May 02, 2004
#82 :: Combination Lock
Here's another amulet of urban protection, rendered useless by my faulty memory. It's difficult to say how many of these I've owned over the years, for school lockers, bikes, gym lockers, strongboxes. Without the combination, it becomes a sturdy paperweight, thumb-twiddler, hammer-in-a-pinch. Back when I used them full-time, I wish there had been something like Master's new Combo Locker service. I might then have owned only one, and the lock you see here would be more nobly dinged and weathered.
If you really want to get your lock back, try this.
Posted by: Simon Kornblith at May 8, 2004 02:43 PMNow *that's* useful. Thanks!
Posted by: mack at May 8, 2004 04:03 PMActually, locksmiths can look up the combination by serial number. You'll usually have to show them the lock so they know you're not trying to break into someone else's stuff. They usually just charge $1 or so for it as the locks aren't worth much to start with. It's a fast buck for them and it's a neat magic trick.
I saw this about your lock, made me remember i had a combo lock in a drawer that i'd forgotten the combo to, so I Googled 'how to pick combination lock' came up independently with the same page Simon K. recommended, followed the instructions, within 10 minutes i had it cracked, what a rush! The page tells you how to quickly find out the last # in the locks combo, and then you go from there. (It helped that i sorta remembered the 1st digit was something in the 30s, so reduced the trial and error time to get the first 2 numbers). :)
Posted by: Paul Allen at May 8, 2004 05:07 PM