You ever see those ads back in the day where they’d have a little master combo lock, and someone would fire a handgun right at it? The bullet would ricochet off the lock, sending the lock flapping around all over the place, and when everything settled – there was the lock, still all locked up.
I’m not saying those were faked or anything… but they sure were misleading.
To bust apart your master lock, you’ll need a hammer, a flathead screwdriver, a strong pair of pliers, a good pounding surface, and 15 minutes.
Assuming your lock looks like mine, on the back you’ll find a nice little steel lip. Pound the flathead down under that.
Pound forward so that you can get the flathead under the front dial. It’ll pop right off.
Under the dial there’s a thicker piece of protective steel. Choose a good spot and pound through it using the flathead. Pry up a lip and pull it back with your pliers. The insides of the lock will kinda just dissolve and fall out. Give the lock a tug and bam! Your lock is open.
I found that a pair of visegrips to pull the knob off and then just sticking a thin screwdriver through the hole where the knob rotates & working it around works quite well.
Or, you can use a large screwdriver/crowbar and usually pop it open and sometimes it’ll reclose and still work