[263791] picking the core of the universe under 30 seconds and making a pschyhospecidemic wormhole that creates a unitenchiual paradox destroying the universe as a whole
@@DeeSnow97 im sure the postal service knows this and isnt gonna be that dumb, they for sure have a method for detecting when its opened in anyway shape or form
Tan110688 - exactly. Look up tamper seals, they are almost exclusively very thin pieces of wire with a tag with a very specific serial number. So cutting it is extremely trivial, any dollar store pair of wire cutters could do it, but these sorts of bags are supposed to be under the constant care of a postal worker. I suppose the beefier locks are just meant to delay any sort of offensive seizing of the bag, like a person disabling the postal worker and going for the goods, this might slow them down or deter them a slight amount, maybe enough for police to arrive. The counter is there to keep honest postal workers honest.
@Hugohopser The numbers could be shipped separately along a different route (possibly by courier, or by telegraph, fax, the internet, or telephone) As long as they both get to a nonmalignant recipient who can check the numbers match, it's *much* better than just shipping the package unsealed
@@wazz35 Registered Mail also involves a Chain of Custody record. Every USPS employee who touches the lockbox has to sign receipt of it, date and time, and note when they surrendered it to the next person. The customer can demand that chain of custody record upon receipt. Registered Mail can be used for DoD Secret material, and the DoD often requests that record, especially if the internal packaging shows signs of tamper.
I would have never guessed that the overclock security was simply because of a little bit of extra plastic preventing the thousandth position 9 to roll over to a 0.
If it did change later, you then face the issue of being able to open it before it clicks over. You can’t lock it again without it incrementing, but then I guess it was a tradeoff they made during design.
I would imagine it did its one and only job of proving it has been tampered with. Also, I would assume once it was decided that it has been tampered with you could either destroy the lock or just destructively open whatever is containing the mail.
Someone may have noticed that a lock intended to "self-destruct" after 10,000 operations didn't need to be made from expensive machined brass when the molded nylon would easily hold up for the limited number of operations.
it's not to self destruct, it's to prevent people from opening it at a certain number and then rotating it 10000 times back to that same number, falsely indicating that the seal is unbroken
@@matthewlehman7937 - anything that prevents the lock from functioning after some number of operations (no matter why it is done) is "self-destruct" in my book. I didn't mean to say that it would explode a la Mission Impossible. It's a quibble; never mind.
There are two explanations for that. 1.) You could theoretically melt the brass down and recast it as new locks. 2.) The federal government designed and purchased these.
Brilliant locks that should be still used today. Manufacturers should look to the past for lost ideas that were simply not viable for the time. Great work! 👍
Fascinating design. The fact that the pick needs to inserted into the plug almost the entire way is almost a security feature itself. If the keyway would have been more paracentric and tight it would make for breaking picks much easier which would up the pick resistance, but at the end of the day its a lock for administrative use. keep up the awesome vids.
That is absolutely fascinating! I wonder if the similar locks you see on the money bags the armoured trucks use are similar. That is pretty dang cool man, thanks for the demo!
Thanks. No idea about the money bags, but it would certainly make sense... though I suspect that an economically rational player like a bank would use a $.01 plastic tamper seal rather than a $50 specialized padlock. Only the government does things like this!
+Chris Morse - Not when you have to pay someone to record and separately transmit the counter readout of the USPS padlock. The one-time plastic seal comes out at much less than the price per use of the padlock.
@@Milosz_Ostrow Old video but: Someone still has to record the anti-tamper seal as unbroken and it's built in serial number. Either way somebody has to write somthing down. ALso it's probably a lot easier to fake an anti-tamper plastic seal. There probably is a cheaper way to do it though than these, and i can think of a way to tamper with one of these if you've got the right tools and time.
That "counter wheel" feature is a cool concept! Strange that other lock designers don't try to incorporate something like that in their products, esp. those for more industrial usage.
@@twiztedzombxboxfu With lockouts you generally don't care how many times a lock has been used, you only care about it stopping a system from being energized. At least where I've worked much of the lockout equipment was nylon with identification of what department it belonged to. Couple places had locks, but I think that might've been a thickness issue rather than strength issue.
