Thanks TV Time… err are you someone I know who had a name change?
Funny thing actually, I am in Baltimore this week attending the National Locksmith Convention
What I have read is correct. (thanks Bill H)
Scylla, Master Padlocks while, do not have the tolerance of a safe spin dial, for the most part are not THAT easy to pop open. Although Manipulating them open as you discribed is very easy, the shackle can also be shimed, and I have popped a few open with a rubber mallet. (Have to look professional so did not use a shoe.)
K. os I have yet to run across a lock in the industry that has been delared “unPickable”
There are high security padlocks out there that are a Royal Bitch to open though. Medeco a company whose products I am familiar with Does make a couple “HardCore” padlocks. They have a Hardened shackles and pick resistant cylinders.
How pick resistant? No one has yet to be able to pick a Medeco lock open twice in the span of 1 hour. (proppery pinned and such.)
I have yet to run into an indestructable lock. That said there are quite a few that can be a royal pain in the backside to bypass.
Gotta run, Weirddave and I are going to paint the town this evening.
“Thong” originally referred to footwear here too, the kind of sandal that has a little strap going between your big toe and the next one over (index toe?). Now imagine that little strap moved to a different part of the body, so that it goes between one’s butt cheeks. That’s how it got the name “thong.” It’s used to describe underwear, workout suits, or swim suits, as long as they have the little strap going between the butt cheeks. Basically what I call “butt floss.”
I wanted to point out that the TV commercial was for a reasonably heavy duty MasterLock padlock. The one’s described as being popped open easily are the bottom-of-the-line High School locker combination locks.
I’m talking about the spin the dial type Master Lock, not the key type. The silver ones with the black face. Yes, it is that easy, yes, it does break the lock, but not destroy it. No special tools.
Then maybe a question could be: what would constitute a reasonably safe combination lock? First, it would have to be sturdier than most of the masterlocks I saw (& used) when I was in high-school/CEGEP/University. Second, it would have to have a reliable combination “system”. I had a masterlock I kept for a while, and ate the end, the combination became 31 to 35, 20 to 24 and 30 to 33! I have to say that’s after about 8 years of very heavy duty usage, but still… Has this ever happened to anyone else?
I guess it depends on the definition of the phrase “it does break the lock, but not destroy it.” Do you mean that the lock is now unusable, but does not have scratches or a broken shackle? Then I agree with you and the process is simple: hit it with a hammer. Bolt cutters will also get past most padlocks.
But that’s not a problem with the quality or precision of the device; brute force can get you through most obstacles in life.
::sigh:: You don’t need a hammer. A good downward whack with a sneaker will snap the lock open. It breaks a pin inside. Afterwards it can be closed, and it will stay closed, but you can open it again, by just yanking down.
Actually, a sneaker isn’t strictly necessary. I watched the ship’s locksmith open a MasterLock just by getting a good grip on the body of the lock and giving a sharp yank (the key was broken off inside the cylinder). It broke something inside the lock, but left no outward signs of tampering, and the lock could be pushed shut, it just would pop open at the lightest tug. This is the same gent who showed me how to defeat most padlocks with an old t-shirt or towel.
First things first. Thank you very much for the restrained, indirect approach to the question of Masterlock combination locks and their apparent weaknesses. I really appreciate the efforts all have shown to follow the rules of this forum; its stuff like this and folks like you that make moderating worth the effort. Seriously, thanks.
That said, I’m going to exercise my moderators superpowers and relax the rules a little here. If there is a well-known, obvious weakness in a particular brand of lock (rather than, say a class of lock), let’s call that, for purposes of this thread, an issue of “product defect” or “consumer education” rather than one of “telling people how to break the law.”
No worries Unca ManHattan, Since most of what I know professionally can be err… bad for general knowledge I do try, and I do respect the forum rules. Everyone else is doing great as well, thanks for the Kudo’s Mr Mod.
**That said, I’m going to exercise my moderators superpowers and relax the rules a little here. If there is a well-known, obvious weakness in a particular brand of lock (rather than, say a class of lock), let’s call that, for purposes of this thread, an issue of “product defect” or “consumer education” rather than one of “telling people how to break the law.”
**
LOL thanks again, yet, I shall still avoid such a slippery slope. “product defects” and “weakneses” in a system can be quite bad. Ford uses that EXACT same wording in regards to how their transponder technology can be bypassed.
I think Mightymod there just wants to know our secrets. Got any…quasilegal…aspirations, Manny?
I’m going to get myself chased out of GQ, I just know it.
I’m not sure we can justify calling these characteristics “defects”–all locks have weaknesses, after all. If you buy a cheaper lock, you (usually) get one that’s easier to bypass. Given sufficient force or enough sheer cussedness, most of the bypass methods mentioned so far will work on pretty much any padlock, I think.
Thanks Manny, I only decided to tell because Bill H. had been calling me out albeit in a good-natured way,) and the secret seemed to have been described.
I’ll keep my secret foolproof method for stealing well-guarded paintings from museums under wraps though, along with my market manipulation and insider trading primers
In my high school gym class a few guys did the shoe whack thing as a joke. They took the locks and locked them on a pipe near the ceiling. Most of the still worked.
Master locks are better than the generic ones. The cheapo brands only took one little whack, but they had to beat the hell out of the masters. I guess thats why the gym teacher said Master brand locks were required. I never had a lock myself. Luckily, I never pissed anyone off badly enough to get my clothes tossed in the toilet.
That’s the lock I use on my bike (along with a truly massive chain). It’s also the lock the Nav used to secure the small arms lockers and other hightly secure areas. Damage the cylinder on one of those puppies, and you need a cutting torch or rescue saw to defeat it.
I gotta tell you guys, I’m a little disappointed here.
First everbody is whispering and winking about all their “secret methods” of opening Master locks. “Ooo… I better not tell – it’s a secret. Wouldn’t want the secret to get out, no sir. Never know what might happen if the secret gets out, you know.” [Winky. Winky.]
Well, then Manny steps in and says Fire away. And from what I’ve been able to learn from the posts that followed is that the big SECRET (“Ooooo!”) is that you hit the damn lock hard. Somebody says use a hammer, somebody says use a sneaker, somebody says use a flashlight – who cares?
Hit the lock hard enough and it opens? That’s it? Not a very big secret if you ask me. [rolly-eyes smilie here.]
I find this whole “Master Locks are shoddy; you can break them with a shoe” thing a bunch of nonsense.
First of all it ain’t all that easy to open it with a shoe. Ok, I’ve never tried, but I have opened several with a mallot, and it’s not all that easy; sometimes it takes several whacks. I’m doubtful that a solid lock could be opened with sneaker or a good pull with a hand or a tee-shirt, as has been claimed. In fact, I’d wager hard-earned money against it.
Number two (and more importantly): so what??? I can break into most houses using a shoe. If I can’t kick in a back door, I can surely break a window. Does that prove that the lock on the door is completely useless? Of course not.
This “I know a secret! Having a padlock on something is as good as leaving it open” is silly. (in my opinion).
