Hi all, I have a very old safe in the basement that I can’t open. It’s likely there’s nothing in it but I want to make sure. I’ve been quoted $2000+gst to reinstate the lock or $1200+gst to force it open. Are there any more affordable options?
Edit: photo here https://ibb.co/LX6F04D0
Top Reddit tip: never show the contents.
If you don't mind destroying the safe, I would guess someone would cut it open with an angle grinder for <$200 if you put it on Airtasker.
This for sure. I cut open a safe using an angle grinder once. Took about 15 minutes and 5 discs (it chewed through the discs). Only risk is the sparks setting the contents of the safe on fire.
/edit.. Nevermind. Just saw the photo of the safe. Doubt a angle grinder would get deep enough through the wall! Looks like a tank of a safe!
Dynamite
I believe its any old Powergel you can get your hands on that you use these days.
Are there any more affordable options?
Advertise safe-cracking practice for would be/rusty bank robbers; only $50 an hour - they pay you.
Did you get get three quotes or just one? Try a different safe cracker. Have you tried air tasker to see who can do it the cheapest?
Most safes are incredibly heavy. If you finish up with an open but damaged safe, then what. I suspect you may need a locksmith so you don't end up with a useless safe you cannot shift. If very old, the lock is unlikely to be super complex. Keep chasing quotes.
Offer it to a locksmith class, provided they tell you what was in it. If they can open it.
Tried that. I had to buy 4 safes as a bulk lot just to get the one I wanted. Offered the rest to the Ultimo TAFE where I was doing locksmithing, and they didnt want them, and even if they did, I would have to pay for transport… These things were 600+kg each.
Oxytorch and cut it open if you do not want to use it anymore.
Otherwise have a look on lockpicking forums on places like reddit etc
Put an ad in the Long Bay Old Scholars newsletter.
The locals prefer it be called the Malabar Old Scholars Newsletter.
The only ones who know the truth will be its alumni and those who live east of Anzac parade
We defer to someone who apparently has reasons to have knowledge of the matter.
I thought it was Malabar Long term Hostel by the sea.
What kind of safe is it? If el cheapo, it should be pretty easy to force open yourself… also, is it bolted in, or can you move it. And what kind of lock mechanism is it?
If el cheapo, it should be pretty easy to force open
At least buy me a drink first.
Get a cobolt drill bit and a borescope inspection camera (with light).
Drill a hole to suit the borescope camera and feed the camera in.
If there is nothing in the safe, then why waste time trying to open it?
You just have to determine where is the best location on the safe to drill the hole.
Be aware that if it's an old safe it probably has asbestos between the steel layers
It does say fire resistant 😭
Just keep adding cutting fluid to the drill hole you're making (it's an oil that will prevent any dust flying around and helps with cutting into metal) and wear a P2 mask. You'll be fine.
As above, you drill bit that can get through the thickness. You just need a hole in it to see if there’s anything in it
Contact the lockpicking lawyer
Safecracking Solicitor likely more suitable for this one
Nah, boxopening barrister..
You wouldn't use Combination Querying QC for a safe?
In any case, that's all I have for you today. If you do have any questions or comments about this, please put them below. If you like this video, and you would like to see more like it, please subscribe. And as always, have a nice day. Thank you.
I would spend days trying to open that by ear despite knowing the probable futility.
How old are we talking, 1800's old or 1997 old? Does it have a dial or a key hole? Is it mounted into the floor/wall or free standing? Is it a thin steel box looking safe or a concrete filled body safe? Are we talking the size of an A4 sheet of paper or are we talking big enough to stash a body in? Does it even have a brand? Chubb? CMI? etc?
As for "is there any cheaper way to get in…" Yeah, all safes have a secret lever you pull and it just opens like a banana… FFS. It wouldn't be called a "safe" if there was an easy/cheaper way to get into them. It all depends on the type of safe it is and how much damage you are prepared to exact on it to get it open.
If it is a proper, well made safe, you could be looking at a safe with all sorts of security features like re-lockers and door bolts. The outer skin could be hardened steel and then have a thick wall of compacted concrete. You are not going to just "angle grind" into one of these, not to mention, depending on the age of the safe, some old safes were full of asbestos to make them fire rated, so drilling or cutting into those could be problematic.
If it is a thin walled/single skin safe, then you can basically just open it with a hole saw, angle grinder or anything like that. (I would not be using an "oxy torch" on a safe just in case there was something valuable inside.)
