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Beat a Master Lock Most Rick Tick

Saturday, October 10th, 2009

Mark Edward Campos, a third year architecture student developed a great graphic on a method to defeat a Rotary Dial Master Lock. Of course the intent of all of this was to find out how a Master Lock works and not necessarily how to defeat it. Essentially, you determine the first number by pulling up on the latch while the dial is rotated. Next, a table of all possible first and second number combinations has been calculated for you. Then you tough it out and attempt the one hundred combinations or so left.

Hack A Day had previously published an article on this method but suggested that using a shim made from an aluminum can is preferable. It is a lot faster. I thought our readers might be interested from a security perspective in this video of the shim method.

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Popular Mechanics Takes on Disaster

Tuesday, September 29th, 2009

It seems like everyone is focused on Disaster Preparedness these days. For example, just last week saw the season finale of the Discovery Channel’s “The Colony”. It seems that in the wake of natural disasters and a near economic melt down, folks are interested in taking care of themselves and the October 2009 issue of Popular Mechanics takes it on.

One of the more interesting articles covers unusual survival kit essentials. Number one on the list? Beer. According to magazine publisher Trey Click, who survived last yearâ€™s Hurricane Ike in Galveston, Texas. â€œItâ€™s one of the only things you can use for money in the aftermath.â€

Here are just a few of the other articles in this issue:

â€¢ TIMELINE: An Illustrated History of Self-Reliance
â€¢ EARLIER: How to Make Biodiesel out of Kitchen Grease
â€¢ OFF-THE-GRID: Alaskaâ€™s Hidden Model for Clean Energy
â€¢ DIY HOME: How to Build a Raised Garden Bed (With Plans!)
â€¢ PLUS: Has Affordable, Efficient Rooftop Wind Power Arrived?

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Use a 3D Printer To Get Out Of Handcuffs

Monday, September 21st, 2009

Ok, sure. It sounds like something out of an action movie. Sport Enthusiasts of Lockpicking – Europe member Ray used a hi-res camera to image the Dutch Police Hand Cuff Key. He then used a 3D printer to make a copy.

According to the lock picking blog Black Bag:

At first the police officers at HAR (Hacking at Random 2009, an international technology & security conference) were a little reluctant to event try out the plastic key he printed. But he found another way to verify the key he printed was the correct one. I guess these officers never thought about wearing keys concealed, especially when talking with Mr. Handcuff himself. Given the megapixel camera’s on the market today it was not so difficult to verify the key he printed was the correct one. At the end of the day he talked the officers into trying the key on their handcuffs and … it did work! At least the Dutch Police now knows there is a plastic key on the market that will open their handcuffs. A plastic key undetectable by metal detectors….

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Mayflower E&R Bag

Tuesday, September 1st, 2009

If this bag looks familiar to you it should. Consider it a much needed update to the groundbreaking Diamondback Tactical E&R Bag which itself inspired a whole slew of clones. What makes the Mayflower E&R Bag so special is that both it and the DBT Bag were designed by the same person; Mayflower’s owner. Based on real world experience, the E&R Bag was designed to be used as a grab and go bag in emergency situations or as an everyday tote bag for essential patrol items.

The E&R Bag features a removable shoulder strap, fixed carrying handle, two external general purpose pouches and two external flat pouches designed to discretely carry six M4 or similar sized magazines. The top flap is designed to carry maps or other 8 Â½â€ x 11â€ documents in a clear, zippered enclosure. Internally the E&R Bag is divided into one large and two small compartments with elastic provided to secure chemlites, pens, or other similar size/shaped items.

Berry Compliant and offered in Black, Coyote, UCP, and Multicam, the E&R Bag is available from Mayflower online or other purveyors of fine tactical products.

Tags: Mayflower Research and Consulting LLC
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Survival on GMA

Sunday, August 23rd, 2009

A recent episode of Good Morning America featured former SF Officer Myke Hawke who was promoting his new book, “Myke Hawke’s Green Beret Survival Manual“.

In addition to a demonstration of fire starting using just steel wool and a battery, he also offered this mnemonic for remembering which berries are safe to eat in the wild.

White and yellow, kill a fellow.
Purple and blue, good for you.
Red… could be good, could be dead.

If [red berries are] growing in little clusters, they’re probably not good. If they’re growing in little singletons, they probably are good.
-Former SF Captain Myke Hawke

See the video of the GMA appearance here.

Tags: Edible Plants
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Faststrike Maxi

Saturday, August 8th, 2009

Designed to be complimentary with the Fastfire fire starter blocks, the Faststrike Maxi is a larger version of the model that comes with a Fire Starting kit.

The Firestrike starters produce sparks in excess of 5500Â°F in any weather, at any altitude. The Maxi model is designed to over 10,000 fires. There are no breaking parts (plastic) or failure points (springs that can break). Additionally, the 4″ carbon steel hacksaw blade serves as striker but the blade also provides multi-functionality for cutting & fabricating materials (metals, plastics, wood).

The Faststrike Maxi is available from Solkoa.

Tags: Solkoa
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Survival Straps

Wednesday, August 5th, 2009

Some of us are too busy (or lazy) to tie our own 550 cord bracelets and lanyards. Survival Straps takes the work out of it and offers a variety of woven products in over 900 combinations.

Their survival bracelets are made with over 24′ of 550 cord (wide variant). When I made them back in the day, I used a couple of knots at the end of the bracelet threaded through a loop as a closure and some guys got fancy and used a button from an old set of BDUs. But the survival bracelet features one of two unique closures. One is a side release buckle and the other is a stainless steel shackle. Both secure your bracelet and look sharp.

Two colors can be chosen for each product, one for the outer edge and the other for the inner portion of the weave. Survival Straps believes in their product so much that if you use it in a survival situation they will replace it for free.

We suggest you check out the entire lineup at www.survivalstraps.com. They offer numerous products and have an extensive library of photos to give you an idea of what your creation will look like.

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The Colony

Saturday, August 1st, 2009

Recently, I began watching Discovery channel’s new series “The Colony”. It is an interesting take on reality TV pitting a cast of “average Joes” against the ruins of LA in a post-collapse scenario. However, I am not too sure how average the survivors are considering their number include a nurse, doctor, and several engineers. At any rate, each week, the cast faces a new challenge of building another contraption to improve their plight in addition to the standard fare of personality conflicts. Can’t we all just get along? The show makes you think and brings up some interesting solutions to such dilemmas as power generation and water purification.

All that said, in my opinion it is well worth your time. Check listings for show times.

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