Commando Lock – Marine Brass 38 [Padlock Review]

This Commando is a killer lock.

Manufacturer: Commando Locks

Lock Type: Keyed padlock

Price: $24.75 (prices may vary based on seller and configuration)

Why test this lock?

tl;dr (too long; didn’t read): Escape rooms are a difficult environment for locks, and the Marine Brass 38 was designed for harsh environments.

Padlocks aren’t typically designed to be opened a dozen times a day. They tend to age quickly and seize up from the overuse of an escape room.

The Marine Brass 38 was designed specifically for use on boats and docks, a different harsh environment. Between the moisture and salt, locks don’t usually fare well near water. This is why I decided to grab one to test for escape room usage.

Aesthetics

tl;dr: The Marine Brass 38 has a simple, lightly branded, largely timeless look.

The Marine Brass 38 is built from thin interlocking pieces of laminated brass. Its body is dense and solid. Its shackle is a boron steel alloy. The lock has barely any branding on it.

It has a simple, clean, and classic look. Out of the box, it is bright and shiny, but it will quickly darken with handling.

The brass aesthetic makes it easily visible in a room. It doesn’t suffer from the in-your-face branding that makes many of the more common locks feel out of place in historical rooms. It doesn’t look ancient, but it doesn’t look overtly modern either.

The brass keys look like they belong with the lock.

Mechanism

tl;dr: The Marine Brass 38 works smoothly. It is less likely to break than most of your common escape room locks.

The lock’s dead core means that the cylinder holds no spring tension. Similarly, the shackle and locking mechanism have no spring tension. As a result, the key takes nearly no pressure to turn. Once unlocked, the lock simply falls open. Everything is smooth.

This lack of tension reduces the amount of kinetic energy being transferred between the various lock components. Additionally, with fewer moving parts in the lock, there is less that can go wrong.

Security

You can skip this section if you’re only interested in escape room usage.

The Marine Brass 38 is a 5-pin lock. All of the pins are security pins (alternating serrated / spool pins). The keyway is narrow and paracentric (curved) like a European keyway. I can pick and rake it open (because the lock I have has fairly level pinning), but it certainly takes a lot more effort than any other lock I have found in the price range.

The shackle is held shut with ball bearings that prevent shimming.

The back of the keyway is shielded. I could not find any methods of bypassing, nor did I find anyone publishing information about possible bypasses.

Knowing that Master Lock No.1 – 4 can take a bullet, I have no doubt that this similarly designed Commando Lock can as well.

Dimensions

Lock Dimensions: 3 x 1.625 x 0.875 (inches)

Shackle Diameter: 0.5 (inches)

Shackle Height: 1.5 (inches)

Key Dimensions: 1.75 x 0.875 (inches)

Should I buy Commando Lock’s Marine Brass 38?

Manufacturing in Michigan, Commando Lock Company does a mindbogglingly good job of producing a high-quality, low-cost product. I keep hearing that it can’t be done in America, but damn it, they did it.

I’ve picked and opened this Marine Brass 38 somewhere in the realm of 500 times and it still opens like the day I pulled it from the box. This is not the case with the Master Locks that I own, which stick and seize up with regular use.

I feel confident recommending this lock for escape rooms because it truly feels up to the task.

Additionally, for this price, this is a strong lock to secure your belongings. While the Marine Brass 38 cannot compare to true high security locks which will run $150.00 at the very least, this Commando Lock is a bargain at ~$25.00. Buy one today.

(If you purchase via our Amazon links, you will help support Room Escape Artist as we will receive a very small percentage of the sale).