(1474) Review: Cool Tools for LockSporters 

Yeah that alone seems like it could make you a couple grand pretty fast. I’m not a locksmith. But a job that big (rekeying an entire apartment building or complex) sounds like it’s good money.

Excellent point and a step I should have discussed in the video. Thanks for pointing it out! And BTW, your KIK holder is holding up VERY well - what did you make that out of, Elephant bone? Whatever it is, it is SUPER tough!

Melvin Kowsnofski thanks, I was just thinking the same thing

Also want to point out that if you have a multi level master system, this tool as the capability of adding(?) unintentional ghost keys.

In addition to the previously mentioned issues, converted locks will generally require service sooner, because the optimal stack+spring length is not preserved. (This is a general issue with a lot of the challenge locks seen in this channel.) They probably seem okay for a while, then one of the segments flips sideways or a spring gets ground by catching instead of following. A professional locksmith should be expected to follow factory standards.

@@bosnianbill As other have conjectured, that KIK holder is Delrin, or more likely a generic polyacetal resin that someone on eBay was selling as "Delrin".

I'll try...😀

Too bad you didn't start with paper clips

@@jbanks4life I bought a 12 dollar kit, not a huge expense

Now I want one of these purely for bling.

Keedex makes a brass one that will wear better, I recommend it.

Dedicated kits are also faster because you can just pick the pins by code number instead of having to check the chart to see which size pin matches which depth. There are times when you really need the 3 thou kit but I definitely prefer to avoid it where practical.

@@agentvx8320 Yeah, definitely faster and a lot less to keep track of mentally, which comes in especially handy when pinning up a large number of cylinders on a multi tier masterkey schedule where you're already tracking cylinder number, key number, door number, and line number of the schedule. I actually rarely use the 3 these days, I got it before I started making individual kits when I had to do a large historic inn that had all old Yale hardware, or course some of the cylinders were shot and had to be replaced with Ilco Y1 cylinders... the tolerances on which I found to be surprisingly tight.... Total PITA, took four days, BUT it paid for the kit several times over, so hey "free" tools plus pay lol

@@derekbroestler7687 Yeah, exactly. And I know what you mean about those Ilco cylinders. It actually drives me up the wall when you run into them with customers on Weiser keyways because the Ilco cylinders don't have the flat cut on top (which admittedly does make them more secure) so you have to pin them one number higher for the same key to work. Bleh. Mostly we use GMS cylinders here because they're cheaper and work just fine. (Stay the hell away from their Best keyway blanks though. Horribly out of spec in many cases.)

I still have my old tool that Jeff Moss sent a few years ago, so no worries. No telling how old it is but it still works perfectly.

@@bosnianbill I have that same tool. I don't have the new one, though I'm guessing it would have to have the same specs. The couple knock-offs I've run across weren't compatible with the tool Jeff Moss sent you. The notches on the cap didn't mate with the tool. The tool is great, it's the end caps that were the issue. Just wanted to give a heads up, though I hope those were just a bad batch of end caps. Cheers ☺️

The follower is *hugely* helpful any time you're rekeying a lock that's been master pinned no matter what the bitting is. Dump the master pins from the bible. Dump the pins out of the plug. Pin the lock from scratch accordingly. Much faster than farting around with changing some pins and not others, and also more reliable because you aren't introducing uneven wear. Thankfully the company I work for has a long history of doing master key systems right (to the envy of our local competitors and even some manufacturers) so we don't often have to deal with system disasters. We've inherited one or two shit shows from other companies after taking on their customers though. Drawing bittings from a shoe box? *shudders*

OOPS! Sorry about that! I have updated the description with links to where I bought the stuff from.

For my picks, blue is 0.015" and black is 0.025". For my tensioners I use the colors of the US Flag, with red being the thickest (1.2mm), white (1.0mm), and blue (0.8mm). I also have a yellow one that measures 0.6mm. The colors are purely a quick ID method - you can use any colors you want as long as you remember the order.

Thank you! I noticed the green handles and wondered where they fit. As I explore this hobby further, the more I wish to to explore. I am awaiting a quote from Eastern Gage for pick making steel. (Thank you for that tip too!)

