You'll need to dig the knife into the sides of the broken key while pulling it out. It won't work instantly, but if you give it several tries, you'll notice the key coming out. You can even use two knives on each side of the key, but you should be careful not to cut yourself. 12. Drill Bit Once the extractor is hooked to the bottom of the key piece, gently try to slide it out along with the key fragment. There is no need to pull the entire chunk out, a small part of it would do. From there, you can use tweezers to yank the broken key out. Another tool you can use when your key breaks is a pair of needle-nose pliers. You should use this method, especially if your key broke, leaving only the bow in your hand. There should be part of the broken key protruding out of the keyhole for this method to succeed.

Here is the breakdown of the inventory you’d need for all the ways mentioned in the article to work.The metal used for most keys is relatively soft, and typically the tip of a sharp knife will pierce the side of the key well enough to leverage it out. NOTE: These numbers provide an average but you might have to wait longer. We think it's only fair that we warn you of this.

There are two ways to use a paperclip to extract a broken key. In my experience, thinner paperclips tend to work better and give you a deeper grip on the key. Once the knife is in the keyway, apply leverage to the key. If your knife slips, try digging it into various other places on the key, including the bottom. One thing to keep in mind with this method is to not force the blade into the keyhole, it should be able to fit smoothly. If you find the need to force it, make adjustments to the blade to make it thin enough to fit. 4. Broken Key Extractor

Paperclips are genuinely a magical tool and work decently well to remove broken keys— as long as the fractured piece isn't too small and it is not too deep within the keyway.