Short Peterson Extractors set review

[Eyes_Only]

I bought the complete Peterson extractor set like 3 months ago and have been trying out the different tools it comes with for extraction jobs and I wanted to wait till I actually used every tool in the kit in the field before I wrote a short review on it and I have to say that I am impressed.

Compared to the spiral extractor the Peterson set is much easier to use on the really tough extraction job like a broken key in a ignition where the tumblers in the front is keeping the key trapped inside. Comes with three different scissor type tools that do a good job of pushing aside the wafers and gripping and pulling the key out of the lock.

And I was totally blown away by their sidewinder extractor. I ran a job a few days ago where the customer broke the key in a mortise lock and the key was sunk into the keyway a bit making the use of the regular hook/barb or spiral extractor a toughy. So I gave the sidewinder a try. I slipped it in along side the key and pushed it in gently as far as it would go, then pull the tool back out and the broken key came right out without hesitation or putting up a fight. Just an amazing tool.

If you have trouble using the spiral extractor for any reason I highly recommend trying out the Peterson set. It made my life so much easier.

[freakparade3]

Thanks for the review Eyes! I've been looking at this set for awile now and was wondering if it was worth the money. There was a review of it several months back in the Independant Locksmiths Journal but I was not convinced by that since it's published by Ken Peterson. Small conflict of interest there. Based on your recomendation I will be purchacing this set.

[cool-arrow]

I have that kit and would like to add that it will pay for itself in a short amount of time. Very usefull kit, nice review fp3.

[muskratt]

i was planning to place an order but was unsure too, but now im definately purchasing.

[linty]

I was kind of dissapointed by the sidewinders. I had to grab a key in a pretty tight keyway and by the time the shim was all the way at the back, the tab had flattened itself. I re-bent it and tried again a couple times and after 3 times the tab broke off.

I am definitely not proficient with these tools and know these aren't inteneded to last more than a few uses, but if it's going to cost me a 10 dollar tool every time I try to extract a key I'll stick to more durable fare.

That aside, everything else in the set looks like it will prove quite useful. The extractors are solid and incredibly aggressive.

[Eyes_Only]

Yeah those sidewinders work best on locks that have keyways thats a little worn out and not so tight like on a brand new lock. But I suppose if the sidewinder is the only best option you've got, you can take a really small/thin flathead screwdriver and try to widen out the keyway a bit.