Depth Keys

[abroxis]

Fat bastard should have read flat bastard file.

The book was off the net and probably had a number of typos when scanned and put through ocr.

[MBI]

...I have a triangular file, with one corner ground smooth. It's made so that I can widen key cuts, without the danger of deepening them. I just make sure the smooth edge is facing the root of the cut (Where the pin sits in the cut), and adjust the angle, and widen the cut if necessary.

That's an excellent tip, thanks for sharing it.

Fat bastard should have read flat bastard file.
The book was off the net and probably had a number of typos when scanned and put through ocr.

That made me laugh.

[jeffmoss26]

I've never actually seen a pippin file. I'll have to ask if they have one in the tool crib here!

[magician59]

Here's a link to a Pippin file. It shows the file's profile. The shape looks like the shape of an apple seed, hence its name.

http://www.lockpickersmall.com/fi-p-2.html.

Mastersmith's right. I consistently make factory-quality keys using a Pippin file. Most of us prefer to reach for this when impressioning keys, because with the file, we can cut the depth, and shape the cuts as we go.

[Vitti]

Be prepared, since pippins are not in high demand and their profile is more challenging to manufacture, they are quite a bit more expensive than any other common profile. Like 3x the price or more of a rat tail/round file.

[mdc5150]

http://hawleylocksupply.com/Merchant2/m ... ode=Grobet

This is where I got my pippin file. They are expensive but well worth the money.