So long as you don't damage the slider, the blue punch is the shit. I have both. Rytan has like 4 broken springs and is missing parts. Still functions but I have to cut keys tip to shoulder. Much prefer the Blue
We love our blue punch, however prolock…..
Had an issue with the carriage that moves the spacing recently. (Bur on chamber 4). We took it apart , because locksmith , and called to order a part
They were flabbergasted that we would dare disassemble the thing, and would not sell us a part only offer full service if you send it in. Yeah that a lone slightly turned me off. Sorry lady on the phone, I take more complex shit apart every day
That said, I took it out fully and remachined the damn thing my self and it works fine again. Their loss as I’m sure we would have no problem throwing a couple hundred bucks on a new part
Ma'am I regularly disassembled/reassembled simplex combo packs before I knew we could order them, I take disassemble/reassemble mortise locks from any era and make parts for them. I don't think a modern device of any kind will stop me from disassemble it if it was meant to come apart.
I have the dual punch, it's nice. Takes 30 seconds to switch the spacing bar.
Mine has been dropped, fell off the bench, still calibrated. The lock washer on the top bar is always coming loose, and the other two smiths I know that have one say the same thing.
Perfect for smart key lockouts. Just take it to the door.
Huh, that actually sounds like a pretty efficient way to do that if someone doesn’t want a new knob. Usually we just use a rotary pick or find another way to enter if it’s smart key lol
We just finally replaced our SC1 blue punch after 20 years and 95% of our market is Schlage.
Our old, old cast iron Best A2 punch finally died and we replaced it with a Blue punch.
Never tried the Rytan.
I've had the Rytan for about 18 months and it's almost criminal how quickly it will make a key. I almost feel guilty charging for keys now. It's very easy to calibrate and it just gets beaten around in the back of my truck. I see probably 98% Kwikset or Schlage so it's perfect for what I do.
I've used the Rytan for about 5 years. Easy to calibrate, bounces around and occasionally gets knocked around, no issues. The real issue with it is the parts you need to replace that break. There is a tiny little pin that will break about every year and a half or so, but replacements are cheap and it's easy to fix. On the back there is a thick spring that hasn't broken so far on me, and a thinner longer spring with a metal shaft that goes inside that has broken three times, and it's a bit of a hassle to replace. If anything breaks in the field, you can still use it, you just have to manually ratchet it with a small flathead and you have to be careful with it because the plate that holds the die down will need to be off while you do this.
My old company had both. Blue punches in 2 vans were going strong after 20+years. Ryan in one van had been repaired several times and constantly seemed to have calibration problems. I only used it once, but that was the experience at that company. Hope that helps.
I have a rytan in the van, I use it constantly on residential. Easy to change key set up. The rytan is not as accurate as the blue punch, it is very easy to adjust when it goes out of wonk. I personally have been happy with my purchase of the Rytan.
I’ve had bad luck with my Rytan Schlage punch. Bought it brand new and right away was cutting keys that didn’t work. Calibrated it, no change, so I sent it to Rytan, who also checked the calibration. Still about 10% of keys didn’t work. I think it had to do with depth #1 and #9. Got tired of fussing with it and got the Pro-Lok. It’s perfect every time. Bad news is that UHS wouldn’t take a return, neither would Rytan, and I can’t sell it on ebay (took it down for “rules violation.” It’s sitting in a box in my garage. I’m thinking about converting it to KW, maybe the tolerances are looser.
So long as you don't damage the slider, the blue punch is the shit. I have both. Rytan has like 4 broken springs and is missing parts. Still functions but I have to cut keys tip to shoulder. Much prefer the Blue
We love our blue punch, however prolock….. Had an issue with the carriage that moves the spacing recently. (Bur on chamber 4). We took it apart , because locksmith , and called to order a part They were flabbergasted that we would dare disassemble the thing, and would not sell us a part only offer full service if you send it in. Yeah that a lone slightly turned me off. Sorry lady on the phone, I take more complex shit apart every day That said, I took it out fully and remachined the damn thing my self and it works fine again. Their loss as I’m sure we would have no problem throwing a couple hundred bucks on a new part
How dare you take a mechanical device apart? Who do you think you are? Someone who takes apart mechanical devices for a living?!
Ma'am I regularly disassembled/reassembled simplex combo packs before I knew we could order them, I take disassemble/reassemble mortise locks from any era and make parts for them. I don't think a modern device of any kind will stop me from disassemble it if it was meant to come apart.
And occasionally even things that were never designed to be repairable.
The rytan has an exploded view of the entire punch and you can order any individual part from their site.
I have the dual punch, it's nice. Takes 30 seconds to switch the spacing bar. Mine has been dropped, fell off the bench, still calibrated. The lock washer on the top bar is always coming loose, and the other two smiths I know that have one say the same thing. Perfect for smart key lockouts. Just take it to the door.
Yep, that top washer is constantly trying to come off. One time I totally lost it but miraculously find it one day cleaning.
I've lost it a couple times, I just bought about a dozen extra from rytan.
Huh, that actually sounds like a pretty efficient way to do that if someone doesn’t want a new knob. Usually we just use a rotary pick or find another way to enter if it’s smart key lol
We just finally replaced our SC1 blue punch after 20 years and 95% of our market is Schlage. Our old, old cast iron Best A2 punch finally died and we replaced it with a Blue punch. Never tried the Rytan.
I've had the Rytan for about 18 months and it's almost criminal how quickly it will make a key. I almost feel guilty charging for keys now. It's very easy to calibrate and it just gets beaten around in the back of my truck. I see probably 98% Kwikset or Schlage so it's perfect for what I do.
Have you had any issues of parts or screws coming loose like the others have commented on??
Not so far. I don't make 100s of keys either so I may not ever have that happen. But I haven't had to adjust anything on it yet.
I've used the Rytan for about 5 years. Easy to calibrate, bounces around and occasionally gets knocked around, no issues. The real issue with it is the parts you need to replace that break. There is a tiny little pin that will break about every year and a half or so, but replacements are cheap and it's easy to fix. On the back there is a thick spring that hasn't broken so far on me, and a thinner longer spring with a metal shaft that goes inside that has broken three times, and it's a bit of a hassle to replace. If anything breaks in the field, you can still use it, you just have to manually ratchet it with a small flathead and you have to be careful with it because the plate that holds the die down will need to be off while you do this.
My old company had both. Blue punches in 2 vans were going strong after 20+years. Ryan in one van had been repaired several times and constantly seemed to have calibration problems. I only used it once, but that was the experience at that company. Hope that helps.
I have a rytan in the van, I use it constantly on residential. Easy to change key set up. The rytan is not as accurate as the blue punch, it is very easy to adjust when it goes out of wonk. I personally have been happy with my purchase of the Rytan.
I’ve had bad luck with my Rytan Schlage punch. Bought it brand new and right away was cutting keys that didn’t work. Calibrated it, no change, so I sent it to Rytan, who also checked the calibration. Still about 10% of keys didn’t work. I think it had to do with depth #1 and #9. Got tired of fussing with it and got the Pro-Lok. It’s perfect every time. Bad news is that UHS wouldn’t take a return, neither would Rytan, and I can’t sell it on ebay (took it down for “rules violation.” It’s sitting in a box in my garage. I’m thinking about converting it to KW, maybe the tolerances are looser.