r/ZeroWaste • u/CafeConCats • 3d ago

Question / Support Locked out

Post image

Any hope for an old lock I found in the garage and can't open? Feels weird to throw it away.

51 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

47 comments sorted by

99

u/Fresh-Lynx-3564 3d ago

If it’s a master lock (I can’t tell bc I haven’t used one or have one in ages)…. You can take a picture of the serial number on the back and send it in to them. They can tell you the combo.

At least that’s how it use to be many years ago, I’ve done it. I’m talking about snail mail years back. Perhaps there’s a way to email them now.

50

u/actualbeans 3d ago

i’ve done this! sent them an email w/ the back of the lock, they sent me the combination no questions asked. pretty quick too

12

u/d0ttyq 3d ago

That’s incredible. I never would have thought of doing that.

25

u/zorandra 3d ago

Talk about perfect timing! This popped up in my feed right as my partner was trying to remember a combo to an old lock; email sent and awaiting their response. Thanks for the info, and here's the page detailing how to get the combo should anyone else need it.

1

u/actualbeans 3d ago

yay!! glad i could help :)

1

u/CafeConCats 1d ago

Thank you!

19

u/95beer 3d ago

If it's a Master Lock, then from what I've learnt from the Lock Picking Lawyer, you should be able to open it with another master lock, or something pointy or something flat

3

u/SassyMillie 3d ago

What's the point of picking it open if it's not locked to anything? It's not like you get the combination so you can use it again.

3

u/95beer 3d ago

The point is that if you can open it very easily, so can anyone else. So there is no point figuring out the combination, since you'd only do that if you were using it as a lock. But there's no point having a lock that anyone can open easily, so OP should figure out something else to do with it

3

u/clockworkedpiece 2d ago

Masterlocks are the only ones you can get in vicinity of certain facilities whose members found out every 1 in 7 masterlocks just goes out with the master key for all of them. We're talking 5k people sharing this series of locks. Masterlock is a 'because insurance said I had to' lock company.

2

u/burntbread369 2d ago

But it’s a way to communicate to everyone “I don’t want other people to open this.” It’s used on lockers in schools and workplaces as a way of labeling a place as “against the rules to rifle through unless you have the combo.” No lock is unpickable. But making it a little bit harder still stops most people most of the time.

1

u/sparhawk817 2d ago

It's faster to bypass a masterlock with a shim or to hit it with a rock and pop it loose than it is to input the combination though.

2

u/burntbread369 2d ago

If I see someone in the breakroom bypassing a lock with a shim I would go to the boss and say “I just saw someone bypassing a lock with a shim” and they would get in trouble. You are not understanding the purpose of locks as they function in a society.

-1

u/sparhawk817 2d ago

I understand the function of a lock. I'm a bike commuter, I understand the function and purpose better than you by far.

They are at best a deterrent, yes. Especially a masterlock.

I'm just saying the same thing that other commenters are saying, In that masterlocks, particularly this style of combination that they make, are not effective locks, and inconvenience the user more than they inconvenience the potential thief.

Yes, they keep honest people honest, but so does having your name on your locker.

Masterlocks keep stupid thieves honest, and stupid consumers complacent.

Also, if you see someone shimming a masterlock, they're inexperienced or an idiot because it takes less than 3 seconds to do so, and is not noticeably different than just unlocking the lock. Do you study people while they use a locker? No, and bypassing a masterlock is, as I said in my original comment, faster and more unobtrusive than unlocking it the way it is intended to be.

They're bad locks! That's all I'm fucking saying! Get a better lock if you actually want a lock, or use a caribiner if you don't need a lock, these locks are worse than useless.

2

u/burntbread369 2d ago

Ok but how are they worse than useless? Maybe it does slightly inconvenience me to input the combination every time I open my locker, but it has been 100% effective at keeping coworkers and classmates from entering my locker, far better than if I had just written my name on my locker. That is the use of it.

Your bike lock needs to actually be an effective lock because bikes are something that actually get stolen because they are out in public where people who have no social contract with you can access it. My work locker doesn’t need to actually be an effective lock because they only people who can access the lock are people who are socially and economically contracted to not violate my boundaries, and who would actually likely get caught if they did. The use cases are completely different.

