Think about a world without locksmiths. Suppose you will be able to see a complete picture of the world if you ever hired a locksmith. Think about it.
Thousands of people are standing outside the door of their house – not finding the key. But no is there to their rescue. They have to break the lock by themselves – what a troublesome experience!
Locksmiths have been serving us for many years. You can say, locksmiths have existed since the advent of locks – whatever kind it might have been. Technology and outlooks of locks have been continuously changing and it won’t be an overstatement that locksmiths are also adapting to the change quite constantly.
You probably have noticed that they have some general tools always with them. The tools are all they have. In this article, I am going to share with you some general tools that the locksmith always uses.
General Locksmith Tools
Here are several locksmith tools that you should keep with you if you want to repair issues of your home-locks by yourself. Well, you may find other tools, but we have listed and discussed the most used tools that every experienced locksmith are using for over a decade. Let’s start with the pick set.
Pick Set
You will see, in any list, that pick-sets top the list of most essential locksmith tools. It is something that if you bought it in your childhood, your parents were very suspicious.
In most packages, you will find more than 20 different picks. The most common items are rake, hook, and diamond.
A pick set is handy when the key is not found. This means that pick sets are useful only when the lock is a traditional one. With a pick set, you can most certainly get your lock unlocked.
Shims
Made out of steel or iron, a shim is a thin piece used in locks without keys. A locksmith inserts the shim into the locking mechanism, loosening it so that picking the lock becomes easier. A locksmith should always choose the right shim and check options for shim stock.
By right shim, I mean a shim that is made out of more robust material. A shim is susceptible to easily getting bent or broken while inside the lock.
Tweezers
You probably have seen tweezers even if you are not a locksmith yourself. A tweezer is a tool that is used for picking small objects that human fingers cannot easily handle.
If you hire a locksmith, he might forget everything, but he won’t forget to bring a tweezer. That’s how important a tweezer is.
The tip of the tweezer is magnetic so that it can easily pick up very tiny metallic objects. Besides, the magnetic tip prevents the objects from falling off.
Tension Wrench
A tension wrench comes in to play when the concerning lock has a tumbler and pin operating mechanism. A locksmith uses the tension wrench to hold the lock in a position so that the tension wrench can produce the right amount of pressure while racking the pins inside the lock.
A tension wrench is available almost everywhere. While it is a handy tool, it might break or wear out quickly if it has any weaker edges, something most wrenches have.
Pick Gun
If you see a pick gun, you have to admit that it’s pretty cool stuff. A pick gun that people also call it a snap gun—most of the locksmith using the force-openning technique for opening tumbler-based locks without any key.
Well, using this method, you will be able to open any lock very fast. Let’s see how it works with a pick gun. To use the technique, you will need a thin rod (steel made rod is recommended); people call it pick gun needle as well.
Now, pick the rod and insert it into the lock, and when you are inserting it, you may find some movement into the lock’s system because you are inserting it against all those pins the lock is containing.
If you move the pick gun needle concurrently and freeing the cylinder along with enabling the opening of the pins so it can be turned. Never forget to use a tension wrench for doing it because, without it, you may not get results as expected.
Although it’s a bit expensive, it increases speed and accuracy. It is an alternative to the traditional lock pick.
Lock Plug Follower
You will need a lock plug follower to disable and reassemble a lock. Its primary function is to remove the lock core. It is absolutely necessary to keep the pins and springs in place and prevent them from loosening.
A lock plug follower does this job quite sophisticatedly, preventing the pins and springs from loosening so that the assembly of the lock doesn’t become too messy.
A lock plug follower has differently sized ends – a very crucial thing when handling locks of varying sizes.
Key Cutting Machine
A key cutting machine, technically speaking, is more machine – not a tool. It’s a full-fledged machine. But I include it here because a locksmith does consider a key cutting machine as an essential part of his job.
In fact, many professional locksmiths nowadays use a state-of-the-art key cutting machine, also known as a key duplicator.
A key cutting machine is needed to cut the type of key known as basic key – the simple key made out of metal. As most of the keys are basic keys, a key cutting machine is absolutely necessary.
Final Words
These are the most common tools that a locksmith uses. A locksmith also possesses many tools that are used for different purposes. For example, a locksmith will need some additional tools to unlock a car.
If you are looking for a Serrurier Mons, you will find plenty of them. Or, if you are thinking about starting a career as a locksmith, I believe this write-up will help you now that you know the General Locksmith Tools that you should have.