(1478) Review: Cool Tools for LockSporters II 

Luv your channel Bill so, I’ll pretend I didn’t see you compare Mitutoyo to Chinese.

The digital caliper micrometer is a MUST for anyone working with locks, and now that you can get decent ones for under $30 there's no excuse not to have at least one. (also, I still have, but do not carry, nor do I miss, my old dial caliper micrometer... it's in my toolbox at home, where it can stay... lol) I like that circlip remover, I typically just use my ring pliers or for Kwikset, the cylinder removal tool (I found the bottle opener / flat screwdriver on a Swiss Army Knife works pretty well too)..... The tool seems a little bulky though and $9 seems a little steep for what it is.... Huh if only there was a way I could figure out the measurements on it and make my own to my own requirements.... lol The slide style key decoders used to be the bane of my existence... back in the day they were usually each sold separately, so you needed about 10 of them minimum, they were about $8 each, even the ones that did four or five brands ONLY did those brands, and THOSE were dang near $20 each.... and if you were measuring a worn or slightly miss cut key, good luck.... YES you can use the calipers, but then you either had to commit depths to memory..... no biggie for something I work on all the time but if I work on it that much I can probably sight read it anyway....and if it was something I don't work on often.... (I couldn't, even if you put a gun to my head, tell you what a Corbin Russwin 4 cut is, even though it's probably the six or so most common lock here) you had to dig out the pin kit and look stuff up and you gotta remember I started before smartphones or wifi, there wasn't a faster option..... I got the HPC Pocket Decoder a few years ago. (item number HKD-75) and have NEVER looked back... It cost me about $200 but it comes with every code card you'd almost ever need in the US (even reads depth and angle of Medeco's out of patent keys) including a fair amount of standard automotive keys, with all the cut, depth and spacing information on them AND they match the card numbers for the HPC1200 Blitz code cutter. It might be a bit of overkill for many in the locksport community for locksmiths and other security professionals, it's a gamechanger.

Bill is the man for lock sport information and tools. Full of knowledge and experience

Yes to all this, and more... It's funny how a $60 lockpick set, and some passion snowballs into hundreds of dollars in tools pretty quickly when you want to get into gutting, and re-pinning locks. Aside from all the usual pick upgrades, and new picks for different types of locks that you now want to start in with... Honestly; I'm surprised you haven't had the calipers, or a micrometer out in more of your videos.

I prefer top loading tweezers, they ensure that the pin goes directly into the chamber, unlike the other tweezers where the pin has more trouble lining up. I bought mine in the mid 90's, I don't use them too often.

I appreciate seeing new tools. Always enjoy your reviews. The pinning tray is very cool.

Great little set! I love that pinning tray!

Every cheaper set of calipers I have ever owned drains the battery dead even when shut off. You always have to store them without the battery installed, even just for a couple days.

Love the 4" digital calipers and the reversed tweezers I'm about to order both of those for my growing tool kit. I'm also making my 1st pinning tray today. Love your videos Bill, because of you I'm involving myself in a new hobby.

That top loader tweezer looks mental but should be very helpful. Cool tips on the caliper!👍🏻😎

Great video bill! I love your custom pinning trays they are really cool looking. 👍

Thanks for all you do BB! I have learned so much from your videos.

Thanks for all the reviews, Bill! I just recently got a lock pick set and I waiting for my sparrow cutaway practice lock and refill kit to arrive. Cross your fingers - maybe one day I will be opening locks from your naughty bin!

another great review, you and LPL have inspired me to take up the lock picking sport.

What i like a lot about the Mitutoyo is the incredible good battery life and the absolute system that always knows where it is without having to zero it out after turning it on. The much cheaper ones do a pretty good job too and are perfectly fine, but if someone buys a tool for life he probably won't regret paying a bit more.

Sparrows makes the best pinning tweezers ever. They fit in my Sparrows pick case and they have fantastic tolerance in the tips for grabbing pins. They're also the only pinning tweezers I've ever seen that work well for removing brass splinters, which is irrelevant for locksporters but *HUGE* for locksmiths who work around key cutting machines all day.

OMG! I really want that pinning tray! :)

Wow, that second tweezer looks awesome!

That's some very nice gear, especially that pinning tray. Thanks Bill.

Just learning, thanks for all the great info!

Another nice video. Another good tool Bill forgot to mention that he just gave y'all... At 11min 01sec, take a screen shot. This will give you a chart of not only the 0.005" increment pinning chart... but, key depth charts as well. Nice to have stored in your phone. May wish to take screen shot 0.003" pinning chart from eBay, even if you don't have a 0.003" pinning kit. It'll let you know a little better what way the tolerances swing for the lock you're working /playing with are.

