master lock # 19

Donnie

Hi team, I just found a Master lock # 19. I am wondering when they started production & when they stopped……..Mine has a brown bumper around the bottom & I have seen others with black & also blue bumpers. Can anyone tell me anything about this lock?
Also the code is ink stamped inside a “frame”, for lack of a better description on the lock & the ink is black.. has 1 original key… I may try to fing a couple more versions of this lock, as I am impressed by their size… This is the newest lock in my stable, as I am into older locks thanks, Donnie

Riyame

I am not sure when the master 19 was introduced but they stopped making them around the mid 1990s I believe. It is the largest most secure lock they made. The locking dogs were not shimable like on the smaller versions and were probably not able to be bypassed through the keyway either. I have never seen one with a brown or black bumper but I used to have on in the box with a red bumper.

These use a special blank so souring an extra key may be difficult.

Billy B Edwards Jr. CML

Donnie wrote
Hi team, I just found a Master lock # 19. I am wondering when they started production & when they stopped……..Mine has a brown bumper around the bottom & I have seen others with black & also blue bumpers. Can anyone tell me anything about this lock?
Also the code is ink stamped inside a “frame”, for lack of a better description on the lock & the ink is black.. has 1 original key… I may try to fing a couple more versions of this lock, as I am impressed by their size… This is the newest lock in my stable, as I am into older locks thanks, Donnie

According to the information I have the #19 Super Security padlock was introduced in 1976. It was discontinued arond 2000 or 2001 shortly afte I went to work there as the Key Records manager.
BBE.

[unknown]

Riyame

Good to know BBE. Everywhere I have ever seen has said they were discontinued “about 15 years ago” 🙁: and this has been repeated for the last few years so I assumed mid 90’s.

Dean Nickel

It is possible that wholesalers stopped stocking it before it was discontinued. The other thought could be it wasn’t imported into Canada after the mid to late 1990’s.

Riyame

Hmm, its a thought but I have seen this on ebay as well as US based lock forums. It seems to be one of those widely known “facts” 😃:

Billy B Edwards Jr. CML

Riyame wrote
Hmm, its a thought but I have seen this on ebay as well as US based lock forums. It seems to be one of those widely known “facts” 😃:

Yes, those kind of things get remembered after more than 10 years and after 20 it seems the time typically gets shortened. An interesting thing about the #19 was that a lot of old time hardware stores used to buy and sell them.

We had a new engineer a couple of years after it was discontinued who discovered the old drawings and searched the entire plant for one to no avail. Most people at Master have no historical interest in the products and once something is gone from the catalog it is completely gone from the building. However he used a novel approach and went to every old time hardware store in the Milwaukee area and asked them to look for one in the ‘back’. Amazingly he found and purchased 10 of them. So they are still out there as ‘new old stock’.
BBE.

[unknown]

Tom Gordon

I would consider BBE’s information to be from the horses mouth. Anything else spewed out on the Internet is not likely to be as reliable.
This is pretty obvious isn’t it?

Dean Nickel

I agree that BBE is one of the top minds that I have known on US lock history. Right up there with Tom Hennessy and A.J. Hoffman (RIP).

Adrian Weber

Does anyone has one of those in new old condition?

I would like to have one for my collection 🙂

Riyame

lol Dicey, I have a red one in the box that I gave to Alapha like 2 months ago.

Donnie

Hello team, thank’s for all the info that you all supplied…
I’d like to twist your tail one ,one more time: My wife said that possibly what I am calling brown could have been red at one time & age has toned it down…Myself it’s really a stretch to call it red, can any one tell me by color if this is an early production lock?
I would also like to buy, if anyone has one 4 sale a Masterlock original key blank.
The hole for the key ring is not round, but is 6 sided, hexagon or octagon , can’t recall.
The po said it was used as a paperweight & never saw any action…I am happy to have it🙁happy):

Riyame

Here is a red one so you can compare it to brown.

Donnie

OK, the color is so close to mine ???? but my Master on the bumper is black. Yours looks like silver……..I thought it was brown, & now I’m not sure… any price or date on your box? thanks, Donnie

Riyame

Nope, none of that info I do not believe. I dont own it anymore so I cant check. You should upload a picture of yours.

Donnie

Just got a new camera for Christmas..still in the box…..Will post photo’s soon.thanks

Retro00064

Donnie wrote
OK, the color is so close to mine ???? but my Master on the bumper is black. Yours looks like silver……..I thought it was brown, & now I’m not sure… any price or date on your box? thanks, Donnie

Here’s an eBay listing for one with a brown (“chocolate”) bumper:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Master-Lock-Padlock-series-19-RareFind-/230909150190?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35c34203ee

No knowledge here on whether red or brown came first, or whether the brown color is actually red that has faded as your wife reckons is a possibility. Those earlier Master bumpers like on the lock in that auction and on Riyame’s #19 seem to be quite susceptible to the silver paint in the word “Master” wearing off. I have a Master #27 (rekeyable version of the #17) with that type of bumper (in a dark bluish color) that is new-old-stock in its original box, and even so, the silver paint in the Master lettering on the bumper has worn off a little. The later blue bumpers (the ones still made today, even in other colors for some locks) have the Master logo molded with white plastic as part of the bumper, so the logos on those won’t wear off easily.

By the way, to those contemplating buying that #19 I linked to for $125, or one of that guy’s other currently-listed #19’s that are priced similarly, keep in mind that there are rarer, much earlier Master padlocks out there that, when they pop up on eBay, can be obtained for much lower prices than what that guy wants for a #19. Also keep in mind that there is certainly the possibility of obtaining a #19 on eBay for a lower or even much lower price if someone other than him is selling it. Value is, of course, all about what people are willing to pay (and that guy has relisted the #19 I linked to over and over for months, with the same price each time; what does that tell you?), so if you are willing to spend a Ben Franklin for a used #19, go for it, but I could obtain numerous rarer 1920s to 30s Master padlocks with that much money considering how much those tend to go for. My 2 cents.

[unknown]

Riyame

Indeed, the last few good ones I have seen for around $50. That one is way over priced.

Pschiffe

Riyame wrote
Indeed, the last few good ones I have seen for around $50. That one is way over priced.

The Master Lock Co. DPL-84 Dealer Price List dated Dec. 15, 1984 shows the #19 with a suggested retail of $19.99 and $14.00 dealer net.

Pete Schifferli

[unknown]

Riyame

The ones in newer condition are collectors items. They were selling for up to $100 with both keys in good condition about 6-8 months ago then they fell down to around $50. This is on ebay. Plus, that is 1984, 28 years ago.