Customer Reviews

Opening Combination Padlocks: No Tools, No Problem

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

There is little insight, and no "trick" in this book. This book just tells you to do exaustive search, which means it just tells you to try all the combinations. It does point out that each "gate" on a lock is really a range of up to four numbers, and if you pull on the latch you can feel where the gates center. So, now, instead of exaustive search taking an amazingly huge amount of time, it instead just takes a huge amount of time. It encourages you to try the most likely combinations first, which is the vast majority of them. Gag.

Even if you value your time at minimum wage, you will save money by just BUYING A NEW LOCK, and that's without factoring in the price of this book or how exaustive search will make your hand hurt.

If you think twisting a knob back and forth for hours is fun, and you don't have the minimal brain power to make a table for it (the author says you don't have to understand his tables, and doesn't even mention the shocking ability to keep track of the last three numbers/gates in your head), then this book is for you.

This book describes how a lock works with a couple of diagrams and how to open them in the shortest amount of time by only trying useful combinations : it's not because the dial goes to 40 that there are 40 choices, usually about 10 "gates". most locks combinations are low number-high number-low number or high-low-high, etc
These rules will let you make a list of combinations to try so that you find the right one as fast as possible.
All this could fit in a web page (and probably does). I don't think it's worth the price.

If you want a book that tells you how to open combination padlocks, just like in the movies... this is not it...
This book tells you how to halve (maybe) the number of combinations that will open the lock. There is really nothing worth reading in this book. It narrows down the number of combinations, then you have to try them... one by one.
This book teaches you how to open locks, but youll never get any better, every time you open one, it Will take half an hour.

My suggestion, try a different book.

The writing style is clumsy and sometimes annoying, but the content is pure gold. I used the instructions it gives to open my first combination lock (my brother had lost the combination) within an hour of opening the book. The next two locks took 35 minutes each. Not very difficult at all.

The manner in which the author describes how to open combination padlocks is as simple as it gets.

Just follow the steps and you will almost nearly get there. You still need a fair bit of luck and as always with opening locks in the improper way, patience is the key.

If you can understand basic concepts then im sure this book will be an easy read.

Great alternative if you're free, nothing planned for the day and the TV shows suk.

it really says what it is! This book has everthing you need to know about combination locks. very useful if you are forgetfull or have a family member who is.

I was hopeful that the book would help me open a garage sale locked padlock, but no. I read the book several times, but it describes a process that requires you to feel the dial clicking to establish where to start. I never could feel the those clicks. Sadly a waste of money.

A short little book for learning about combination padlocks, with a clever system for quickly eliminating possibilities so that you can crack a combination faster. Pretty straightforward, and no hocus-pocus.

After reading the first ten Pages, I was able to open my high-school locker padlock - after 30 years..
The book is clearly structured and leads you through the process logically...

The method is not perfect but it's certainly working. The concept described is simple indeed, but the padlock principles explained in the book all make sense. Of course this information might be available freely on the Web, but what's not really?

Yes, you will have to try a whole lot of combinations. But a method that helps me reduce the number of possible combinations from 216000 to 600 for a regular 60-digit dudley lock is worth 10 bucks in my opinion. Pretty sure most padlocks can't stand more than 30 minutes between my hands. And with the organization method, it doesn't even have to be 30 consecutive minutes. Now it's up to you to decide if 30 minutes is too long of a time to get an opened, untampered, padlock.