it worked perfectly! My case is back in action, and I now have a key stored in my cord bag for any future emergency.
On a side note, the key from Bill is indeed a Cheney #40, should anyone ever need to find one.
Thanks again, all, for your assistance. And I hope this is a good reminder for all to keep those keys, and keep them somewhere you can find them. :grin:
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Re: Lost (and need) a Hiscox case key
I can't see the point in locking an instrument case.
Dave H
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Re: Lost (and need) a Hiscox case key
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Dave Hanson
I can't see the point in locking an instrument case.
Dave H
See my Post #4 above.
You're precisely right.