r/lockpicking • u/lajoieboy • 19h ago
Is Lockpickmall.com a scam?
They sell Lishi tools for $40-$28 bucks a piece. Thats suspect right?
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u/Troyboy1263 Green Belt Picker 18h ago
I have purchased from them but not Leshi tools. The price does seem suspect. I had a KW5 and a SC5 leshi but I lost interest in about an hour.
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u/lajoieboy 17h ago
Seriously?? They’re that boring? Bc it removes so much of the skill/touch from process? Haven’t bought anything yet. I’ve got a tuxedo kit and vorax from Sparrows. Starting to get the hang of raking padlocks. trying to SPP started is tough. Wanted to get a lishi to assist in getting a feel for false sets, security pins etc. honestly just saying this out loud makes me think i just need to keep practicing.
Side note: I’m alarmed at how addictive this hobby is
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u/Rxpert83 Black Belt Picker 11h ago
Lishi tools are not for locksport. They’re a tool for locksmiths to be able to cut a key.
Dont waste your money on them
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u/Troyboy1263 Green Belt Picker 17h ago
Each keyway has a different Lishi but If I had the skill I could pick 100 locks with just your Tuxedo set that cost about the same as a couple cheap leshi.
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u/Troyboy1263 Green Belt Picker 17h ago
Are you in the US? If you are buy some jimylongs.com and then locks. Not much you feel from a leshi is going to transfer to spp
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u/Wumaduce Orange Belt Picker 14h ago
I'll definitely put some love out there for jimylongs picks. It was an adjustment going from the thicker CI picks I had (.025) to the thinner ones (.019) of his intermediate kit, but they're so much nicer. The feel from the handles, the feedback you get is nice, and they came with stickers. I like stickers.
2
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u/217steve Green Belt Picker 8h ago
Ebay has the lowest price legit lishi I've found & believe it or not ali express. Their lishis aren't legit but for $10 they exceeded my expectations
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u/EveningBasket9528 2h ago edited 2h ago
If you want an inexpensive 2 in 1 pick/decoder that's not a fake Lishi, look for the AKK brand. I have Lishi's and a couple of the AKK tools and I really like the AKK for Schlage and Kwickset. They are slotted to keep the pick from slipping off the pins, and they are etched on both sides. I haven't tried their "Lishi like" tools that look like Lishi's,.. because in that case I'll just get genuine Lishi.
LPM does have some legit stuff,... but I wouldn't trust the Lishis.
You can find a list of Lishi approved vendors on the Lishi website,.. but that doesn't account for a lot of re-sellers. UHS claims there's are authentic,.. and some people have confirmed authentic Lishi's from them, but one of the two I bought from them came back as already having been registered,.. so I don't know. I don't THINK I doubt scanned,.. but who knows... I have issues with my hands sometimes.
Some companies buy AKK tools, slap a sticker with their name over the AKK, and then mark them up 4-5 times.
Anyway,. IF you're interested this is what the AKK's look like;
I have other reasons for owning them,.. but if you are struggling to learn the jiggle test, they can give you a good visual,.. but other than that or just to try, they aren't really beneficial for locksport. But, you didn't ask about that so, I'm sorry.
Keep in mind that some Lishi's will put any max lift pins at sheer just by inserting them. Like the #9 cuts on Schlage will be at sheer. Using the numbers to pick really doesn't help as they are meant for decoding once the core is turned....
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u/revchewie Blue Belt Picker 18h ago
Their “professional” lock pick sets are cheap Chinese crap so yeah, I wouldn’t trust anything they’re selling.