@@niranthbanks3595 The green and brown handled picks are unique because that is the only colors I had when I made the handles.

The best reason, that.

Richard, I understand your concern but in the video I specifically said when using the non-mastered "operating key", not one of the master keys, to avoid this confusion. I agree that when using one of the master keys, this tool would probably not work very well and would likely leave undetected master wafers floating around in the lock. If a non-mastered operating key is not available, then the only solution would be a complete disassembly of the lock to make sure there are no ghost shear lines. Insofar as the springs, again I agree with you. If I disassembled a couple of sample locks and found worn springs then I'd replace all the springs in the MK system. If not, then there would be no need to take apart every single lock and this tool would be a viable alternative.

Weiser locks specify a flat cut on top of the plug. But yes, it absolutely does make them much easier to pick. Springs that come out of locks that have been in service for any length of time will definitely be more compressed than brand new springs, but this is expected behaviour and does not necessarily mean they need replacing. Particularly in North America where gravity pulls the pins down anyway, the worst thing that happens with no springs at all is that the key needs a bit of a jiggle to work.

@@bosnianbill I always dump all the key and master pins any time I'm doing a rekey. Pin dumping followers are still a huge time saver because there's no need to remove the driver pins and springs unless there's a specific problem... and these sort of followers are also a great way to *inspect* for such a problem too because you can look at the driver pins through the gap. I know folks are giving you a bunch of grief for oversimplifying master pinning, but frankly master keys are beyond the scope of locksport anyway since they have no effect on picking beyond making it easier. Keep up the great content!

RichardL Really? Pin locks without springs? You have never run across a lock installed upside-down? Weiser uses plastic cylinders also. The professional will replace weak or worn springs, never leave them out.

@@richardl7264 Of course I've run across locks installed upside down. You know what you do about that? You *turn them right side up*. And of course it's unprofessional to leave springs out of locks. The point is that springs need to be weaker than I've ever actually seen in order to actually cause problems. Yeah, replace missing or failed springs when you notice them. But pulling every spring out every time you do a rekey to replace it just because they aren't the full length of an unused spring (which is perfectly normal) is a totally unnecessary waste of time. I don't know if you've ever noticed, but if you put a fresh spring in, fully assemble the lock, and then immediately pull that same spring out for inspection, it won't be the same length it was when you put it in. Weiser only uses plastic cylinders in the Kevo locks, which yes, are absolute garbage. I definitely recommend against the other "Smart Key" locks too because even with metal cylinders they are weak to brute force attacks (which are far more common than picking). Otherwise Weiser hardware (which isn't what I generally supply to customers BTW) is clearly better than any of the other no-name hardware store grade junk. At least it genuinely meets Grade 3. (Most of our customers are commercial and thus get Grade 2 hardware unless they request Grade 1 or we recommend Grade 1 for a very high traffic door.)

#3 he said he was using the operating key... therefore the master wafers were still in the lock.

Locksporters or locksport challenge lock makers don't really need either the cap removal tool or the pin dumping follower, no. (How often do locksporters do anything to do with master keys? Not often.) For these users I'd say just get a set of the HPC hollow followers and call it a day. For a working locksmith? Completely disagree that newer locksmiths don't need a cap removal tool. The pin dumping follower is a maybe if you are doing mostly residential work with no master keys. The company I work for does primarily commercial work and nearly every rekey job involves master pins and in that case they're one of the first tools you should have. Both of these are huge timesavers and time is money.

@@Broughman9 You can't assume that. A real world master key system will nearly always have some cuts higher and some cuts lower on the master key. But Bill's scenario of "they want the operating key to still work but not the master" is a contrivance for demonstration purposes. In the real world (1) it's far more common to retain the master but change the operating key and (2) regardless the right way to do it is dump out all the key pins and master wafers and put in new key and/or master pins according to the desired bitting. A master wafer dumping follower is still a huge time saver even so. (Unless of course the driver pins are small enough to fall out, which is common with Weiser/Kwikset. Ugh.)