Recover a Seed Phrase

Learning time: ~20 minutes              Execution time: ~40 minutes / 12 words

Components

In addition to printing and assembling the components linked below, you will need a pencil, an eraser, and two Penlock shares that belong to the same set.

Worksheet-12.pdf, Worksheet-18.pdf, Worksheet-24.pdf (first page only)

The worksheet is used to write the seed phrase during the recovery process. Other sections (shares) are left unused. Note that each word is made of 2 gray boxes (Penlock-specific checksum), and 4 white boxes (truncated seed word).

Wheel.pdf (single-sided; thick paper is better)

The wheel is the primary tool for recovering the seed phrase. To assemble it, proceed with the following steps:

  1. Print and carefully cut out both disks.
  2. On the colored disk, cut out the pointer window. The smaller numbered windows are not needed for this recovery process.
  3. Attach both disks together at their center using a snap button, a brass fastener, or a pin. Ensure the colored wheel is placed on top and can rotate freely.

The wheel has 4 distinct sections that will be referred to as follows: the pointer, the outer (character) ring, the inner (character) ring, and the numbered spiral.

Sumtable.pdf

The sumtable is used to verify the recovery is error-free, to correct any errors, and to complete the recovered words.

Wordlist.pdf (situational)

The wordlist might be needed to correct a specific type of error. You can delay printing it until necessary.

Procedure

Doing This Well

  • Prefer a private space where you won't be disturbed
  • Keep cameras and prying eyes away
  • Avoid pronouncing the results out loud

A. Identify the Recovery Window and Share Position

The recovery window you need to use depends on which shares you are recovering from:

Inner Share Outer Share Recovery Window
Share 1 + Share 2 Pointer (▼)
Share 2 + Share 3 Pointer (▼)
Share 1 + Share 3 Window 29→
  1. Using the table above, identify the correct recovery window for your shares.
  2. Note which share is the inner share and which is the outer share.

B. Recover the Seed Phrase

The seed phrase is recovered character by character, sequentially. Proceed as follows:

  1. Read the first character of the inner share.
  2. On the wheel, locate this character on the inner ring.
  3. Read the first character of the outer share.
  4. On the wheel, locate this character on the outer ring.
  5. Rotate the wheel to align both characters.
  6. Read the resulting character from the recovery window.
  7. On the worksheet, write this character as the first character in the 'Seedphrase' section.
  8. Repeat steps 1 to 7 for each subsequent character until all the words are recovered.

C. Check & Fix the Words

Look up each of the 12 words in the sumtable. If you find a match, the word is correct. You can then take note of the full word when they are longer than 4 characters.

If a word does not match, an error has occurred — either during recovery or when the share was produced or copied. Follow these steps until you identify the correct word:

  1. Repeat the recovery process from Section B for that specific word. Pay close attention to characters that are easily confused, such as E/F, O/Q, U/V, or X/Y. This may produce a correct result.
  2. If not, among words in the sumtable that start with the same two grayed checksum characters, look for a word that is similar but has one or two different characters. This word is most likely the correct one.
  3. If no match is found in the sumtable, use the wordlist to find a word that matches the white characters but has one or two errors in the grayed checksum characters. This word is most likely the correct one.

Notes on Initializing a Wallet

A few important notes on initializing a wallet from the recovered seed phrase:

  • Consult your wallet's documentation for specific instructions on recovering from a seed phrase.
  • Enter only the white characters: the grayed checksum characters are Penlock-specific.
  • Omit the dashes: they represent an empty character for 3-letter words.
  • Hardware wallets typically only require the first 4 letters of each word, while software wallets often require the full word.