A really well-designed combination lock

A well-designed product is not just one that had a clever idea in the concept. To be a well-designed product, it must also be reliable, usable, and above all have great build quality.<p>As someone who bought one of these and threw it away in disgust after being unable to open it once I supposedly set my own combination, I'd never call it a well-designed combination lock.<p>As uptown says, the reviews on Amazon alone bear witness to the fact that this is a shoddily built lock which often fails one of the only tests that really matter for a lock, namely, can you open it?<p>I'd rename this article "A really clever idea for a combination lock (that failed in execution)."

Until you read the reviews on Amazon:<p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Master-Lock-1500iD-Combination-Assorted/product-reviews/B002TSN4SQ/ref=cm_cr_dp_synop?ie=UTF8&#38;showViewpoints=0&#38;sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending#R2YZLP63IRM9P1" rel="nofollow">http://www.amazon.com/Master-Lock-1500iD-Combination-Assorte...</a>

It's a nice practical joke task to rearrange those stickers, I'm quite sure there are plenty of users who can't open the lock after that.<p>Personally I wouldn't ever record password, I would record the combination. Because there is that risk. I have seen way too many people to fail with simple tasks like this.<p>Just like changing log-in domain or putting caps lock or numlock on (laptop). So much lulz and waster effort due users who are unable to grasp what's happening.<p>Btw. When I was kid, there were bicycle locks using the same idea.

It's a terrible product that rusts and jams extremely easily, requiring a saw or bolt cutters. Good design is about more than ingenuity.

Some great information on the innards of this lock can be found at <a href="http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/security-corner/physical-security-master-lock-1500id-speed-dial/" rel="nofollow">http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/security-corner/ph...</a>

I had the plastic one used in an exterior location, which isn't a good idea – was always finicky and difficult. The metal one seems to be more reliable. I wouldn't trust it somewhere I cared greatly about security, but combination locks aren't generally great in those cases.<p>One of the difficult parts is telling anyone else how to use it. Up-down-left-left-right, but only after you pushed it in to reset it? With a standard combination lock all I have to tell someone is the combination, and one of the great parts of a combination lock is that you don't need to copy a key or anything in order to delegate opening it.<p>So in my opinion it's only an okay lock.

Those stickers look gorgeous and like they would survive a hurricane....

There's a nice PDF that discusses the mechanism<p><a href="http://toool.nl/Image:The_New_Master_Lock_Combination_Padlock_V2.0.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://toool.nl/Image:The_New_Master_Lock_Combination_Padloc...</a>

Is it still just as easy to shim as the old ones?

"now heinously ugly"<p>A combination lock may not be sexy, but I see it as a classic design. There is no way you can call it hideous unless you have some childhood locker trauma to work through, and/or you only date supermodels, drive expensive cars, and live in a million dollar home.

It seems like it would be easy for someone to watch you enter your combination from a distance.

Mechanism simulator: <a href="http://toool.nl/images/e/e1/MhVisualizer_V2.0_p.swf" rel="nofollow">http://toool.nl/images/e/e1/MhVisualizer_V2.0_p.swf</a>

I guess you could use the Konami Code on this one.