The reason your quotes are so high is because locksmiths a: hate safe jobs. b: they are hella time consuming, especially if the customer want to reuse/sell the safe afterwards c: some of the equipment for safe entry can be very expensive and d: they know that what is in there could be VERY valuable and worth way more than their $2,000 fee (think of a bank safe with $2 million in it)
Locksmith makes cents. Cheers
I’ve never leant so much in my life
Thanks for the detail. So it says milners patent 212 fire resisting but there’s a dial on it that looks modern. The only person who knew much about it has just passed and I recall he said there wasn’t anything in it. I’ve put a photo in the original post now
Yep, I would not be grinding a safe of that age that is "fire resisting". There is a greater than 0% chance this thing is full of asbestos.
The 212 patent from Milner is not just a trademark, it represents a fire-resistant mixture of sand, sawdust and alum crystals that were injected into the sides of the box. During a fire, these contents owing to the chemical reaction of the ingredients were guaranteed not to heat up beyond 212 degrees Fahrenheit.
Age of the safe seems to put it about the late 1850s? So maybe a museum piece if you were to donate it, or some "collector" might be interested in it if it is cheap enough and let them get it open.
The S&G dial is a modern dial on the front. That is an addition. There is no telling with that keyway though, if it requires a key or if the key is an override or if the key portion is even locked. Good chance looking at it though that it requires either a "warded" key or a "lever lock" type key.
Posting a photo would have saved 20 messages of speculation.
I couldn’t see an option to upload a photo. I do have one!
Top hinge looks like it has been played with. I would see if you remove the screws and see what happens w.r.t. movement of the door/hinge.
Safes wouldn't be very safe if the hinges were on the outside and you could just remove them.
If it is a safe, not just a fireproof cabinet, there are sliding bolts that push out into the frame around the door. Even if you remove the hinges the bolts continue to hold the door firmly in place.
It's like everyone here needs help on how to ask for help.
Reminds me of my GF's scenario 1 year ago …
She was moving house - was an electronic safe (Bunnings type option - which was then bolted/concreted into floor with good size 20cm bolts).
Batteries were flat, but had option to use key … Sadly, she had also lost the key … Which the safe contained her passport + expensive jewellery.
Since house was being demolished … It took 4 of us strong guys - with an axe/mattock/hammer/screwdriver - 2 hours to Jimmy the safe from bedroom wardrobe.
Once we had the safe out - her brother used angle grinder to open it.
[EDIT] : and yes, everything inside was still 100% undamaged.
the safe contained her passport
That makes it worth destroying the safe. When your country has the most expensive passports in the world.
man! it is a very old safe. don't go f*king it up
probably packed full of gold bullion
The treasure is all the friends you've made on the way to cracking the safe.
Now we have a picture I would remove the handle on the far left. Drill through the screw hole (yes it will take a long time and a lot of drill bits), check inside with a bore scope. When you confirm it's empty put the handle back on.
Two options:
Option 1. Look for a Caravan parked on the side of a Road, put Safe nearby, and wait.
Option 2. Bikies.
Stethoscope and YouTube videos on how to crack a safe with a combination lock :)
As a locksmith who spent more than enough time during my traineeship (fropanity) around with with these S&G dial combination locks for the "practice", the old "stethoscope" attack isnt going to work. There are other, easier work arounds for these types of locks.
There are other, easier work arounds for these types of locks
Yeah, but where is the op going to find 4 mini Cooper's, mark Wahlberg and Charlize Theron?
Just get the Fonz to slap the top of it, it pops open while the Fonz just double thumbs up and says "ayyyyyyyy"
The lock picking lawyer posted a video on a safe cracking machine (ITL-2000), which figures out the combination by trying every combination, said it can take up to 30hours.
Link: https://youtu.be/nDgC8JOQhiM?si=QKQF7UUcnkJvipGi
Had a CMI safe with a sergeant and green leaf combination dial once… was a good safe.
Try turning the handle
Stay safe
That's the key to this situation.
if it would be me, looking at the picture - angle grinder with cutting disk (9 inch grinder) and cut the lock bars.
you have a gap between door and door jamb - so can cut though the lock bars
Not how that works at all, but thanks for playing…
The locking bars are set further in and deeper… All you would be doing it cutting into the side wall of the safe and not even touching the locking bars…
And a 9" angle grinder in a groove like that sounds like a prime recipe to loose a finger or an arm in the process.
Whatever you do, put it on Reddit