Guide to Lock Picking - MASTER Locks

Lock picking is a handy hobby used for many things. Note, however, that it is only a hobby and should not be used in malice, to harm, or in any illegality what so ever. That being said, welcome to my MASTER lock lockpicking tutorial.

-NOTE- this method works for MASTER locks ONLY!

When you break it down, it's actually really easy. On average, it takes a practiced lockpicker about 6-10 minutes using this method. Of course, smashing the damn thing is a great idea as well, but for those of you without a shovel, here you go:

First of all, lets break it up into parts. There's the knob of it, which is the little turny thingy with the numbers 1-40. There's also the back, which isn't important at all, and the handle, which is very handy in the first step.

There are 3 digits to a master lock, each ranging from 0-40. If you do the math, there are approximately 64,000 possible combinations for this lock! Well, this tutorial will narrow that 64,000 down to a mere 50 or so. Not bad, eh?

Step 1: Solving the last digit

This step is essential in cracking the code of the target lock. Turn the knob to 0 (where the triangle thingy below the MASTER logo is pointing to 0. Now, pull the handle somewhat hard. Do not try to break it, just pull. Turn the knob counterclockwise until it stops on one number. Keep pulling the handle, and try to turn the knob after it has set into this "indent" in the lock. It won't budge! Now. you notice that the pointer is pointing directly at the number. For example, if it is pointing at 3, you should be able to barely turn the knob to 2.5 and 3.5. If this is so, write down 3. If the pointer is pointing to 2.5 (you can turn it to 2 and 3), then write 2.5.

For my lock in particular, I got the following 12 numbers:
(NOTE: THERE WILL BE EXACTLY 12 NUMBERS HERE; NO MORE, NO LESS)

2
5.5
8.5
12
15.5
19
22
25.5
28.5
32
35.5
38.5

Now, take your 12 numbers that you have written down. Cross off all the ones that have .5 in them. This would leave me with:
2
12
19
22
32
Which one is the odd one out? The trick is, they all have the same last number except for 1, which in my case is 19. Therefore, 19 is my last digit.

Good job, first part finished!

Step 2: Modulus

Basically this is just a fancy equation used to get your first and second possible number combinations. I will use it for my specific lock, but plug in your numbers and you should do just fine.

The golden number here is 4. The first step is to divide your last digit (mine was 19) by 4. Rounding down, I get 4, with a remainder of 3. Multiply your answer by 4. So, for my lock, 4 x 4 = 16. Now, take that final answer (16) and subract it from your final digit (19). This gives me 3 (co-incidentally the remainder of 19/4). If your final answer is the same as the remainder, it means you've done the last digit correctly. Now, we have to compile a list of possible combinations for the lock. This means figuring out the first and second number.

Raw math done in this step:
Equation 1: 19 / 4 = 4
Equation 2: 4 x 4 = 16
Equation 3: 19 - 16 = 3

Step 3: Utilizing Modulus

We're almost done. Here's the plan:
Take that final number from equation 3 (underlined in raw math above) and write it down. Then add the answer you got in equation 1 to it, and write that down. For me, I got: 3 (+4) = 7 (+4) = 11 (+4)... Compile a list. I got:
3
7
11
15
19
23
27
31
35
39
These are your possible first digits!
Now, to find the possible second digits, just add 2 to all of these and make a list:
3(+2) = 5
7(+2)=9
13
17
21
25
29
33
37
this last number just carries over past the 40, and becomes 1.
Those are your possible second digits!

Now, all that's left is to test the possible combinations:
Ex:
3 - 5 - 19
3 - 9 - 19
3 - 13 - 19...
7 - 5 - 19
7 - 9 - 19...

For my particular lock I have 100 combinations to run through, but on average a lockpicker will crack the code within the first 60. Don't worry, there wont always be this many. I did a lock a few days ago with only 25 possible combinations! (Hint: the higher the final digit, the less possible combinations there are)

GOOD LUCK, I HOPE I HELPED!