The “Do Not Touch Sticker” of padlocks.
Lock Type: Keyed Padlock
Dimensions: Body, 1.75 inch (4.5cm) wide 1.5 inch (4 cm), shackle height 1.5 inch (3.9cm), shackle width 0.25 inch (0.6 cm)
Price: $10-25 (depending on the color)
Manufacturer: Master Lock
REA Reaction
What the Master Lock 410 lacks in durability it makes up for in aesthetics… at least for escape room design purposes.
For the right escape room theme, this is a clever lock to use in place of “do not touch” stickers. It could also work well just as an eye-catching lock.
Operation
From a user standpoint, this is a keyed padlock. There is nothing unique about its operation.
Construction
From a construction standpoint, the Master Lock 410 is an utterly bizarre lock. Its body is made of plastic and its shackle is not hardened… but it has the most pick-resistant core that Master Lock produces.
The Lockpicking Lawyer did a humorous analysis of the paradox that is the Master Lock 410:
Use in Escape Rooms
There are two clear uses for the Master Lock 410 within escape rooms.
Do Not Touch Indicator
The Master Lock 410’s aesthetic makes it jump out as a natural “do not touch” indicator.
Its unique look and feel – compared to other locks – makes it obvious and memorable.
Additionally, the plastic body means that while its durability may be questionable, it is unlikely to damage anything on your set if it swings against props.
Depending upon the game environment, the Master Lock 410 could look like a natural part of the set while still standing out. The same cannot be said for most “do not touch” stickers.
Standard Padlock
The Master Lock 410’s interesting aesthetic means that it could play a unique role as an active padlock within an escape room.
My big concern for this padlock as an active prop is durability.
Background
The unusual Master Lock 410 is a Lockout/ Tagout lock (LOTO).
Lockout/ Tagout is an industrial safety precaution whereby all of the workers involved with a dangerous piece of machinery place a lock on the device that prevents it from working until all of them remove their locks.
This ensures that no one is stuck in a dangerous position when the machinery is activated. These locks come in multiple colors and have labels so that individual workers can identify their own locks.
Incidentally, the Master Lock Hasp that occasionally shows up in escape rooms is a different LOTO device… but that contraption is a story for another day.
You can read about LOTO in brutal bureaucratic detail on the OSHA website if that’s your thing, or if you’re struggling to get some sleep.
Analysis
➕ Master Lock 410’s plastic body means that this lock will not damage anything that it is hanging on or near.
➕ The soft shackle of the Master Lock 410 means that an escape room operator could easily cut this lock open with bolt cutters in an emergency.
➕ The unique aesthetic of the Master Lock 410 could make this lock look at home in certain escape room environments.
➕ There are many color options for the Master Lock 410 including red, black, green, orange, purple, yellow, and blue. Prices may vary for different colors.
➖ The plastic body calls the durability of this padlock into question. Its body is far more likely to suffer serious damage than most other padlocks.
➖ From a security standpoint, the Master Lock 410 is utterly insufficient as it has no hardening to physical attack. This is a product that makes more sense in an escape room than in most real life situations.
➕ The shockingly robust core of the Master Lock 410 makes it an ideal practice lock for pickers. It’s a really tough pick compared to just about everything else that Master Lock sells.
Tips For Using
- You may want to apply some lacquer or resin on top of the sticker to prevent it from peeling off.
Buy your copy of Master Lock’s 410, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.
(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. We appreciate the support.)
I’m of two minds about the “in-theme do not touch” application. I agree that it appears thematic in many settings.
But there is a bit of a trust issue involved here, in the room design meta sense. In most game situations, especially in various burglary scenarios, a padlock is an intrinsic invitation to open and a hint that a key is required. This in spite of, or perhaps even because of (depending on scenario), the “do not remove” stickers.
Unless it’s covered specifically in the orientation briefing, it would become a red herring.
I’m of the opinion that everything in the room should be “in play,” such that do-not-touch stickers are unnecessary. “You’re breaking in to bypass the security systems and steal the Mona Lisa. Oh! But don’t touch the things with the blue stickers!” The concept is intrinsically world breaking. I realize that I’m more hardcore than most on that point, though.
Nathan, I think you’re making a lot of very good points here… stay tuned. This post was actually a pre-cursor to a post specifically on “do not touch” symbols in general.
I think that in an ideal scenario, they shouldn’t be present, but knowing full well that they are a thing… there are good and bad ways to handle them.