I found myself in the situation of having to use an old Wordlock combination lock to secure a trailer overnight. We abandoned it because it was too awkward to use - particularly in poor lighting conditions - but needs must. One problem: Forgot the code. Needed to recover it.
It's a 4-letter lock, with 10 positions per letter wheel. A quick trawl with the Linux dictionary revealed over 500 possible dictionary words, though I was fairly sure we didn't use one. So how to crack it? With one illuminated magnifying visor and a biro.
Take each wheel in turn, and push it to the left as shown, using the point of the biro. Using the magnifying visor, look deep into the little gap you're making on the right side of the letter. In one position, and one position only, you will see a ridge on the shaft that the letter rotates around. This indicates the letter you want. It really is that simple. Do all 4 wheels in any order, push, pull, open sesame!
