MasterLock Combo Retrieval...no guessing

[musicninja17]

http://youtu.be/BvnO_cUwdrQ

Hi, i'm Carl Fisk, and this is my documented combo retrieval method for Master lock combination locks. When I first thought of this and discovered that you can actually see the discs inside, I thought it was pretty cool. But I couldn't find any videos of it. So I made one to help everybody else out.

Hope you guys enjoy.

I'd be happy to answer any questions for you. Haven't been to the forum for a while

[DayZiro]

Well that sure is depressing...I was planning on making the exact same video once I had done more exhaustive research and taken some high res photos. A couple things I would like to add.
1. To get a more precise reading, I turn until I can just barely see the gate on the wheel. Then it's always nine less from that number.
2. The locks with a pin tumbler in the back have extra hardware that prevent you from seeing the last wheel, you can simply enter the first two numbers of the combo then just pull up on the shackle and test for the last number...eventually you'll find the one non-false gate. It's also easier to eyeball two numbers and brute force the third than to eyeball all 3 numbers.
3. The offset on the newer antishim combo locks is only 7, not 9, as the new finger is smaller.

Using the method in number 2, I have been able to decode a master combo lock in under a minute on a first attempt. I've decoded about a dozen master locks so far. Using this method has yielded a 100% success rate.

[gloves]

Thanks for posting the video.

I thought combination locks discussion wasn't allowed in the open forums though. Maybe a mod will move this.

[musicninja17]

3. The offset on the newer antishim combo locks is only 7, not 9, as the new finger is smaller.

Using the method in number 2, I have been able to decode a master combo lock in under a minute on a first attempt. I've decoded about a dozen master locks so far. Using this method has yielded a 100% success rate.

What serial numbers started off the new antishim locks? I haven't come across many of them yet.

I also apologize if this is indeed in the wrong place.

[DayZiro]

From a PDF:

Since January 19th 2009, all model 1502 and 1525 locks shipped from our facilities have BlockGuard Anti-Shim Technology

I picked up a few at hardware stores for $4 each.

[Legion303]

Nice work. To answer the question of whether this should be in Advanced, *generally* we don't allow combo lock information in the open forums, but this technique relies on having a padlock that's already been opened, and deriving the combo from that state. It's not going to help anyone open a closed lock. So this is fine out here.
-steve

[gloves]

Nice work. To answer the question of whether this should be in Advanced, *generally* we don't allow combo lock information in the open forums, but this technique relies on having a padlock that's already been opened, and deriving the combo from that state. It's not going to help anyone open a closed lock. So this is fine out here.
-steve

Thanks for your explanation

[nothumbs]

It should be possible to build a 'decode' tool that inserts into the shackle opening and feels the gates line up. Anyone care to attempt the design? Something more elegant that just using a hook pick.

[DayZiro]

If you have a flashlight, a special decode tool isn't really necessary. Each gate can be found accurately and *very* quickly with good indirect light. There's also a lot of room inside of the lock, I tried using a couple picks and a tension wrench to find the gates but it was much easier just to eyeball it. YMMV of course.

Is this really the first time this is talked about? For a lock you already have open, this is leaps and bounds faster and more reliable than the pull shackle and find false gates method you see all over youtube. I'll never go back...just shim and peer inside.

[Lauren]

I have early childhood memories of playing with one of these open Master locks and using this technique to get the combo on my front porch. I was 13 years old then. I'm 42 years old now. I thought I was the first to discover America. Anyway, that's how I felt. Turns out the Indians were the first.