Foundation (1921)

Master Lock was founded in 1921 by Harry Soref, a locksmith and inventor from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Soref’s early innovation was the laminated-steel padlock. Instead of producing the lock body from a single piece of metal, laminated locks were constructed from multiple layers of steel. This approach provided a combination of strength, manufacturing practicality, and durability. Master Lock describes its founding innovation as the world’s first laminated-steel padlock.

The company’s early experience was particularly connected to securing military equipment, which helped establish its emphasis on physical strength and reliability. The brand’s original identity emphasized strength, durability, reliability, practical security, affordable protection, and mechanical innovation. These characteristics remained central to the Master Lock brand for decades.

Development during the 1920s–1940s

During the company’s first decades, Master Lock expanded its padlock manufacturing and distribution. One notable historical period was Prohibition in the United States (1920–1933), during which Master Lock’s historical timeline records its padlocks being used.3

In 1935, Master Lock introduced its first combination lock. This was an important expansion beyond conventional keyed padlocks and established a product category that would become strongly associated with the brand.4 During World War II, the company dedicated production to supporting the war effort.5

Post-war expansion

Following World War II, Master Lock expanded considerably. By 1950, the company described itself as the largest padlock manufacturer in the United States. National advertising began in the 1950s, helping turn Master Lock from a specialized lock manufacturer into a widely recognized consumer brand.6

The brand increasingly became associated with everyday objects such as school lockers, gym lockers, garages, gates, sheds, bicycles, luggage, storage areas, and toolboxes. This broad consumer presence helped make the name “Master Lock” almost synonymous with the padlock category in the United States.

The 1960s–1970s

Master Lock continued developing its consumer identity through advertising and television. Its historical timeline records its first television appearance in 1967 and a notable “shot lock” advertising campaign in 1974.7 The company’s marketing increasingly focused not simply on locks as mechanical devices, but on the idea of protecting things that matter to people. This concept eventually became a major component of the modern Master Lock brand.

Combination-lock innovation

Combination locks became one of Master Lock’s most recognizable product categories. In 1982, the company introduced its first resettable combination lock, allowing users to establish their own combination rather than relying on a factory-set combination.8 Master Lock continues to sell combination locks today, including both traditional dial-style and modern resettable products.

Although Master Lock is primarily associated with padlocks, its modern portfolio is much broader. The company’s current product categories include:

Padlocks

Traditional keyed padlocks remain a core part of the business. Master Lock sells laminated-steel padlocks, solid-body padlocks, outdoor padlocks, heavy-duty padlocks, high-security padlocks, and weather-resistant padlocks.9

Combination locks

These include standard combination padlocks, resettable combination locks, locker locks, and travel locks.

Cable and U-locks

Master Lock produces security products for bicycles, transportation, gates, equipment, and other applications.

Lock boxes

Lock boxes provide a way to store keys and share physical access with family members, contractors, employees, or other authorized users.12

Safes

Master Lock’s broader security portfolio includes safes, including fire- and water-resistant products. The company also sells SentrySafe products as part of its broader security offering.

Door hardware

The company has expanded into residential and commercial door-security hardware.

Electronic and Bluetooth locks

Master Lock has increasingly moved into connected security. Its Bluetooth products can allow users to manage access through smartphones and create or revoke access permissions.11 The company’s current portfolio includes Bluetooth padlocks, Bluetooth lock boxes, and electronic door hardware.

A major transition for Master Lock was the introduction of connected locks. The company launched Bluetooth-enabled padlocks in 2015, bringing smartphone-based access to a product category traditionally dominated by keys and mechanical combinations.10

Modern Master Lock electronic products can provide features such as smartphone access, digital access management, temporary access, multiple authorized users, electronic credentials, and Bluetooth connectivity. This represents a significant change in the brand’s evolution: from mechanical security to combination security, then to electronic security, and finally to connected access management.

Master Lock is not exclusively a consumer brand. It also provides security products for businesses, schools, industrial facilities, transportation, construction, healthcare, commercial buildings, manufacturing, and workplace safety.

One important category is Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) equipment. Lockout/tagout products are designed to help prevent machinery or equipment from being accidentally energized or operated during maintenance and servicing. Master Lock offers specialized lockout padlocks, cable lockouts, group lock boxes, and related accessories.12

Master Lock’s modern parent organization has expanded its security portfolio through acquisitions and brand development. In 2023, Master Lock’s corporate history records the acquisition of Yale and August, expanding its connection to smart and electronic access-control technologies. The company’s current professional-security strategy includes Yale and Master Lock products.13

In 2025, Master Lock and Yale introduced new professional smart-lock products aimed at markets including multifamily housing, offices, schools, healthcare facilities, and small and medium-sized businesses.14 This illustrates how the company is positioning itself beyond the traditional padlock market.

Master Lock operates under The Master Lock Company and is part of Fortune Brands Innovations. Fortune Brands Innovations is a publicly traded American company with businesses spanning areas including home products, security, and related categories. Its history identifies Master Lock as one of the businesses responsible for the company’s security heritage.15

The corporate structure can be summarized approximately as:

• Fortune Brands Innovations
• Security & Connected Products
• Master Lock / related security brands

Master Lock itself remains a distinct consumer-facing brand.

