How Master combo locks are ear cracked.

of Master

left ear on the

had shoes,

school locker.

I pick

set off a

says. It's

works.

dishonest

lock, or

I think you been had by a 15 year old :-)

Master is only one brand.

Since that day, I had shoes,

If your account of events is true which assumes a great deal he probably already knew the combos. There are brands of cheap combo locks with no false gates where the combo can be cracked just about as fast as you can dial three numbers but even the 10 year old masters weren't among them.

IF what he wrote is true it probably was not Master but another brand, at least one of which I can think of is still sold, although as far as I know not used in any institutions like schools. They are such junk they can literally be opened by feel almost as fast as you can dial the combo on them.

"Section 8" snipped-for-privacy@cu.soccer.edu> wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@news.bubbanews.com:

I wonder how genuine your enquiry is? I know a way to crack some combo locks that doesn't involve listening, but I feel that posting it might encourage crime!

Break open a lock and study it.

I am starting to wonder about 'section 8'... His train of thought goes from where people hide money, to how to open locks, and then questions about safes. I'm sure this is all legit...

Why do you think that? LOL.

"gears" <gears snipped-for-privacy@NSyahoo.com wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@jaguar.syix.com:

I was thinking the same thing

Hi Section 8

It's an old trick MOST of us learned in school and hasn't changed much over the years, although the newer Master and American and other locks NOW have FAKE points, they too are easy to determine.

With practice you can LEARN to feel the FAKE notches from the REAL notch on the last number of the combination. Until you learn this feel, reading the spread and noting the stick points and watching for the one ODD stick point. EG: All seven between number sticks are fake and 4 of the 5 on number sticks are fake, but all 4 fakes stick on the last same digit. It is NOT HARD to LEARN by feel alone the Fake sticking points.

You can also, with practice learn to HEAR the fake points because the fake points are noisy and make a scratching sound. When you find the stick point that does not make a scratching sound, and can be made to click click click as you jiggle the dial, you have found the REAL last number of the combination.

Once the last number is known, the first and second numbers are found using simple math. The first number is the last number modulus 4 and the second number is modulus 4 +- 2

In other words, there are ONLY 64 combinations used in Master Locks. Once you know the last number, you can calculate the first number, and memorize the 8 possible second number digits.

The older a lock gets, the easier it is to crack!

Even in grade school, I often thought to myself, WHY does MASTER and others make their locks so easy to crack. From studying the insides of the locks, making one simple change, which would make the locks actually cheaper by a fraction of a cent to make, will also make them not crackable by simple methods.

The only affordable pick-proof lock I have found is one using the DUO key system. Most lock companies, Illinois Lock especially, will install DUO tumbler systems in their locks for you. The keys are registered and most key cutting shops do not have the equipment to make duplicate keys. I guess DUO is early brand name they never changed, there are at least 3 sets of tumbler pins in the DUO keyed locks I use, not to mention the many styles and patterns of slot guides, if everything does not line up just right, the lock won't open.

TTUL Gary

Newer? Master and American have had false gates for well over a decade, probably close to two.

AFAIK not applicable to the latest gen of Masters. But at least you do do your own research (maybe from the alt.locksmihting Faq's?).

There is no reason to crack them that way anyway. There are much easier quicker ways to remove them with or without damage. They are just to keep out basically honest people.

It may be from the FAQ, but he uses faulty logic. There would be 64 combinations associated with the number he found to be the last one, but not every lock has that same last number. The number of used combinations goes well into the thousands, just take a look at a code book to verify that, they aren't put into code books unless they have been used. BBE.

I was referring to his whole decoding procedure in it's entirety but I see your point. To tell you the truth I couldn't personally tell you if it ever worked on any of them. Never used it that I can remember. Too much time. If I can't look the combo up and the customer wants to save the lock I open it the same way 9 out of 10 others here do and then eyeball the gates through the shackle hole and offset. Total time spent about 2 minutes if that. Unless it's a friend or regular customer I usually charge a flat $5.00 to do them irregardless of method which is about $1.00 more than the lock but some people hate to throw things away.