As a window clerk, I deal with these every day. The older model can be difficult for us because it sometimes is hard to read the numbers because of all the debris from the brass plates. Also, there's nothing worse than dropping one after you've done the paperwork, because it frequently closes the lock, which means having to redo the paperwork. I've always wondered what they look like inside. Thank you for this! Can you do an arrow lock too please? They are the locks used to secure mail collection boxes and neighborhood group mailboxes.
Interesting they are still using these super old looking locks. I was a RCA, we didn’t see these at all. I second the arrow lock. That is one crazy looking key
@@lynnwillis441 No padlock can stand up to the presence of a Mighty Powerful Makita XAG13Z1 - 36 Volt Lithium battery powered steel cutter, armed with a high quality industrial grade 3M-7200 DAD (Diamond Abrasive Disc).
Thank you so much for making these videos. Your voice is calm and soothing and the videos are informative yet not overstimulating. Whenever I feel my anxiety creeping up on me, I watch one of your videos. Thanks to you, I am now completely off of xanax. You will never know how much good you have done for me .
I used those padlocks for years in my job as registered mail dispatch and receiver. I never thought much about the inner workings of those locks. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
I love how you give us history, whether it's mail related, or cold war soviet union, it gives these locks a certain kind of value that makes me want to own them. Also the ingenious ways different locks are designed. Some of them look almost alien in design whilst others look incredibly primitive. I seriously can't wait to receive my hook and tension kits and start this myself.
My guess would be because brass doesn't spark. There would be less of a risk of fire if it were to be repeatedly jostled against another piece of metal in transit or in a handling facility.
Re Set this is exactly why, the chains for our arrow keys (which used to be ferrous and are now SS) are brass, it prevents corrosion as the brass touches a plethora of different surfaces and won’t oxidize them.
Also I would imagine lock picking was a more marketable skill back then. Now it's a novelty. Probably easier to pop some seems in the damn bag and restitch the gap after :D @black guy
There's also another point: Most of the bits that involve resisting destructive methods are still brass, while the plastic bits are there to detect non-destructive tampering: If the lockpick goes for a destructive method to handle them, even if it's easier, it's still more likely to be detected, unless they take extraordinary measures to hide it, but if they have enough time and access to do that, they can do it with the older models as well, which is to say, basically taking the entire lock apart and putting it back on the desired number. As such, there's little reason to have that extra cost for something that doesn't actually increase security.
@@marcellogenovese199 It's literally just a canvas bag. The point isn't to secure the bag against theft, but to secure whatever is in the bag against tampering. The chain of custody will make sure they know exactly where anything happens, including a bag vanishing.
This is such a great video, thanks for taking the time to make it. I have a very old version(sitting at 698 right now) and I've always wondered how the internals operated, so thank you kindly! I've heard that once these locks reach around 600 uses they usually retire them.
Thank you. 600? I guess that makes sense, and I was wondering about how long these lasted. I am seriously skeptical that the plastic ones would last 9,999 cycles. That's one open a day for over 27 years!
I wonder if the "piece of brass" acting as the ratchet on the second lock was possibly beryllium copper instead? I would not expect brass to have much of a sustained spring action and have seen BeCu used for mechanical pieces like those before.
Excellent ! I will like to see how did you actually “drilled” out the brass cylinders that hold the lock together. I will like to do the same in order to reset the counter back if needed when I purchase one soon ! Thank you for your outstanding video series ! I have been watching them for a while now and they are “addictive”. I start watching one and I can easily spend a couple of hours or more watching them! Thank you Sir for a great Lock-picking Video Series !
When I worked as an election judge in Texas (supervising polling places), we used both locks and numbered, tamper-evident seals for anything that recorded votes. The seals, of course, were to show whether a case or bag had been opened. The locks were presumably just to discourage the most casual attempts to open the containers.
Commenting in 2022. This was a genuinely fascinating video, of the sort that got me hooked on this channel. No advertorial, just analysis of a beautiful but, at one time, commonplace mechanism. Thanks so much for this.
At least in the older ones, you can drill two small holes into the screws holding it together and unscrew 'em with a security driver - that's what I did with one of mine that had a broken counter wheel. Thanks for the video - it's very interesting.
I realized that they were peened screws after I got them apart... Your idea mirrored my own. I wondered if I could drill a hole and use a broken screw extractor.
