A Brief History of Lishi Tools
Originated in early 2000s, Mr. Li named his tools “Lishi Tools” (中文：李氏工具) which comes with an oval “Lishi” logo. And in 2009, Mr. Li started his partnership with UAP Limited. His ex-business partner UAP Limited (aka. TradeLocks) was marketing his original tools under the brand name “Lishi Tools”.
The two company broken up in 2011, UAP then registered their own “Genuine Lishi” trademark, and started manufacturing their own line of Lishi-style lock picks in Shenzhen, China. And Mr. Li renamed his business name to “Lizhiqin Tools” (中文：李志勤工具), and registered his face and his name as the new trademark.
Although Mr. Li renamed his brand to “Lizhiqin Tools”, but it’s only known to Chinese locksmiths. Mr. Li and the company officially advertise their tools “Mr. Li Tools” on locksmith exhibitions. In 2015 someone from Australia registered the “Original Lishi” trademark and became Mr. Li’s new partner.
Mr. Li’s line of lockpicks started at his backyard factory, with help from his locksmith friends and trainees. Lishi laser picks were his first creations, until these tools were stopped production and replaced by Lishi 2-in-1 tools in the middle of 2010s, when new improved, and revolutionary design was introduced.
In 2017 Mr Li moved his business to an even larger factory with better facilities and equipment, to keep up the high demand of his tools, and this new factory is dedicated to producing lock picks of the best possible quality.
Which Lishi Pick Is Best? (Among 3 Lishi Brands)
I found a video on YouTube by DeviantOllam, who’s talking about the differences among 3 Lishi SC4 picks. Deviant has 3 Lishi lock pick brands reviewed: one red label “Original Lishi”, one green label “Classic Lishi”, and the third one without label. He said the green label Lishi tool is Genuine Lishi, and the one without label but with Mr. Li’s face logo is not made by Mr. Li’s factory, that’s NOT right.
For some reason, although Mr. Li had renamed his brand to “Lizhiqin Tools”, this name isn’t widely accepted except Chinese locksmith communities. Our company, as well as other Chinese distributors still call Mr. Li’s original tools “Lishi Tools”, and our company advertise them as “Classic Lishi”. So back to the video, both Classic Lishi (green label) and Original Lishi (red label) are made by Mr. Li.