Master Lock’s current portfolio can broadly be divided into several groups.16

Major product lines

Some historically recognizable Master Lock families include:

• Standard laminated padlocks: These are perhaps the archetypal Master Lock products. Their layered-steel construction became one of the company’s defining technologies.
• Combination locks: Master Lock combination locks are especially common for school lockers, gym lockers, storage, gates, travel, and personal belongings.
• Magnum: The Magnum family represents a heavier-duty security segment designed for demanding applications.
• Bluetooth locks: The Bluetooth line represents Master Lock’s transition toward smartphone-controlled security.
• Lock boxes: These provide controlled physical access to keys and are increasingly available in connected/Bluetooth versions.

Master Lock’s brand identity has historically centered on strength and trust. Its current branding uses the idea: “If It Means Something, Master It.” The company frames its products not simply as locks, but as tools for protecting responsibilities, property, and things people value.17

Three recurring themes dominate its positioning:

1. Legacy: Master Lock emphasizes its more than 100-year history, beginning in 1921.18
2. Resilience: The company emphasizes physical strength, durability, weather resistance, and rigorous product testing.19
3. Innovation: While its identity originated with mechanical padlocks, Master Lock increasingly promotes connected locks, electronic access control, and other modern security technologies.20

Logo and visual identity

The Master Lock visual identity has historically incorporated a lion symbol. The lion represents concepts such as strength, courage, resilience, and protection. For its 100th anniversary in 2021, the company brought its original “Master Lock Lion” symbolism back into its commemorative identity.21

The familiar Master Lock packaging and product designs also traditionally emphasize strong industrial colors, particularly black, silver, and red, contributing to a recognizable hardware-store presence.

Master Lock describes itself as a global manufacturer and marketer of padlocks and security products. Its products are distributed through hardware stores, big-box retailers, specialty retailers, distributors, and other sales channels. The company says its personal-security products are available in thousands of locations. Its global positioning is therefore broader than its American origins, with Master Lock products marketed internationally.

Master Lock is one of the most recognizable names in the padlock industry. Its major competitive advantages have historically been very high brand recognition, more than a century of operating history, a large product range, broad retail distribution, strong association with padlocks, extensive consumer and commercial product lines, combination-lock expertise, and increasing smart-lock capabilities.

However, Master Lock should not be viewed as a single “security level.” Its catalog ranges from inexpensive everyday locks to heavy-duty and commercial products. Security performance therefore depends heavily on the specific model, construction, shackle, cylinder, application, and threat being considered. Master Lock itself categorizes products according to different intended uses and security requirements.

Master Lock celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2021. The centennial campaign emphasized the company’s evolution from Harry Soref’s original laminated-steel padlock into a global security company. The company specifically highlighted the progression from its 1935 combination lock to its 2015 Bluetooth padlocks, illustrating how its product technology has changed over the century.22

Master Lock continues to expand beyond traditional padlocks. Its current portfolio includes Elite padlocks, connected Bluetooth products, safes, commercial security solutions, and lockout/tagout equipment. The company announced its Master Lock Elite padlocks in 2026 as a new premium line positioned as its toughest locks yet.23

The company’s recent strategy therefore appears to have two complementary directions:

• Traditional security: Stronger padlocks, combination locks, safes, and LOTO products.
• Connected security: Bluetooth locks, smart access control, electronic hardware, and professional smart-lock solutions.

Master Lock is significant because it represents one of the clearest examples of a traditional mechanical-security company evolving into a broader security and access-control brand. Its history can essentially be divided into four eras:

• 1921–1940s (Foundation): Harry Soref establishes the company around innovative laminated-steel padlocks.
• 1950s–1990s (Mass-market growth): Master Lock becomes a widely recognized consumer padlock and combination-lock brand.
• 2000s–2010s (Product diversification): The company expands into cables, safes, commercial security, lockout/tagout, and other products.
• 2010s–present (Connected security): Bluetooth, electronic access, smart locks, and professional access-control solutions become increasingly important.

1. About Us | Master Lock
2. Master Lock Celebrates 100 Years | Commemorative Campaign & Innovations | Press | Master Lock
3. Master Lock® Official Site | Padlocks & Security Products
4. Master Lock
5. Master Lock
6. About Us | Master Lock
7. 10-K
8. sec.gov
9. DEF 14A
10. The Master Lock Company Launches Community Champions Initiative | Press | Master Lock
11. Personal Use Locks | Master Lock
12. Master Lock Official Online Store – Master Lock Store
13. Master Lock® Official Site | Padlocks & Security Products
14. Master Lock® Official Site | Padlocks & Security Products
15. Padlocks | Master Lock Store
16. Master Lock® Official Site | Padlocks & Security Products
17. Padlocks & Portable Safes – Master Lock Store
18. About Us | Master Lock
19. Master Lock EMEA | Security Products, Lock Boxes and Safes | Master Lock
20. About Us | SentrySafe
21. About Us | Master Lock Australia
22. Master Lock América Latina
23. #fortunebrands #masterlock #smartlocks | The Master Lock Company