Oh my God ... I did it ! I have had a bag of master locks that I picked-up back around 1975, and have been keeping them for nearly 40 years, hoping that I would be able to crack them someday. And today, I cracked 3 of them in about a half-hour. The first one was pretty confusing, because the last number was a zero. But I followed your instructions, and it worked. You are a genius.
This is the only video about cracking master locks that was systematic, simple and informative. Just got the combination from my lock after all of the other videos I came across failed. Thanks for this.
Hey Kevin, thank you. I watched many you tube videos and I was having trouble with my 3rd number both with feeling it through resistance and your method of checking the fist three series for anomalies, I even went beyond the first series to try and get my 3rd number but realized I already checked all of them after the first three series. I took the back off the lock to see if I could do it by eye but the hole wasn't there and I don't see so well at 55 years old. I must have went through the three series about 60 times trying to find the anomaly finally I settled on 37.5. My combo ended up being 30-12-38. At first I did not know how you were getting you first and second number but watched parts of the video over and over and figured it out. Pretty cool, thanks again. I am confident I could do this again for someone else. Thumbs up, super cool, makes me feel good. I was persistent.
That's normal. The trick is to find the patterns. Say it catches between 2-4, 12-14, 22-24, 32-34, etc, as well as maybe 5-7, 15-17, 25-27, 35-37, and so on. Once you've established the patterns (there are usually 3 patterns), then you can find the sticking point that doesn't fit the pattern. It may be subtle. So in first pattern example, maybe instead of 12-14, it's 12.5-14.5. There should only be 1 sticking point out of them all that is abnormal to its pattern. That is your last number.
I knew it. Master Locks has a new generation of locks, the colored ones where the first number is not as easy. These colored locks are their third generation combination padlocks.
Mine catches at every fourth dash. Different mechanism than yours? My lock is at least 10-12 years old. I purchased a leather duffell at a yard sale as a teenager with this master lock latched to one handle. I've tried shimming, but there's absolutely no room for soda can aluminum alongside the shank.
If you get stuck after the first part, you can still do it with only 64 combos, which is a lot less than normal. I found out the numbers that it gets stuck on are the numbers you can use for the 1st and 2nd numbers...I found my combo this way because I got stuck after finding my first number.
Kevin, I think you should note that this is only for the 1500-series combo locks. The 2000-series locks are a completely different breed of combination lock that doesn't give any clues to its numbers.
ganzonomy I haven't actually had to deal with too many 2000-series locks, but I'll take your word for it. I have only tried the technique in this video on 1500 series locks. Nevertheless, the 1500s are by far the most widely used, at least in the United States.
Kevin H The 2000-series is similar to the 1500 series in that it's a combo lock, but that's about it. The 2000-series uses ball-bearings rather than a spring-latch (which makes it shim-proof), it hs a right-left-right dial like the 1500-series, BUT after the third # is entered, you turn left, hold the dial, and PULL. Also, pulling up on the shackle to feel out the numbers, does nothing, as the shackle won't go up, and if it does, it doesn't "clip" the gear-teeth on each combo-lock disc. Also, when the lock is locked, the dial scrambles along with the discs, so the user can see that the shackle can't be re-opened again. When I called up Taylor Security (where I bought the 2000-series), they wanted to know why I wanted the 2000-series. My response was because the 1500-series is shimmable and I'm paranoid. Bought it, love it, and I use it on my gym locker. It weighs about double what a 1500-series weighs, and it's one of the last gasps of "good old-school Master Lock" (ie: the Master Lock #19 where security is due to how BIG it is and how physically imposing it is).
I don't have any experience trying to crack the Master letter locks (I'll have to purchase one and take a look sometime). But some of the off-brand versions are as easy as pulling on the shackle while turning the dials. On these locks, the dial will be difficult to turn while pulling the shackle, until you come upon the right letter, in which case the dial will free up. This also works for cheap suitcase locks with the three dials, cheaper, off-brand numerical combination locks, etc.
Master Lock will soon create a better combination lock or go out of business because of videos like this. The 60 number Dudley combination lock is better and I believe Master Lock creates them.
a much faster way is to simply listen carefully to the lock and slowly turn it till you hear the tumbler drop, then stop and go the other way till the next tumbler drops and so on.(can also be done on safe's)
Not sure what you're referring to when you say "hear the tumbler drop". Combination locks (either padlocks or safes) work off a series of wheels with notches in them. Entering the right combination aligns these notches so that a little metal bar can fall into said notches and allow the lock to open. So nothing is "dropping" until the very end, and by that point you would have already entered the correct combination. You can search RU-vid for videos on how these locks work if my explanation doesn't make sense.
yeah sorry it was like 2 am when I wrote that. thought that the padlock was the same as the safe version which the comment is still valid on because the tumbler or "little metal bar" does actually fall before they are all aligned on the wheel (there is one pin per wheel). which is what makes the sound. (by the way my comma button is broken)
VisceralRelic I have to admit that I still do not follow. Maybe I am just missing something. Is what you're calling the tumbler the same as the fence? If so, the fence only drops when the cam wheel's notch is aligned beneath it, and not when the other wheels' notches are aligned beneath it. For the sake of clarity, here is a video that at the 3 minute mark goes into how safe combinations work (ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-5jb2DNJPgk4.html). Which part in this sequence are you listening carefully for? And what are you referring to when you say "one pin per wheel"? Sorry I'm not grasping what you're trying to explain. We might just be using two different terminologies. But currently the only way I know to crack a safe without equipment is visually by looking for variation of the two sticking points of the cam wheel. Thanks!
well there are multiple types of locks for the wheel combination system the one I meant was the one where instead of a fence there is in fact three pins one for each notch that was what I was referring to but it depends on the kind of safe you get.
Now you have to try different options for the 1st and 2nd numbers. So pick a 1st number (I start with 0) and then go through all the possible 2nd numbers, going back each time to the known last number and trying the lock. If it doesn't open after trying all the possible 2nd numbers, reset the lock, and pick a new first number (say, 2.5) and repeat. If the 1st number is low, the whole process should only take a minute or two.
You don't know the first number. Once I have the last number, I pick a number to try as the first number (I always start at 0), and then I pick a second number (I always start at 2). I then go back to the known last number and try the lock. If it doesn't open, I just move the dial back past the 2 to another 2nd number attempt (say the 4), and try again. After I tried all possible 2nd numbers (2-39), I reset the lock by spinning the dial, and pick another first number (say 2.5) and repeat.
how far did you get? the first number? third? my first was when the shackle just started to move, +5 the third was the widest gap (slack in the dial with shackle pulled up tight.) I moved the dial back and forth a lot so 2 disks weren't interfering. the second, I moved 2 numbers at a time til it opened then tried one tic mark off on each number to find where it opened easiest do you have the same lock? mine was the tiny version 1 1/2" across maybe yours is just broken
