Warded Padlocks - A Guide by illusion

[mr_chris79]

I ground down the key and left only the top two tabs, it opened the lock. As you can see from this new picture, the keyways are a zig zag shape, and different. So the key wouldn't fit in my old lock. I made a new "key" out of an old sawblade and it fits in and opens both locks. I guess these master locks have two levers to turn before they will open.

[PaleHorse]

So with all the different shapes of keyways, are the commonly available warded picks still worthwhile?

[Dak]

Yes because (at least on mine) the keyway rotates, also the warded picks are skinny enough to fit in the keyway.

[m4nd33p]

thanks a lot for this guide.
i wanna pick a lock which although seems similar to these ward locks but not sure (i'm not experienced as you guys).
Pyrhhus directed me to visit this link, i found it very useful as the locks are very different from the usual tumbler/cylinder based ones that i tried.

here is my post from where Pyrhhus directed me here. viewtopic.php?f=8&t=42885

can u tell me if those locks can be picked as u told here?
i did not succeed in opening these locks, though they seem similar. please take a look.

thanks n regards.

[atikin]

I never saw a lock like that. What is the name of that lock? And how does a keyhole looks like?

[james5345]

you know what untill now i was too frightened to find out what warded locks were.

Excellent

[t-vizz the 2nd]

Cool Guide, I have a little Master Lock L-23. Took me a while to figure it out but was stunned on how easy it is if you know what to do. Never really understood how exactly the key would work until this guide, and it also gave me confirmation that it is in fact a "Warded" lock. Thanks for that

[papa_delicious]

I just bought a warded master padlock today, thought it would be cool to have something my standard set of southord picks couldn't open, even if a paper clip can they're even cheaper than the no.3, but now that I understand how they work i can see why they would be cheaper to manufacture.

since the masters have two springs, do you think I'm better off using a skeleton key from the original, or would it be easier to make a bicycle spoke pick? how might one do that for a lock with two levers? and perhaps most importantly how (besides knowing the locks as very few warded locks are still in use) to tell if a lock has multiple levers or just one that needs to be moved in the back?

[arrogantbastard]

that helped alot. being able to see the inside. i found a lock on the rail road track and i couldnt figure out what kind it was until i read this. i was walking down the tracks and noticed the lock i found came from the lever to change the tracks. it seems like they would put better locks on there. that could end up badly.

[ElAbogado]

Never knew those wards could be interchangable.
Is that a common thing?

Since I made it into a cut-away I could just pull them out of the slots and move them about. If you wanted to keep it as a functional security lock, then you'd have to find a way to taking the top side off, and perhaps welding it back on when you're finished moving the wards about.

I'm glad you liked the guide.

Why go through all that trouble to rekey a lock that offers little in the way of security? Warded locks went out in the 60's as a viable technology.

[ericcub7]

Another great guide.

Love the pictures

[just_chris]

Wow, what an insecure "lock"!
I'm not certain, but I think the lockers at school might have used a similar system. We are going back the late 80's, but I have vague memories of some of the kids being able to open the lockers of others, and of the key being able to turn around inside the lock even when only partially inserted. At the time I had no special interest in locks so didn't pay great attention to the mechanism and action.
The keys themselves only had the notches on one side though - however I can't see a reason why you couldn't make a warded lock with the wards on only one side. Can anyone with more knowledge confirm this?

The key was just a flat piece of metal that looked something like this...

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P.S. They didn't teach me ASCII art at school, so I'm self-taught

[Victor's Vector]

I found that hammering a nail flat and then shaping the flat end and grinding down any excess so it turns easily works great. All you do is put a 90 degree bend in the bottom, or a loop and you have a very strong and durable warded lock pick that works well on locks that ar stuck and have strong springs, the nail is just simply made out of strong material and can be shaped any way you want.

[lsphinx]

Great guide, very nice indeed... clear pics.

These old lock mechanisms are surprising on how they resist the elements.

[greenman]

Very good guide nice pictures and explanation you make it easy to understand.