LockPickingLawyer A dull vibrating engraver may be able to unscrew it without further effort. I've done this on other security screws, but, no idea how tight these are.
What a very cool little piece of kit! A lock with an Rev counter! Honestly a pretty cool idea in regards to tamper detection. Record keeping and verification must have been crucial for that as well.
As with many things, they don't make them like they used to. So sad to see that the market place has abandoned good engineering. A well-designed machine is a work of art.
Great video. Very unusual lock and well explained. The older lock appears to be of a better quality, all brass and better security. I wonder if Master Lock up graded the newer model (!).Thank you.
I especially enjoy these older locks. What a treat . Thanks for showing it to us. The older lock of the two was made particularly well with the all brass internal components ,the counter milling ,and serated pins! what a great job. They sure dont make em like they used too.
7:43 Could you prevent the ratchet from locking by using a strong magnet to keep the pins from dropping in the groove - I assume the pins and springs are made of steel? To answer my own question - probably not as the pins at least look like brass. In any case these are some really neat locks
One of the best ways to ship gold is via Registered Mail. Some gold mines ship unrefined gold to refiners that way. The locks must not be much more than tamper indication, yes.
The Hope Diamond was shipped to the Smithsonian by the US Postal Service as registered mail. It’s amazing how little credit the USPS gets as far as government agencies go.
@@isthatatesla They have their own federal police agency (the US Postal Inspection Service, USPIS) and said agency helped take down down the Unabomber among many other criminals. Enough said.
@@isthatatesla The post office has 2 police agencies. And if they need it they can borrow from the FBI, state and local police as well. It's generally an awful idea to mess with the post office.
These locks are used to date. The security mechanism is not the lock. The security mechanism is the United States Postal Inspection Service, the lock just lets them know someone needs to have the exit end of their digestive tract oversized in any one of the government's fine penitentiaries. Registered Mail is signed for every time it changes hands and is exceedingly slow but very secure. I am a mechanic for the USPS, don't work with accountable mail anymore, but the USPIS does come in to use our pedestal vise to perform maintenance tasks on their weapons every once in a while. They had to take muzzle devices off their new M4 SBRs that were not approved and it took me a minute to figure out that it wasn't a bold coworker bringing in a rifle to modify at work, it was an Inspector. [18 USC §930 keeps me from doing my gunsmithing and maintenance at work.]
I agree... the change in quality is saddening. I really wonder if the nylon parts are up to the task. 9,999 openings is quite a few. That's once a day for 27 years! Not too many quality locks hold up to that kind of use.
@@lockpickinglawyer The same basic design plastic counters are used in vehicle odometers and will count happily past 1,000,000 in 1/10ths when made in nylon, brass is lovely, but the extra cost is pure waste, especially when the life is capped at (9,999 - factory testing) cycles.
I don't know why, but these videos are soothing. I don't even know what any of the stuff you're saying means dude. I'm a 40 year old mom of 4. I have stuff to do, but I'm watching a lock picking video...lol
I work for BRINKS and use similar locks for transfers over 10k.The receiver (destination) knows the number before we arrive. Money is sent back if ANY SUSPICION OF TAMPERING IS NOTICED. (DETAILS ARE A SECRET)
I was thinking about the fact that you can only use then 9,999 times... and really, that doesn't bother me. I doubt these things will last that long anyway!
When the lock reaches 9999 on the counter, couldn't you disassemble it, take it apart, and file that higher notch down to the same depth as the others on the newer one? Or just rearrange the counters. Pretty involved, but I think it might work. I know this video is a couple years old, but I had to throw my 2 cents in. Cool locks.
I feel like this would actually be a cool feature to have on other locks too. Want to know if someone's broken into your house? Or even just how many times you've unlocked the door? Check the counter! Probably too expensive to be practical tho. Oh well XD
That has to be one of the neatest locks I have ever seen. I'd love to have a more practical version of that for a regular applications. At a quick glance you could see a tampering, or open...Tho that would depend on the offender taking the time to re close the lock after opening. Still its a cool lock. Thanks for the share.
