safecracker at large

A man called about a problem with one of his safes. The combination worked fine. He told me that after he unlocked the combination the next step was to turn the handle that controls the door bolts and the safe would be open. The first part of the problem was that after he unlocked the combination, the handle that controlled the bolts wouldn’t turn. After multiple unsuccessful attempts to open the safe as he normally would, he decided to help the handle turn. With a large hammer. The handle that wouldn’t turn was now in his hand, with the shaft that connected it to the bolts inside door sheared off below the surface of the door. The owner wanted to know how much I would charge to open the safe. He also said he wanted it done as soon as possible. After asking some questions I had a good idea of the safe’s make and burglary rating. The owner was a jeweler. When I hear “jeweler,” I have a better idea of the safe’s rating. Insurance companies stipulate minimum acceptable alarm and s...

This is a response to one of the questions in the readers' comments regarding where to learn to do the type of work I do. I'll just outline the path I took. You could call safe and vault work a locksmith specialty, though many safe and vault companies and their employees don't do any locksmith work per se . I began as a general commercial locksmith, which is a common path to becoming a safe and vault specialist. After a couple of entry-level jobs I went to a (now-defunct) school devoted to the locksmith trade. It was The New York School of Locksmithing, and it used to be in Hempstead, on Long Island. One apprentice job and one geographic move after the school I was lucky enough to get hired by a locksmith who specialized in safes. Safe techs most often learn their work by doing. If they're lucky it's under the tutelage of one or more experienced competent technicians. The man who first taught me was very knowledgeable. Though I didn't realize then, he us...

Thanks to the people who read any of these, and thanks also to those who took the time to post comments, especially those related to my most recent account of the lady who shopped and scheduled with multiple vendors. I guess there are as many possible interpretations as there are readers. However, the anonymous poster got the wrong impression about me not liking people; more accurate to say I don't like people who treat me as that lady did. Luckily, there are a lot more people who wouldn't do what she did than there are people like her. As for being happier in another occupation, there's not much else I would qualify for now. A blog like this acts as a pressure relief valve. This is where I can relate some of my experiences and my reactions to them without embarrassing anyone but myself. Safecracker

Think a little bit before hiring a safe technician to come and work on your safe. (In case you're keeping track, I've already written about what follows here.) He or she isn't a furniture mover or a garage and basement organizer. Typically we need some space in front of and around a safe in order to work comfortably. The more, the better. I know this isn't always possible, but if the safe is buried in a garage or surrounded by a lot of other stuff that has to be moved before I can go to work safely and/or comfortably, think about getting it out of the way before, not when the safe technician arrives. If your safe is hard to get to or buried under other belongings, and you don't make this known before getting price for the needed work, think about paying more for the work. Even if you opt to move the stuff for me, it means I have to wait around while you do it before I can get to work. The time I have to wait wasn't really factored into the price I gave...

A lady in San Francisco owned a safe that wouldn't open. She contacted a locksmith who tried, but couldn't open it. She had the combination and was convinced it was some kind of malfunction. The locksmith called me to ask how much I would charge. He said he'd relay my price quote to the lady. Later she called. In English that made me think "Eastern European" she described her problem, asked if I could handle it, and finished with the all-important "how much will it cost?" I knew she'd been told my price, but I repeated it. She reacted with the standard shocked noises . . . she didn't have enough money for my fee. Could she pay installments? Simple question, simple answer: "NO." This is a loser. When people ask for such concessions alarm bells go off in my head. You might get an initial partial payment, but usually not the rest. Ask me how I know. Upon hearing my reply, she said she'd have to wait until she gathered ...

Copyright 2009 by Ken Dunckel Owner/Operator, Safecracker Safe and Vault Opening and Repairs San Francisco Bay Area and Northern California 415-203-7298 kendunckel@gmail.com Antique Safe Values Rather than attempting to be a "Blue Book" of old safe values, this blog entry is aimed more at giving readers some realistic perspective about that old safe they might be thinking of selling . The most often-asked question about old safes is "how much is it worth?" If it's really old, a safe company representative will usually say something to the effect of "nothing," or "not much." Remember, the safe company is in business. From a business/commercial standpoint, the safe company has to approach the question with this thought in mind: "Can we resell this safe at a profit, after the expense of moving, loading, hauling, unloading, servicing, cleaning, and storing it?" The second consideration is if a safe is very old, it mi...

Safecrackers and locksmiths are the plumbers of the security industry This will be short and sweet. What is it that prompts people calling for pricing on work they want done to immediately begin chiseling the price downward? In other words, when you go into a restaurant and sit down for a look at the menu, is the first thing you tell your waiter "I'm in the mood for your filet of sole dinner, but $22.95 is a little high . . . will you give it to me for $18.00?" Or "Wow, $22.95 for the filet of sole? I was in restaurant last week and they only wanted $17.95." Then you look up expectantly and wait to hear a price that more closely approximates the price you paid for filet of sole dinner at a different place. No, I don't think you do this. We all know this will get you the bum's rush, because your waiter just handed you a menu upon which the prices have been printed beforehand for all to see. Most restaurant menus don't have a banner a...