safecracker at large

Should you have your safe serviced on a regular basis? Short answer: YES The long answer is that a lot depends on the particular safe, its age, and your usage of it. If you own a business and the items you keep in your safe are essential or at least important to the smooth day-to-day operation of your business, the answer is the safe should be on a maintenance schedule that reflects the frequency and character of use. In other words, a safe in a business that gets opened and closed several to dozens of times daily should probably have its innards checked out by a safe technician at least once a year. Several factors come into play here. If the safe is in a store and one or two people on each shift go in and out of it several or more times each, that safe needs more frequent inspections. Each user's treatment of the safe will invariably be a little different. For instance, a fast food restaurant with two managers and two assistant managers, all with access to the safe, is generally ...

When You Call A Safecracker If you need a safe opened for any reason, it's natural to expect whoever you hire to to be able to do the work. After all, why would someone accept a job they don't know how to do? You might be surprised to learn that a lot of people who advertise safe work are not as qualified for many of the jobs they accept as the people paying them might expect. Many will take your call, come and visit, look at your safe, then excuse themselves for at least a day, maybe more, saying they have to "research the job." They might even take photos and perhaps some measurements before going off to do their "research." Often when this happens they will also not give the opening price until after they do their research. In some cases this is reasonable. I'm well-equipped and very experienced, and sometimes I have to do exactly this. However, it's pretty damned seldom. I routinely ask a lot of questions before I invest time going to visit a sa...

The "Found" or Inherited Antique Safe You moved into a business location or a newly-purchased home and you found a big old safe sitting there. Usually it's locked, but not always. First, the general rule is that the definition of "antique" generally covers items at least 100 years old. A thirty year old safe isn't an antique, nor is a fifty year old safe. If it's locked shut, the safe is useless without the combination. It occupies space you could be using, too. If safe is in a rental property, the safe you find is also costing you money daily, because it occupies space you are paying for. You could 1) Stipulate to the seller or prospective landlord that the safe must be removed as a condition of sale or rental. Before you move in, that is. 2) Stipulate that if the safe is to remain, that it must be rendered functional and usable, and that the combination be given to you. If you opt for this, be sure ...

People, when you're expecting someone to come and visit your place to do service of any kind, think first. Will whoever is coming have physical access? This is especially true with a safe. Today I visited a guy whose safe was in the garage. Not uncommon. However, to get in front of it I had to climb over an exercise machine, move small items of furniture and also a large television screen. Then I had to go outside get a heavy tool case, and renegotiate the obstacle course. In order to leave I had to repeat the obstacle course in reverse. It wasn't impossible, but definitely annoying, not to mention the fact that it's easy to trip fall, drop something heavy, or knock some other object over. If I damage something on a job, I have potential liability. If I get hurt or my tools get damaged on a job, the owner has potential liability. The only defense against such "extras" is to stop and tell customers they must create access before the job begins, or tell them there...

How To Hire A Safecracker When you have a problem opening your safe and you need service, think "Safes" or "Safe and Vault Opening & Repair" when you go to the Yellow Pages to search. Not all locksmiths handle safe work. Some do handle it and are very good at it. Some don't, and will tell you so. Some locksmiths who don't do much of it and are not too good at what little they do will visit, try a few ineffective ploys, possibly do some needless damage, then tell you they can't do it. Many of these outfits will still try to charge for showing up, trying, and failing. This is only okay if they let you know before the fact that they will levy a charge for showing up and not doing what you you hired them for, but you need to agree to it. Otherwise I could advertise in any field I don't know much about, take calls from people needing things done, then show up and waste (a little or a lot) of time, then tell them I can't do what they want but I...

Safecracking Job In New Jersey No "Masters" at Work There This happened in the past several weeks, I guess. http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/local&id=6535140&rss=rss-wpvi-article-6535140 A classic example of ignorant reporters quoting ignorant cops on incorrect facts, which go on to assume a life and mythology of their own. Not using "ignorant" in a derogatory sense here. "Ignorant" just means "doesn't know." And it's true: Most people including crime reporters and investigating cops don't have a comprehensive grasp of technical facts about safes, the protection they do and don't provide, and what it takes to get one open (or to at least extract the contents). However, people (including reporters) tend to attribute deep knowledge and expertise to all cops with respect to knowledge of safecracking tools and techniques. The result is misinformation. It's the same as me saying, "cops use two-way radio...

Hi to whoever wants to read this stuff. Never used a blog before, so expect a learning curve. I'll try to keep it generally interesting. It's going to be about safes and vaults and safecrackers and my doings with them. Don't look for any "secret safecracking info" here, because it's not about free lessons. What info I will supply will be aimed at being helpful, however, if only for the sake of general interest, background, and debunking as much of the overabundant urban mythology about safes, vaults, and safecrackers. General Information About Safes and Safecrackers Not many people know what a safecracker really does, because the media has had control of the public's perceptions about my work since oh, forever. I'm a real safecracker, not a crook, not an ex-con, not much of an ex-anything. In other words, my business is visiting residential, business, and government clients to open and repair or service safes and vaults when users have problems. The pr...