A lot of people don't know about the other two uses for those calipers. The smaller claw on the end can be inserted into a gap and expanded to measure inside diameter. There's also a rod that runs the length of the tool and extends to measure depth. Very handy tool to have around.

Nice review on some cool tools, I can personally vouch for the circlip removal tool, saves lots of hand punctures! Very generous giveaway also, thanks Bill!

Excellent review, as per usual sir. Thanks for that! Also, WOW, what a giveaway! Very generous of you! Fingers crossed! Lol

Hey Bill and RU-vid comments. With the caliper you can measure the pin and the lock the caliper. The top part of the caliper for measuring internal parts will then be the same thickness as the pin length. You can measure it in place of the key on your scale instead of looking up a list.

Thank you for all your hard work, I have lurend a lot over the last vew years, I have been whatching your vidios.

It may be because I spent 20 years in the Air Force as a radar tech using "reverse" tweezers in a "third hand" holder while soldering, but I'm sure those reverse pinning tweezers will be helpful to me. In fact, I'd even prefer them on that top loading tweezers too. Instead of having to think about holding the pin, then pushing slightly down on the pusher, then concentrating on locating the pin, pushing down on the top loading wire, then releasing the tweezers...GASP! PANT! PANT!! With the reverse tweezers I'd only have to locate the pin, press lightly on the loader, and squeeze. Voila! Next pin, please...😂

The easiest way to remove c-clips or e-clips if you don't have a dedicated tool is to use a pair of needlenose pliers to push both sides of the clip at the same time. As a bonus they usually aren't sharp enough to rip you open if you slip unlike a small flathead screwdriver.

Wow, that's funny, I was JUST watching a Mitutoyo review when I got notified about this video.. I have a cheap set, and just but a Dial caliper, and looking at those Mitutoyos.. they are really nice!

cool tools, Bill ! Thank you for sharing.

I hand made a spare key last week for my house (thanks to Bills learnings). And calipers totally saved my bacon!.. Thank you @Bill

Great review! I was just looking into digital calipers today and that fits my needs exactly. Time to spend more money :) thanks for showing great items as always!!

Love the reverse-action tweezers!

I picked up a 4" digital calipers from Harbor Freight, for $15 before the 20% off coupon. They work great, almost identical to the ones reviewed.

The major weakness of the cheapie digital caliper is that they can skip if you move them too fast. The Mitu won't do that since the head is reading the absolute position from the beam. Some other issues is that the cheapies also tend to eat batteries, and the jaws can flex slightly under pressure, giving a couple thous of error in the reading.

Reverse Action Tweezers? RATs! I love it.

When I was in high school I worked in a lock smith shop doing rekey for customers I had a pair of the top loading tweezers and the part that you would use to push the pun down with kept falling out and get lost . I got good at top loading puns I didn't even miss it

Cool stuff.

You just blew my mind with those pinning tweezers, I had no idea that was a possibility for putting pins in a lock. I always thought you put the pins in the top lock, then put the spring and hex screws or what have you over them.

Sweet give away Mr Bill

Is the purpose of the curved indent on the side of the key gauge that it's a clip remover?

Nice little tools there. The square cutaway into the tension tool looks about the right size to operate a door’s handle bar too if ever the handle was broken/missing? Or possibly if it was thin enough, it could operate a coded door handle as a bypass?

Probably worth mentioning that the repeatability of the Mitutoyos will be a lot better, and that the cheap ones depend rather strongly on their battery voltage being constant to keep accuracy. And they constantly drain voltage when "off" so that they can maintain their last reading. Always remove the battery from cheap digital calipers when not in use, and remember that all calipers are rough approximation: to actually measure distance you want a calibrated micrometer set.

Thanks Bill

Thanks again.

Wow Excellent review better giveaway thanks bill

this was educational with the caliper

I got that same micrometer, except mine was branded Rockler. Seems about accurate enough for woodworking :)

Ill add them to my wishlist

Just about to start taking things to the next level, and pinning up and disassembly of some locks. If I don’t win, what’s a good not too expensive pinning mat/ board that you or you all like?

Would love to get those tools.

Amazing

As always, good video with some nice stuff and good explanations. The clip remover seems a bit large and awkward to me from the video. Maybe I just prefer living dangerously and risking scars on my hands. :)

I love locksport gadgets. I think l have more gadgets than locks to pick them with. Now l am going to have more.

Was that a Foley Belsaw pinning kit?!!! I have had one for something like 25 years and I love it! Great kit!!!! BTW, I am an old locksmith from way back and I am really digging your videos!