I guess if you knew how these locks were constructed "which we now do" One could drill out the bottom peened over brass plug, disassemble/reset to the prior position, drill concentrically into the old brass plug, tap a tread and insert a short brass plug to then be peened over flush to the bottom of the lock. Awesome video non the less :)
@@danpowell806 but you wouldn't need to mess with the lock at all. They are shipped in canvas bags. It never leaves postal employees hands. No sane postal employee is going to mess with registered mail.
Funny story- during the Scottish independence referendum of 2014, modern tamperproof stickers were used on the boxes to transport the votes to the central location. Here’s the thing though- NOBODY TOOK A NOTE OF THE SERIAL NUMBERS. I’ve since enquired about this and found that this is pretty standard practice in British “democracy”.
Do you have an actual verifiable source for this? If this were the case, and if there were any concerns about electoral fraud, then you can bet that the SNP would have instantly used it to either cast doubt on the referendum result, or to immediately demand a second referendum.
Technically, by opening this lock for 10 000 times, you will return to the number that was there when the lock was used to its purpose. If the key would turn a whole 360°, one could use a power drill to quickly reset the digits. On the other hand, if the shackle is turnable while the key is positioned and been turned, one could rotate the shacke with a power drill and a tool made specially for that purpose. All in all this was a very intriguing concept. Thank you for sharing this!
Wow, great video. Very nice locks, it is awesome to see the mechanism of the counter. When you said 3 pins I thought it can be right but there is clearly not enough space for more pins. The evolution of the locks took a wrong turn somewhere, what a shame.
If you look closely at around the 13:00 mark, the brass backer of the last number disk has a tab that protrudes into the slot between 4 and 5, in the same place as the missing slot in the newer lock that would serve the same purpose.
LockPickingLawyer Is there no way to defeat the counter? Can’t pick lock at every ratchet gear in reverse? I just started watching tonight so I likely missed something obvious that screams “no”
Seems like the ratchet mechanism could be bumped just like the cheap solenoid safes. Just Give the lock a thwack on a hard surface. If there isn't enough inertia in the pins it might also be possible to bump them through the core by hitting the shackle. The shape of the ratchet surface on the new version is shown at 7:23. Going backwards seems like the best approach. It looks like you'd hit the ratchet pin pretty much immediately, then the drivers at 30 degrees, then the ratchet pin again at 60 degrees. That might be far enough to get it off the mailbag, if not, getting past the ratchet a second time sees the core turn backwards 180 degrees and it'll definitely come off. Overall either two or three bumps to unlock it backwards. The overall attack is pretty easy. No need for a tension wrench since the shackle is part of the core. It should rake open with a bent paperclip then bump and rotate a few times till the shackle spins backwards 180 and you have it open. The counter mechanism won't jam up since it actuates immediately upon forward rotation and we never go near that position. If it doesn't work you can just turn it forward a bit to re-lock and no one will ever know.
I worked as a Registered Mail clerk for quite a few years of my 35-year Postal career. For the most part, we went to using tin seals to secure Registered Mail pouches. LPL is correct in that the lock is more a seal to show tampering. If you wanted the contents of a mail pouch, all you need is a pocketknife or scissors to cut open the pouch. After mail is prepared and "secured" in the mail pouch with the manifest, it is hand receipted at each hand off. The locks all use the same key. We still would use the locks if they were available, put they quit manufacturing them quite a while ago. Fun fact: Shortly before I started working for the USPS in '85, Registered Mail clerks were assigned a firearm to keep on their person while working with the Registered Mail.
Seems the lock is irrelevant if whoever wants to get into the bag can just hack their way in with a knife. Were clerks trained how to use the guns? That’s nuts they assigned them a gun, that would never fly today. I worked as an RCA in 2022, heard some other crazy stories about usps workers back in the 80s, they had to drive their personal vehicle and sit in the passenger seat while straddling across to work the pedals and steer 😶
I opened these for decades on the job, faithfully recording my name, the date, and the number, mindlessly (hey it’s the post office) never thinking of the anti-tamper function of the numbers. Nobody ever checked, but that’s because we never happened to have a theft or loss on our particular leg of the lock bag’s journey. But the records were kept. They’re probably still there, moldering away in some dusty drawer.
![[285] Two Registered Mail "Counter" Padlocks Picked and Gutted](/img/logo.svg){kind=logo}
