Lately, the market has been flooded with counterfeit “Lishi” tools. They look similar, they’re significantly cheaper, and they claim to do the same job.

But they don’t. Here is why you need to stop buying fake Lishi tools immediately.

What Are Fake Lishi Tools?

In the locksmithing industry, “Fake Lishi Tools” refers to any lock picking and decoding tool that uses the “Lishi” brand name, design, or patented technology without being manufactured by the original inventor, Mr. Li Zhiqin, or his authorized factory.

Authentic Lishi tools are precision-engineered instruments invented by Mr. Li Zhiqin. They are famous for combining a pick and a decoder into one tool, allowing a locksmith to open a lock and read the bitting (the depths of the cuts) simultaneously.

Lishi Tools are sold through different sales channels, for example, “Original Lishi” (export edition) or “Classic Lishi” (Chinese edition), and also some other Chinese authorized distributors. Authentic Lishi tools often come with Mr. Li face logo, but cloned design that copy the specific dimensions, tension grid, and lifter arm design of the original Lishi tools but use inferior manufacturing processes, can also be considered as “fake Lishi tools”.

Authentic Lishi tools come with a scratched-off verification label. If a tool lacks this label or the code fails on the official verification website, it is a fake. Some sellers sell “Lishi-style” tools that look identical but don’t have the logo. While technically “clones,” they are often grouped into the “fake” category because they lack the precision of the original.

Locksmiths regret buying fake Lishi tools because they fail unpredictably on real jobs, damage locks, and give bad readings, which costs time, money, and reputation.

Why locksmiths regret fakes

• Breakage on the job: Mr. Li’s own warning and dealer guides note that counterfeit picks are made from inferior steel and “may break on your next critical job,” leaving you stuck mid-service and possibly with a broken arm in the lock.
• Lost time and profit: When a tool bends or snaps, you may have to disassemble the lock, switch methods, or reschedule, turning a simple lockout or key-make into a loss instead of billable work.
• Damage to the lock and liability: Softer or poorly finished tips can burr, snag wafers/pins, and score the plug, increasing the risk you damage the customer’s lock and have to repair or replace it at your expense.
• Unreliable reads and call-backs: Locksmiths report that cheaper “genuine/knockoff” style tools often give off-by-one or “in-between” cut readings, so the key you cut from the decode may not work, forcing rework or on-site recuts.
• Reputation hit: Using tools that visibly struggle or fail makes you look unprepared or unprofessional; Mr. Li’s caution specifically mentions that fakes “defeat your pride of being professional locksmiths.”

How fake tools physically fail vs originals

• Weaker or inconsistent steel: Counterfeit picks are described as being made with “inferior material,” which means they are more likely to bend, twist, or snap under normal tension, while original Mr. Li tools are engineered to flex slightly but return to true.
• Poor tolerances and fit: Locksmiths report that some knockoff tools will not fully enter the keyway or will bind on the way in, while the original tool for the same keyway slides and works correctly, showing that the pattern and milling are off.
• Inaccurate scale and tip geometry: Even if a fake opens the lock, small errors in the cut depths or tip shape translate into decode lines that don’t match real key bittings, so you get “in-between cuts” and unusable keys; originals are calibrated for accurate reading.
• Finish and durability differences: Pros often describe original tools as having better overall finish, smoother movement, and more durable tension arms and hinges, whereas cheaper copies can feel sharp, gritty, or loose and wear faster.

While a fake Lishi might look 95% like a real one, the 5% difference is where the problems lie: Fakes often use “pot metal” or cheaper stainless steel. This makes the lifter arm (the thin part that moves the wafers) brittle. They are prone to snapping off inside the lock.

On a real Lishi, the lines on the grid align perfectly with the wafers in the lock. On fakes, these lines are often off by 0.1mm to 0.5mm. This leads to misreads, causing you to cut an incorrect key.

How to avoid fakes in practice

• Buy only from known Mr. Li channels (Classic/Original Lishi and their listed distributors) and avoid random marketplace sellers promising “Lishi-style” tools at a fraction of the price.
• Check logos and labels: guides note that official Mr. Li picks use specific label styles, while many fakes use misleading verification stickers or green/blue bands that real products do not use.
• Be wary of too-good pricing: locksmiths point out that authentic automotive tools commonly cost $25 and $60 depending on the model, so tools at half that price from unknown brands/sites are often knockoffs.

Fake Lishi tools often can be found on sites like AliExpress or eBay for $10 to $20. For a hobbyist, a $10 tool might seem fine. But for a professional locksmith whose livelihood depends on speed and reliability, the $20 “savings” on a fake tool can lead to a $500 mistake if a tip breaks off in a customer’s ignition.

If you tell me what kind of work you do (auto vs residential, full-time vs hobby), I can suggest whether starting with a smaller set of genuine tools or a few key profiles makes more sense than gambling on a bundle of cheaper copies.