Which pinning kit should i buy?

[G-lock]

Looking for suggestions on which pinning kit i should buy? I am slowly but surely collecting alot of locks from all different manufacturers so im looking for one of the larger kits that can be used to repin most of the standard locks ill come across like kwik set, schlage, arrow, master, american, sargent, etc. Ive never bought a pinning kit before so im not sure what to look for or if one brand is better than the others?

[jeffmoss26]

I would recommend a Lab mini .003 kit, it will handle all the brands you listed except American and Master - they are a smaller diameter and require their own kit.

[Squelchtone]

I'm gonna move this for you to the Locksmith Supplies area, there might be some healthy discussion there and in the Locksmith Archives as well about pros and cons of .003 and .005 pin kits.

I'm a .003 LAB Universal man myself, and they make them down the road from me in Bristol CT, about a mile from the ESPN Sports network headquarters =)

[RedE]

What Jeff said. The Lab .003 mini is a great all around kit. It may not hold a huge number of pins, but for a hobby kit, it will be more than fine. I use the larger cousin of this for rekeying everything the pins will fit into, the exceptions being masterkeyed or large format ic cylinders.

[GWiens2001]

You can find the full sized .003 LAB kits on eBay for a fairly reasonable price. What are you looking to spend?

Gordon

[G-lock]

You can find the full sized .003 LAB kits on eBay for a fairly reasonable price. What are you looking to spend?

Gordon

I am willing to spend whatever it takes to get the right kit. A very old friend (104yrs old) always tells me "it only costs a little more to go 1st class & not do it over again" so as long as i do not over pay for the kit the price is irrelevant. I want to get a kit that covers everything that takes standard pins if its available. That way all my pins are in one box. Also is one type of storage box is better than another? I see they have metal & plastic storage boxes which is better at keeping everything organized? Does anyone make a box that can be dropped or shaken & still keep the pins in there spots or do they all do that?

[GWiens2001]

Got mine extra cheap off a CraigsList ad. But if I were to be buying another kit, I'd get the wedge kit. The pins and organization are the same, but the wedge kit has drawers underneath the kit to store tools and extra pin refills.

Gordon

[Robotnik]

Another vote here for the full size LAB 0.003 wedge. Paid $115 shipped for mine (new) off eBay a few years back.

[RedE]

+2 on the super wedge, if the cost isn't a big deal. That drawer really comes in handy for holding miscellaneous goodies, plug followers, pin vials, etc...

[Squelchtone]

Here are some nice photos: http://www.lockpicks.com/lock-rekeying/ ... -kits.html

I had the white plastic Semi Pro one for years, and the lack of a drawer to put other stuff like a plug follower and tweezers was a negative, bought it on ebay for around $100 years ago. Didn't use it as much as I thought I would, sold it to a red team pen tester friend a while back. The white plastic Pro version has a drawer.

Pics of the Smart and Super Wedge can be found on the LAB site: http://labpins.com/htm/universal_kits.html

[G-lock]

Thank you everyone, I just ordered a lab super wedge .003 kit. Its way more than what i need, but i have a job lined up with a friends business to install & key up 8 new locks. So i figured instead of just buying the schlage pinning kit i needed to do the job i would use the money from the job to buy a nicer kit that i would probably keep for a lifetime.

[TORCH [of KCK]]

Not to sway anyone's decision,

But here's a good deal for ONE of you.
(I have enough kits)

Looks like a good. 005 kit.
(Showing well stocked)

Ships for under $28-.
Off eBay:
http://m.ebay.com/itm/Lock-Pin-Kit-/132 ... iid%253A12

[Silverado]

Ships for under $28-.
Off eBay:
http://m.ebay.com/itm/Lock-Pin-Kit-/132 ... iid%253A12

Thank you! Purchased!

[TORCH [of KCK]]

Thank you! Purchased!

Welcome

[Raccoon]

I know this is a bit of a resurrect.

I personally buy all my pins (Lab) in individual baggies of 150 (bottom pins) for $3.50 and 100 (driver top/master pins) for $2.30 from my local locksmith supplier IDN Acme. That way I can custom my own pinning KITS (multiple) based on the brands that I find myself working with the most, and then just 1 bag of everything else in between. And lots and lots of extra springs and such.

For Kwikset, I use 7-day pill containers... one for flat key pins, one for pointy key pins, and one for master pins. The extra flap on the key pins gets top pins and springs.

For everything else, I build kits with individually closable pill / tackle / bead craft containers so there is never a spill and jumble. Every large pinning kit gets spilled at least once, and only once, so that's why I've adopted this system. Never have more pins containers open than the ones you're immediately pulling from, then screw/click each top or flap closed again!

This also turns out to be way cheaper than any universal pinning kit in the long run, for business use.

You definitely need at least 300 to 1000 of each Kwikset pin if this is even mildly a small business venture in the U.S. No pinning kit gets you even close with just 20 to 50 pins per easy-mix pocket.

Can be hard to start since pins are about 2 to 3 cents each, no matter how you slice it.

Maybe I should build and sell 1-of-each-pin or 5-of-each pin kits to folks on here, who don't need 20 or 50 or 150 of each size.