A new tool at Sparrow, the gut Wrench, designed by Lock Noob, I believe, looks interesting. It is for removing C clips from different sized locks. I think it might be worth reviewing, at some point. I think it will be part of my first kit as I winced a couple of times watching you and the LPL removing C clips with various objects. I know better than to buy a bunch of tools that I may never use or even be able to use, so I am keeping things simple. I think the gut wrench will be useful from the beginning of the learning process. I believe the gut wrench is a couple of notches above the C clip remover tool in this video, for the same price. Looks better too. :):)

I wish I had discovered Bill, 5-6 years ago! He had SO many awesome giveaways!!! 😢

Hey Bill, a good tip that I learned watching AvE's review of the cheaper brand/import calipers like you have there - make sure, during storage, to take the battery out of the unit. As compared to some of the higher quality calipers like the Mitutoyos that you have, the battery in the cheaper ones tends to drain even when turned off, and will leave you hanging. For reference: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-KnDype-j3hk.html

Bill doesn't disappoint. Great reviews. Just one question: (must have been watching far toooooo much Columbo) Is there a standard thickness for pins? I know there will be some unusual sizes amongst rogue locks but do lock companies usually stick to a standard thickness or have their own?

Very nice giveaway Mr.Bill

I am retired, and lockpicking seems to be a good way to fill the time and keep the mind active!

It's so cool

Great coooool

Some cools tools!

I have tried those type of tweezer but I could not get used to it. I went back to the regular kind.

Can you tell me the make and model of the camera you used on the lever locks a few videos back. I'd really like to know.

A micrometer with key measurement anvils would be nice to see. Calipers don't work nearly as well for measuring bitting. And a combination anvil for keys and pins should be possible. And with a digital caliper/mic with Bluetooth, measurements to cut conversion could be done on a phone/computer.

Glad my mac has two big monitors, so I can keep your videos playing on one, while I work on the other. lol.

Now you have a cnc you can make a gauge like the European one for all kinds of locks.

is it possible to find that key-pin gauge anywhere,, i looked on Multipicks website and couldn't find it.. and there arent any copies/knockoffs of it out there (which is a little surprising)... That thing would be the cats meow and so much easier than a caliper.. And were they available in more than just Abus

I like keeping around those cheapo digital calipers. I have one that will do fraction conversions. Only problem is you need to keep a healthy stock of replacement batteries.

I purchased a digital calliper 6" set just like your one from Lidl the other week and it was only £9 quid approx $12 US Dollars, if you have Lidl stores in the USA you should check them out, some great quality tools at a bargain price to be had ;-)

Not sure if you've been made aware sparrows has made an updated c clip remover.

Quite the giveaway!

hey! i have that pinning kit!

Are the top loading tweezers made by HPC or a copy of the HPC design? I have a pair of them made by HPC and they are very good. The spring loaded adjustable follower HPC make is also fantastic but have not seen anybody review it yet. It has a spring loaded bar on 1 side of the follower to allow it to adjust to different dimensions of plugs from about 12.6mm to about 14mm if I remember correctly. I am so glad I bought it.

If anyone reading this has one of those circlip removers, it'd be cool if you scanned it and put it online for people to make at home.

How about an EDC update. I notice you don't use Peterson picks as much as you use to in the past. Curious what changed?

nice

They sell those calibers at harbour freight. I've got both sets and the cheaper set does just as good. When did sparrows start making key gauges?

That cheap caliber looks like the one that I got from Harbor Freight.

Those top-loading tweezers seem more useful for pinning a lock that is still mounted...if you were to somehow have that sort of situation.... Which if you did, kudos, I guess?

Get your calipers at harbor freight! They're cheap and they work well.

Couldn't you also use the interior side of the caliper and the key decoder to also find the pinning depth

Those three pronged tweezers remind me of predator lul

Did you shorten the "top-loader" on those tweezers? I was thinking that was too big to fit into a bible...

Is there a pinning chart online somewhere?

I like this giveaway, I'll take it.

Hey Bill! I want to get into lock picking as a hobby but see that my state shows a law against possessing tools as prima facie. Could I still be a hobbyist so long as I have proof? Hope this makes sense. All the best!

Tweezer 1 are way to big, cant see the pin (nearly) and shaft-thickness blocks the keyway, when you want to see where to put the pin.

I have 0 lock picking things, i hope i can get a little bit of luck

My eye...

Really cool vids bill thank u im just curious why don’t u want anyone to see your face is it just a personal choice thanks again 👍🏻

Bill, you default zero is set by the origin button , once set does not change even if turned off, the zero button is used for as you described for offset measuring, and when your done, turn off/on and whalla, back to zeroed, no need to constantly set zero and risk setting zero on a chip or dirt. Just a tip

Darn! Didn't win again!

I thought most of your hand injuries are caused by your cat who wants you to spend more time with her/him, not the locks!

Those are fake Mitutoyo calipers, real ones read .0005” increments. AvE has a review of them on his channel. The battery should last for years on a real set and easily a year if left mostly on.

Focus you fack!