Town's Last Hardware Store Key-Cutting Machine Develops Cult Following

A key-cutting machine at Henderson's True Value Hardware in Millbrook, Vermont, has developed an unexpected following among lock enthusiasts, key collectors, and nostalgic townspeople who credit the 37-year-old Ilco 045 duplicator with producing 'the most satisfying key cuts in New England.' The machine, purchased by the store's original owner in 1987 and maintained by a succession of hardware clerks who describe the process as 'more ritual than maintenance,' has cut an estimated 340,000 keys over its operational lifetime. It has also, in the past two years, become the subject of a Facebook group called 'The Ilco 045 at Henderson's: A Living Legend,' which has 1,200 members. 'Modern key machines are CNC-operated, computer-guided, and technically superior in every measurable way,' said group administrator and locksport enthusiast Phillip Bitting. 'But they lack soul. The Henderson's Ilco produces a key with character. You can feel the craftsmanship in the bitting. There's a slight burr on the shoulder that tells you a human being was involved.' The machine's operator, store clerk Annette Blank, has become a minor celebrity in locksmithing circles. She has been cutting keys on the Ilco since 1996 and can reportedly duplicate a standard Schlage SC1 keyway blank in under thirty seconds without looking at the original. 'I don't need to look,' Blank said. 'I can feel the depths. My fingers know the difference between a three-cut and a four-cut. The machine and I have an understanding.' Henderson's has received multiple offers to purchase the Ilco 045 from collectors, including one bid of $8,500 — roughly twenty times its original price. Store owner Dave Henderson III has declined all offers. 'That machine has cut keys for every lock in this town,' Henderson said. 'If it goes, the town goes with it. That's not a metaphor. I mean literally everyone would need rekeying.'