Under The Door Tool

Tools and equipment to get the job done.
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Psychlonic
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Under The Door Tool

Post by Psychlonic » Mon Nov 07, 2016 4:11 am

Seeing a picture NINJAHAMMER threw up of a handled door reminded me of this little tool here:

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http://shop.riftrecon.com/products/under-the-door-tool
You can see it in action here:

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOQsAnJ0uk4
This of course is just a particular brand of this style of door opener, you can find other brands or even just opt to make your own easily enough. I think the picture and the video speak for themselves. I was also reading an interesting article written by an MIT student where the idea can be adapted to be used in push-bar doors. You know, the ones you just shove into the middle "bar" of and exit. More info here:

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http://web.mit.edu/zacka/www/nlias.html
Being such a lightweight device, it would be easy enough to carry around and would present a faster method of opening these particular types of doors when other quick entry methods are unavailable.
Knowledge alone is not power, it is the potential for power. That potential can only be unlocked through applying that knowledge and realizing the skill.

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Re: Under The Door Tool

Post by Xanatos » Mon Nov 07, 2016 5:57 am

Neat, definitely looks like something easily home-made. Would be invaluable for us more urban operatives.
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Re: Under The Door Tool

Post by NINJAHAMMER » Fri Nov 11, 2016 3:01 am

Interesting , my cheap L shaped tool made from pallet strapping , made by an MIT dude. Well I can attest to the fact that they do work. I have never used an under the door tool but had contemplated it before seeing that they were being sold. I did use an L shaped tool to open push bar doors. Works very well if there are two sets of doors with a space in the middle; you insert the L shaped tool in the gap between the doors and turn it so that it catches the push bar and then pull it towards you to open the door from outside of the door. My idea , first seen here on Night Ops , for a push bar door with no gap to open it from the inside . . . is you drill two holes in the door. One hole is drilled in the door above where the push bar will be and a second hole is drilled below where the push bar should be. You then push a weighted string ( possibly a metal fishing sinker on the end) through the top hole and you use a dental hook or expandable magnet through the bottom hole to catch the string so that the string or wire goes through the top hole, over the push bar and back out through the bottom hole. By now pulling on the string, it may push the push bar inwards and open the door. Extremely powerful electro magnets may also be a possibility , where you place the magnet on the outside of the door where the push bar should be and activate the device to pull in the push bar - not sure if this is possible and it requires special equipment/ magnets.

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Re: Under The Door Tool

Post by Psychlonic » Thu Mar 25, 2021 3:45 pm

So I've noticed this tool has seen a little more popularity on YouTube and decided to watch a large amount of videos on it. Some innovations since this topic have been brilliant, others rehash, and lack of one in particular I find hilarious and a little disappointing.

First, the air balloon used to increase viability of the UDT as an entry tool is a great. This is much handier than using wedges or prying methods. Also, I've seen some takes on opening crash bar doors that seem better than the Jaclyn II as illustrated in the above MIT link (still available on the Wayback Machine). Using a softer, grippy material to open knobs was also brilliant.

Attacking over the door is also a great concept and worth its own topic.

But the real reason I'm necro'ing my post here is because I watched all the experts fail again and again at opening handles with flat handles and struggling hard with 45 degree handles. There were some really janky solutions they were using to get around this and all I could think of was a really obvious solution that I didn't see a single one of them use.

I can draw a diagram if anyone needs, but if you're familiar with UDTs you'll have noticed that the handle always ends up being stuck in the 45 to 90 degree crook near the tip of the tool. That angle is what ends up being pulled into the handle material as the string is pulled down, opening the door.

Instead of using weird hooks and shit, modify the tool so that there is a short, narrow channel that comes off of this angle... yeah I'm probably going to need to make a diagram for this... but that channel could have the inside rubber coated while keeping everything thin and then the coating is then siped (thin slices up and down it). This makes it so that when you operate the tool as normal, get the string around the handle and pull down, that channel is going to get pulled over the handle grabbing it hard and as you apply more tension the channel will grip all the harder. I'll bust out a drawing later making this more clear when I'm at a platform that will allow me to do so but I'm sure some of you get the idea until then.

Edit: Shit-tacular illustration
Image

I think a bigger revamp of the tool can make it even more versatile and future-proof it against currently discussed countermeasures, but that's for another time.
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Re: Under The Door Tool

Post by Sicarius » Thu Mar 25, 2021 7:45 pm

If I ever get into the security industry, I have already thought about making a company which makes covert entry tools of quality and tailored to "nightops"(without directly advertising of course lol). Just imagine a telescoping UDT, or a telescoping car entry kit. Polymer stuff? Skeletonized stuff? Foldable? Telescoping? I can guarantee many pen testers and military people would love to slim down their load, and it would be a great purchase for us. As for the UDT discussed here, I agree. So many tools could use improvements, but don't for some reason. This is a good idea, mine was a bit different but did not cover as many problems as yours.
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Re: Under The Door Tool

Post by MustacheOperator » Mon May 24, 2021 5:52 am

Great tool.

An umbrella works well against crash bar type mechanisms, although this method will be obvious after the fact.

You use a hole saw to punch a hole just large enough for the umbrella to fit through. Expand it, and pull the door open.

Fire regulations and accessibility regulations ensure all commercial exterior doors are either lever handle or crash bar type. It also prohibits points of egress being locked with the exception of those alarmed type delay locks.

Obviously this method isn't stealthy, but sometimes speed is your friend.

UDT, when it is appropriate, works wonders. :)

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Re: Under The Door Tool

Post by Sicarius » Mon May 24, 2021 12:14 pm

"If one cannot be both, it is much better to be feared than loved" - Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince

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Re: Under The Door Tool

Post by Psychlonic » Tue May 25, 2021 6:36 pm

I feel like if I thought about it for awhile I could probably improve further on the UDT to carry that same functionality, but alas...

Crash bars can be handled with a UDT itself with some modifications. Namingly, turning the eye at the end into more of a hook and running the string over the top of it allowing you to hook above the bar and pull the string into it. But it makes the process a delicate act and I'm not satisfied with it. If you know it's an obstacle I suppose carrying multiple tools is what it is, but I've always been in the camp of being able to maintain capability with less.

Maybe one of these days I'll get motivated and tinker around with a universal "around the door" tool of sorts. The obvious interim solution that comes to mind is a socket system with interchangeable heads secured with a locking wing nut. Think of how tent poles assemble but with a locking feature. You'd still be carrying around some bits and pieces but it would be better than multiple full-size tools. The socket of course wouldn't be flexible either and might stress materials immediately above and below it. Hence testing and tinkering.
Knowledge alone is not power, it is the potential for power. That potential can only be unlocked through applying that knowledge and realizing the skill.

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