• Cotter pins are usually inexpensive.Robert Kirk/Photodisc/Getty Images
  
  Cotter pins can be used to clasp many different objects and come in a variety of design specifications. Cotter pins may be fashioned from materials including aluminum, silver or brass and usually are wrapped at one end of the pin to allow for easy handling, clasping or hooking.
  
  

Chisel Point Pin

• A standard 1/32-inch diameter chisel point cotter pin will have extended prongs ranging in diameters of up to .06 inches in length, according to Western Wire Prod. Extended-prong chisel point pin shank diameters tend to range from .028 to .032 inches and provide circular heads extending .06 inches in diameter. Even-ended chisel cotter pins have equally sized prong tips, which are both fashioned with chisel points.
  
  

Hammerlock Pins

• Hammer lock cotter pins are designed with diameters between 1/16 inches through 3/8 inches and have an upper shaft prong that angles downward over the chiseled point of the bottom edge, according to Western Wire Prod. Head diameters can range from .06 inches to 1.5 inches. Additionally, hammerlock gauge holes can be custom designed in sizes of .047 inches to 3/4 inch.
  
  

Taper Point Pins

• Taper point pins are specially designed cotter pins, similar to standard extended chisel point options. The difference between the two is that the tape point has a bottom-based extended chisel point--as opposed to the standard, which is top-based, according to Western Wire Prod. The tape point ranges in diameter from 3/32 inches through 3/8 inches and can be designed--like the standard chisel point--with even- or extended-prong options.