Cheap combination lock cracking

[Billthe4th]

Hello to you all,

Found this cheap combination padlock for £1 and thought I'd have a go at picking it:



I had no idea how it works, and I'd never read anything about how to pick combination locks, but after trying to stick a lifter pick in all sorts of places, I notcied something interesting...



Can you see down the side of the dials there are little nobbles? Well when you get to four places above the correct number, a gap appears in the nobbles:



if you line up all the gaps then turn each dial 4 places down, you have cracked the combination! I assume when all the gaps are lined up inside the lock it allows the shackle to move forward...

Not sure how many other locks this trick would work for, but it's good fun to fool people with!

Hope this is vaguely interesting/useful to someone

Bill.

[Chrispy]

Nifty. What brand is it? Looks like a cheap no-name luggage lock. You'll find some of the better brands will have no space in between the wheels.

[Shrub]

You can even buy a tool to achieve your new found trick called a seasame decoder, if its not a knobble its a flat

[grit1]

Welcome to the world or putting observations like that one to work for you in your picking! Keep observing, experimenting and asking questions.

[Billthe4th]

Thanks for the replies

In answer to your question Chrisy, you're right, there is no brand on the lock at all, and it was very cheap. Just dug the packet out of the bin and the company name on there is Avocet Hardware plc. anyone ever heard of them?

I had a look at some of the more expensive combination locks at the ahrdware store today and they appear to be manufactured to a much higher standard. You wouldnt be able to see down the edge of the rollers, but if you stuck something like a lifter pick down there you might be able to feel the 'flats'? I assume this is what your sesame decoder does Shrub?

While I was there I bought a Master no. 5 lock, which has turned out to be a to pick.

Thanks again,

Bill.

[vector40]

Wow... it's almost like a cutaway. You should use that sucker to demonstrate the mechanics of these locks to people

[Chrispy]

In answer to your question Chrisy, you're right, there is no brand on the lock at all...

Meh, at least it wasn't the h.

[Billthe4th]

In answer to your question Chrisy, you're right, there is no brand on the lock at all...

Meh, at least it wasn't the h.

sorry Chrispy, was just a typo I promise! Noticed it when i read through the post, but you cant edit posts in this forum?!

Vector40: you are right, they would make good demonstration locks. As I said before, they're only £1 from a local shop, if anyone wants one I'd be happy to post one to them....

[DrStu]

I discovered the same method works on briefcases with dials except, when you see the flat surface you are on the right number.

[triman247]

All great info. Got the breifcase one to work on mine. woooo. My first attempt at opening something in a long time. (Like 3 months!!!!)

Just haven't had time recently because of school

triman

[makoto]

I had fun with locks like this in my school. In the locker room (I'm in 8th grade btw) most people use combo master locks or the spherical ones. I use can shims (my friends can't use them for some reason) to mess with peoples locks. It's freaking fun. My friend guessed the combo of a combo lock like the one in your picture. It was 100. Genius, huh? Well, we had some fun with it by changing the combo. just turn it backwards, push in, and change it to your desired number.

PS do any of you know how to open the older master locks that have a key on the back? I bought one since I couldn't crack it.

[workstation]

Avocet are importers. They import all sorts of stuff -usually cheap stuff- from the Far East, so the manufacturer of your lock could be any one of hundreds.

[dmux]

pretty cool man, very observant, i would have never noticed that

[conker]

i learned how to do something similar with a bike lock, instead of seeing it though i felt it. i could feel a little pressure give way... a little clink... and i would know i was close or on that number. it's simple why it works, it has litte discs that stop the lock from opening, which looked like this |_|_|____ so it the discs would catch the |'s and therefore stopping it from opening.

pulling also helped. but nice find, i'll keep my eyes open for one like that so i can try it for myself.

[devildog]

Yes, this is a bypass that's been around for quite a while, but congrats on figuring it out yourself, and the way it's normally done is by feeling the wheels with a tool as you mentioned, the most popular one being the Peterson mini-knife:

http://www.peterson-international.com/by-pass-tools.htm