safecracker at large

It's not uncommon for me to get a call from someone who wants me to come and open a safe after another company has visited, tried, failed, and left. The safe owners often tell me that the first outfit sent someone who spent anywhere from fifteen minutes to half a day or more in a futile attempt to get their safe open before giving up. It's really none of my business, but sometimes I can't help asking if the first person charged for the failed effort. Surprisingly, plenty of people tell me that they did pay something for the failed effort. When I ask why, a typical answer is, "Well, I had to give him something. He did spend time on it, and he worked sooo hard . . ." Unbelievable . . . did they ever consider that maybe he worked so hard because he didn't know how to do the job and shouldn't have been there in the first place? Worse, far too often the person who tried so valiantly and worked "sooo hard" did something that left the safe ...

I first published the anecdote that appears here in the newsletter I write for my industry (Boxman). Hardly technical, it's something of a departure from my basic "Day In The Life" type yarn. It was unusual to say the least. This might be the greatest adventure I never had. Though it makes good telling, there are only a couple of facts that I know for certain to be true. Fact: I did get this phone call and I did have this conversation, the gist of which I’ll recount here. Fact: The treasure was/is real. The rest? If nothing else, a good safe-related yarn.   See what you think. One slow morning several years ago an earnest-sounding man called and introduced himself. He’d obtained my phone number from a locksmith outfit that routinely refers safe work to me. He said he was calling me based on their stellar character reference and the fact that they said I was good at opening safes. When total strangers call and open dialogues with flowery praise for ...

  Costco Mentality   No matter where you bought your safe, no matter who you bought it from, if you need to have it opened, you're going to need the services of a safe technician unless you do it yourself. People are often aghast at the prices they hear for such work . . . "$$$! That's more than I paid for it!"   Maybe it is, but why should I apologize?   The opening price rocked you, and probably because it's more money than you imagined it would be. But I'm not in charge of your imagination, am I? Where did you get your pricing ideas in the first place?   Also, what do think will have to be done in order to get your safe opened?   Blast or burn? C'mon, willya . . ? Do you seriously think that's how it gets done by legitimate technicians? I'll bet the only ideas you have about safe opening are what you've seen on TV and movies. Am I right? And do you think those types of media are dealing in reality or entertainm...

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 Blu...

Several months ago I had a call from an outfit that subcontracts me. The usual: Call a man about getting a safe opened. I had trouble contacting him at first, but finally one of his minions made contact. It seems lots of people have "personal assistants" who handle mundane "stuff" for them. If I could afford it, I would too. The assistant said the owner was selling his father's house. The safe needed to be opened and the contents, if any, inventoried before he cleared out. I said I needed to see emailed or texted photos of the safe. The photos were of a safe I'm quite familiar with. My record of opening this model without drilling is almost perfect. While it's true I never guarantee opening without drilling, I was nevertheless confident that I wouldn't have to drill that one (not that it's the end of the world). Later I did reach the owner, and quoted him $495.00. He said okay, and we made an appointment to do it a day or two later, first...

Estate Safe Openings   A common type of job that people in my industry get hired to do is opening a safe at a home or business after the owner has died.   Usually we're contacted by the person or people handling the affairs of the deceased.     Combination Available, Not Working Sometimes it's as simple as "Before my father died he gave us the combination to his safe, but we can't get it open."   This is (usually) an easy one: You're probably dialing the correct numbers, but dialing incorrectly. If you know the combination is correct, chances of this are very good. I know, I know, you're not a fool, you know right from left, and you've been dialing slowly and carefully. But the chances are nevertheless very good that you've been dialing slowly, carefully, and incorrectly.   Most people who don't operate safe dials on a regular basis misinterpret simple dialing instructions, then proceed to apply incorrect dialing ...

Ken Dunckel Safecracker Safe and Vault Service SF Bay Area and Northern CA CA License 1985 CA Contractor 553337 415-203-7298 Is Your Safe Combination "On File?" Lots of people whose safe combinations are lost/unknown ask me if there is some "master override" combination, or some "reset code" that either I or they can enter, open their safe, and return it to service. The answer is yes for some safes, no for others. Sometimes there is a combination that might be usable. It all depends on the safe make, the safe maker's policy around this sort of thing, and the lock installed on the safe. If your safe has a mechanical dial: (That is, a numbered dial that must be turned a varying number of times in alternating directions to open the lock.) Forgive me if I over-explain this. I just went through hell on the telephone yesterday with a lady who could not comprehend the concept of push-button electronic safe locks vs. mechanical. Depending on t...