After being asked over and over about locksmithing work, and about the tools of our trade, in particular, we decided to write a blog post about them. We love that people are interested in what we do and are always happy to tell our trade secrets.
As mobile locksmiths, we work out of our vans, which we like to consider a “mobile workshop”. We pride ourselves on our timely and efficient work and of course, our tools play a big part in this. In order to be able to do our best work, at any time, we need to have our tools easily accessible, and that means that they should always be kept very well organized in our vans.
Our tools are organized by types of tools and their uses in different tool bags and tool boxes so we can just take the tools we need at any given time in order to do a specific job rather than take everything in a large, heavy tool bag with us.
Here is a list of some of the most useful tools that every locksmith uses:
Tweezers
These are long tweezers, the tip of the tweezer has been milled and has a grooved tip for fast and easy loading of cylinder pins, used for rekeying.
Slim Jim (Lock Pick)
Slim Jims are used to unlock car doors without the use of a key or lockpick. It is a thin strip of metal roughly 24 in. long and about 0.79–1.57 in. wide. Using a Slim Jim, with careful manipulation, the car door can be opened without a key. Only trained locksmiths should use a Slim Jim, unskilled users can cause damage to the car.
Key Cutter Machine
We have key duplication machinery that enables us to create a new house or car keys on the spot, from right out of our vans.
Key Gauge
A gauge that’s used to measure keys to find out the cut depths of a key.
Hook Pick / Lock Pick
Used to pick locks, this tool is one of the most common tools used by locksmiths. These picks come in different sizes and shapes to fit different sized locks.
Precision Screwdrivers
A set of screwdrivers that are smaller than regular screwdrivers, which come in handy with the very small screws that are found in locks.
Shim Stock
This is a very thin piece of shaped metal that is used for re-keying locks.
Jackknife Pick
This took has about 5 picks on it that can be used to pick simple household locks, like the locks on bathrooms or bedrooms. The different picks are suited for different types of internal lock mechanisms.
Bump Key
Bump keys are essentially keys that have been shaved down to enable you to bypass a lock.
These are just the most common of the many tools we carry with us in our mobile locksmith shop. We hope that this has taught you a little more about the tools that professional locksmiths use in their day-to-day work, and what they are used for. All professional locksmiths have been professionally trained at their job and know how to use these tools without damaging the car or door that they are working on. We do not suggest using these tools unless you have had the proper training to do so.
If you have any further questions about A 24 Hour Locksmith’s tools or our work, or if you are in need of our services in Sacramento, CA, please don’t hesitate to give us a call, we are always happy to hear from you.
