diff --git a/etc/container-server.conf-sample b/etc/container-server.conf-sample
index a6e72a2502..feca3c48e1 100644
--- a/etc/container-server.conf-sample
+++ b/etc/container-server.conf-sample
@@ -417,3 +417,8 @@ use = egg:swift#xprofile
 # limit may be changed by setting recon_candidates_limit to an integer value. A
 # negative value implies no limit.
 # recon_candidates_limit = 5
+#
+# Large databases tend to take a while to work with, but we want to make sure
+# we write down our progress. Use a larger-than-normal broker timeout to make
+# us less likely to bomb out on a LockTimeout.
+# broker_timeout = 60
diff --git a/swift/container/sharder.py b/swift/container/sharder.py
index be243aba4f..c0b2d93755 100644
--- a/swift/container/sharder.py
+++ b/swift/container/sharder.py
@@ -141,6 +141,8 @@ class ContainerSharder(ContainerReplicator):
         self.auto_shard = config_true_value(conf.get('auto_shard', False))
         self.recon_candidates_limit = int(
             conf.get('recon_candidates_limit', 5))
+        self.broker_timeout = config_positive_int_value(
+            conf.get('broker_timeout', 60))
 
         # internal client
         self.conn_timeout = float(conf.get('conn_timeout', 5))
@@ -978,7 +980,8 @@ class ContainerSharder(ContainerReplicator):
                                     node_id)
                 continue
 
-            broker = ContainerBroker(path, logger=self.logger)
+            broker = ContainerBroker(path, logger=self.logger,
+                                     timeout=self.broker_timeout)
             error = None
             try:
                 self._identify_sharding_candidate(broker, node)