Old Safe Cracking Tools

[Stonebreaker]

Earlier this year in a museum I came across these old safe cracking tools that were collected by a sheriff in a small Ohio town:



Along with the drill there are a couple of black powder blowers, a lamp, some black powder, and this mystery item at the lower left:





Does anyone know how this might have been used in cracking an old safe? Maybe it was a small heater for warming the hands in the winter, or possibly it's not really related to the other tools in this collection.

[MacGyver101]

Maybe it was a small heater for warming the hands in the winter . . .

I'm inclined to guess that it was for melting some low-temperature metal... primitive key casting with lead, perhaps?

(I have a couple of other thoughts related to drilling / blasting, but I think that's probably walking too close to the line for the public forums.)

[Stonebreaker]

Thanks for the reply, sounds like a good possibility.

[raimundo]

sterno for heating lunch.

[Squelchtone]

Hi guys, I am researching on older safecracking techniques and I have seen this very interesting method that they called
''jamshot'' which uses nitro to precisely blow the safe's door open. However as easy as it may seem , it is actually professional work.There is not much detailed info regarding this subject , I could only find a page from a Wayne Yeager's book. The problem is that the author explained the method but I can't simply get it . I've attached the link , if you find it easy for you to understand please explain it to me ( some basic drawings would be nice ). Thanks
http://www.[snip!]

Please note: This is for pure historical and educational purpose only. Do not even think to try these methods as they are so dangerous and illegal.

[Squelchtone]

Please note we do not discuss safe opening, non destrutive, nitro, or purely theoretical in the open forums. That topic is reserved for the Advanced sub forums.

Thanks for playing by the site rules,
Squelchtone