REVIEW: Rytan RY-57 Plug Spinner

[Eagerpicker]

Harhar! What a great idea!

[Chucklz]

Seriously though. I would bet that if enough members put in a large enough order, shipping costs would be much more reasonable.

[Cat]

I dunno why he's taking it as sarcasm. The term is "group buy"

[Eagerpicker]

Well, Cat, considering the fact I am Dutch...

Oh, don't take me wrong, I agree with Chucklz' suggestion. It's just that I have no ties to Toool, and that I can't see why Rytan would only use overrated, overpriced UPS instead of the good old postal service. So what I'm saying is, his jocular suggestion doesn't take away the Pain.....

[randmguy]

The most obvious reason that Rytan would avoid the USPS is that it is illegal for them to send lockpicking tools to anyone except a bonafide locksmith through the USPS. 99% of the time these laws are ingnored. Its that 1% that companies like Rytan have to watch out for. I once had a local postal inspector refuse to deliver a key catalog. So I'm sure Rytan just avoids the entire issue and sends through a carrier that doesn't have to bow down to any standards outside of public safety and common sense.

[Romstar]

I would have sued that postal inspector for mail fraud. As well as anything else I could charge him with.

His duty was to stop tools, not parts or catalogues.

The catalogue most likely said that certain things were for sale to locksmiths only.

The catalogue is information, nothing more.

Your postal inspector committed an illegal act.

Romstar

[logosys]

Well, Cat, considering the fact I am Dutch...

Oh, don't take me wrong, I agree with Chucklz' suggestion. It's just that I have no ties to Toool, and that I can't see why Rytan would only use overrated, overpriced UPS instead of the good old postal service. So what I'm saying is, his jocular suggestion doesn't take away the Pain.....

Because of the postal code. Technically, it is against Postal rules to ship "locksmithing devices" through the USPS. Rytan probably fills most of their orders with UPS, and has a deal with them.

In short, it's to avoid possible legal troubles or delayed orders with the USPS

[Eagerpicker]

Probably. SouthOrd and lockpicks.com use USPS though, without any problems apparently. Oh well. I'll have to find another way and that's that.

[Cat]

boohoo

[Eagerpicker]

*hands Cat a hanky*

Well, after a lot of e-mailing with one of the good people at Rytan Inc., they agreed to ship the RY57 out to me via USPS. The only snag was that the shipping fee still amounted to $23 US, since the only option was Global Express -- but still a lot better than the $46 UPS alternative.

Anyway, the package arrived today. I had ordered three picks along with the plug spinner: Rytan's famous Mini-Blue picks (hook, diamond and diamond-hook). Instead of the plug spinner they had sent me the RY36 Kwikset cylinder removal tool, for which I have no use at all. But, and this is the good part, by mistake they had sent not one of each pick design but TEN (10!). So I e-mailed them and they wrote right back saying I should keep everything and they were very sorry for the inconvenience and would ship the RY57 plug spinner to me this week at no charge.

How is that for service?! I am very, very much impressed and would like to make sure everyone knows that this is one customer-oriented company.

[Buggs41]

Holly Cow!

They took one in the shorts, and still wanted to satisfy the customer.

They are now on my list of " preferred " companys to buy from.

[Romstar]

Rytan has always been like that.

Great company.

Romstar

[Cat]

I've been waitiing to ask this one in case someone was going to just volunteer the info:

Is the HPC flip-it $10 better than the Rytan RY-57? Which would someone here who has used both, go with over the other one?

[randmguy]

I don't have an RY57. I do have the RY5798 that someone mentioned earlier in this thread and an HPC Flip-It. I don't really see a huge performance difference between the two spinners. I got the RY5798 with a set of Rytan's picks. They are giving them away with all their picksets as a promotion. I am openly biased concerning HPC tools. I like the heft and the feel of their tools. They also seem to last for a long time even with minor abuse. That being said, I do like the RY5798. It fits in my pick case neatly and it's as effective as my Flip-It on everything I've tested.

I saw in an earlier post that someone was concerned about the cost of parts for the RY5798. Their was also talk about building a longer lasting tool rather than having a replacement body available. The replacement body is not primarily intended for breakage. They market it because the body is made from fairly soft nylon and Rytan has a reputation for designing tools that can be repaired in your shop. At $9.95 its not going to break me if I have to buy a new one in a few years. If you look at the prices for a replacement tip: $6.25 (includes spring and cap assembly) and the cost of a replacement body: $3.70. You come up with an interesting figure. A total rebuild cost of $9.95. So Rytan is actually nice enough to produce what might be considered a throw-away tool that does a good job and still allow you the option of repairing it for less than the cost of a new spinner when it does break or wear out. Remember the body is some fairly soft nylon (the product literature calls it self-lubricating). This means you're locking a plastic stump into a plastic notch with a lot of force against it. Long term use is going to cause the notches in the body or the stumps on the tip to wear down to the point where the spinner will not _. I've used mine a couple of hundred times and I can find no visible wear on these notches.

My opinion...I recommend buying the RY5798. It's cheaper, seems to work as well as anything else out there, and it fits in most pick cases. I love my Flip-It but I don't like the long walk back to my shop or the drive back to my home if I leave it on the bench. The best tool in the world is useless to you if you don't have it with you. The RY5798 gets used and then placed in the pocket in my pickcase just like my picks. I think it unlikely that I'll forget my picks as often as I've forgotten my Flip-It when I've gone to pick a lock.

[Eagerpicker]

My RY57 arrived today and works like a charm. I was surprised at the force of the spin. It made me wonder if the explosive turning of the cylinder in any way damages it, or the pins/springs.

Anyhow, as the bard wrote: all's well that ends well.