Safe Makers

Safe Makers' Names

Callers often want pricing info, but when I ask about the maker's name on their safes they don't know. Many safes do have more than just the maker's name on the the front. It can get confusing.

Here I've listed the names of some of the better known US-made safes:

Some of the safe makers listed here have long since gone out of business, and some have had to resort to off-shoring some or all of their manufacturing to reduce or contain costs. But as far as I know, those named here at least started as US-based enterprises.

As always, it's best to have a full frontal photo that you can text or email to whichever safe technician you call about a safe. The more photos and detail, the better.

Also have a look at "Safe Signage," another blog entry here.

The Names:

Diebold
Mosler
York
Hall's
Herring-Hall-Marvin
Victor
Hamilton
Aanon
Adesco
Armor
Allied
Allied-Gary
Alpine
Amsec
Major
Barnes
Baum
Blue Dot
Blue Sky Safes
Bridgeman
Brinks
Brown
Browning
Cannon
Cary
Centurion
City Safe
Collier
Corliss
Cincy
Detroit
Eastern
Eclipse
Excelsior
EXL
Fort Knox
Gardall
Gary
GlobeWernicke
Graffunder
Gross Feibel
Hamilton
Hayman
Heritage
Herring-Ferrel
Hermann
Hibbard Rodman Ely
In A Floor
Invincible
Johnson
Johnson Pacific
Pacific
Knight
LeFebure
Liberty
Lillie
Lowrie
MacNeale and Urban
Meilink
Marvin
Murphy Fire King
National
NKL
Outdoorsman
Pittsburg
Reliable
Remington Rand
Remington Sherman
Safe Cabinet
Schwab
Sentry
Star
Stiffel and Freeman
Sun
Terwilliger
Tilton McFarland
US Security
United States Safe
Victor Safe
Vulcan
Wehrle
York

The above list is by no means all of US made safes out there, but it's still a good-sized bunch. Safe makers' names can be painted on, on a decal, or on a metal tag or medallion.

Old/antique safes: One confusing aspect is that safe dealers of old used to offer to paint the buyer's name on the safe, usually the top frame of the door. This can lead to some confusion, because people tell me things like "Michael Watson" as the safe maker, or "John Smith," or whoever.

Dials: The other confusing aspect is that sometimes with an older safe the only part that has anything readable will be the dial (also known as dial grip, dial knob). However, what safe owners see imprinted on the dial will often be the name of the lock maker, not the safe maker.

Two very common ones are Sargent and Greenleaf and Yale. Confusing the name of the lock maker with the name of the safe maker is like reading a car's tire markings, then concluding that you drive a Michelin or a Goodyear.

There are also many names for foreign-made safes, and we see a lot of those here in the US also.

Every American buyer will agree that when it comes to spending money they prefer a good quality product at a good price. After all, how often do shoppers tell themselves they're not interested in whether or not a safe they are considering is actually going to perform well and not cause added aggravation and expense?

To my knowledge, never.

safecracker

kendunckel@aol.com
415-203-7298

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