Officer’s tools are designed to cause minimal damage to doors and their internal locking mechanisms during the process of removing a lock cylinder. Many officer’s tools come with shove knives capable of manipulating the locking mechanism directly, which ultimately unlocks and opens the door. The door will still be locked after the lock cylinder is removed, as the internal locking mechanism will still be intact.

At this point, the lock cylinder can be pulled out of the door by using the handle of the officer’s tool as a lever. The user then holds the tool at a slight angle and hits the striking surface with a blunt object until it is firmly wedged in place around the lock. To remove a cylindrical lock from a door using an officer’s tool, a user positions the head of the tool so that the exposed portion of the lock cylinder is directly between the tool’s prongs. A common modification involves adding metal spikes and forks to one end of the tool, similar to a Halligan bar. Individual firefighters and fire departments may make modifications to officer's tools based on the types of locks and doors found in their area. The angle of the prongs resembles an upper-case letter A, hence the name 'A-tool'. One side of the head terminates in a flat striking surface, while the other features two metal prongs that taper outward.

Design and usage Īn officer’s tool is composed of two primary sections: a heavily padded metal handle, and a two-sided metal head. A door that has had its lock cylinder removed can be outfitted with a new one afterward with only minor cosmetic damage, making officer’s tools a less destructive alternative to other forcible entry devices like fireman’s axes and battering rams. Officer’s tools can be used on any type of cylindrical lock, including rim locks, police locks, dead-bolts, or key-in-the-knob locks. Officer’s tools are designed to completely remove cylindrical locks from doors without causing major structural damage, allowing for direct access to the internal locking mechanism. Device for forced entry through a door lockĪn officer’s tool (also known as an A-tool, rex tool, or lock puller) is a forcible entry device used by firefighters and other first responders.

Officertool