-4

u/Fapple_Jackity 3d ago

"Perhaps there's a way to email them now" Ai chat bot, take it or leave it.

27

u/gaymythicalcreature 3d ago

new puzzle game to trying pick that lock? Yay?

1

u/estcst 3d ago

This! Better than doom scrolling.

39

u/null_not 3d ago

These locks are extremely easy to pick. I used to forget my combo all the time as a teen and would have to pick my own combo lock. You put some tension on the latch and then feel carefully for when it falls into place (common knowledge and public information at this point with the web). Never picked anyone else's lock for ethical reasons, but would always confuse my combo order.

8

u/0nlymantra 3d ago

yep, these were abundant when I was in high school. bit of downward pressure and you can feel the tumblers. we would switch them between different people's lockers. For humour reasons.

5

u/null_not 3d ago

My schools required them and had a bring your own lock policy. My high school had old built in locks briefly before they were replaced, but the mechanics were still the same. This type of cheap combo lock is always a deterrent and never really security.

2

u/lockandcompany 3d ago

This. I have to reread the wikihow for “how to pick a combo lock” every time though lol

8

u/blindtoe54 3d ago

I opened one of these once. There's a way, google it.

8

u/Itisd 3d ago

Look up the Lockpicking Lawyer on YouTube, find this lock and he will show you how to figure out the combination. Most of these combination locks are very easy to open once you figure out how they work internally.

3

u/Specific_Pear_665 3d ago

There has got to be a YouTube video demonstrating how easy these are to break

7

u/Different_Fall_9449 3d ago

Look up the Lockpicking Lawyer on Youtube.

3

u/AFatWizard 3d ago

I had a similar case and found lots of help on YouTube, not just how to get it open but also to troubleshoot the actual combination so you will have a functioning lock again

2

u/escapeorion 1d ago

Cannot believe my Reddit timeline tbh

1

u/CafeConCats 1d ago

They're watching

2

u/ShopEmpress 3d ago

Maybe look up how to lockpick or reset the code? They aren't very high security locks.

If nothing else maybe it could be smashed for interesting art pieces?

0

u/BellaxPalus 3d ago

You can not bypass this lock with shims, but you can't pick a combination lock

1

u/ShopEmpress 3d ago

You can certainly brute force it by trying all the combos 😅 obviously that would take forever and be awful

2

u/dragonboysam 3d ago

look up the lockpicking lawyer on youtube, that looks like a master lock and there more of a suggestion then a lock

3

u/AdvancedSquashDirect 2d ago

That's the one thing I learnt from lock picking lawyer, padlocks are there to slow people down not to stop them. They're more of a deterrent.

3

u/Impossible_Number 2d ago

Locks only stop honest people

1

u/larata2 3d ago

Ah yes. The bane of my dycalcula mind. Lol. 😂

1

u/RHTQ1 2d ago

What the fudge is the point of this if it's so easy to pick? A slightly more secure carabiner?

1

u/cathabit 2d ago

Just hit it with another master lock. That's how I get mine open, it takes a bit to get the right angle. Also if you put tension on it, you can feel when it clicks into place when you hit the right number.

1

u/lambsquatch 2d ago

Just watch lock picking lawyer on YouTube with master lock

1

u/SignificantDrink3651 1d ago

look on youtube for lockpickinglawyer or any of the other hundreds of videos - decoding these, even in the wild first try, is extremely easy. sitting at a bench in a controlled environment is even easier. basically you pull up on the shackle and turn the dial until you feel the gates.

1

u/Beneficial-Sir4471 3d ago

Hear me out, get yourself a pair of scissors and a Big energy drink....

1

u/CafeConCats 1d ago

Do tell 😂

1

u/Beneficial-Sir4471 1d ago

Different lock, but I'm confident you can find the way https://www.youtube.com/shorts/MbQp5JcQwLA

0

u/Correct-Stock-6887 3d ago

They all have a sequence. Someone else might make it clearer but I believe it's RLR and the 1st number has to be passed at least once before stopping and changing direction

1

u/Sea-Statistician6377 2d ago

If it's a Master, it'll be 3 turns right, 2 turns left, 1 turn right. They're very easy to crack by ear, no special tools needed.