Safe opening and career

[bodylock]

Hi

Newbie alert!

I have been interested in safes for quite a while, and would like to transition into this type of work. I have browsed the internet looking for information, and there is a little, but not a lot. So I thought I would post here and ask some specific questions.

Is there enough work opening safes to do the work full time? (It seems very specialised and I am not very clued up on it)

I assume there would be a lot of travel involved in this work. Is this a fair assumption?

How long would it take to get to a level of basic proficiency in safe opening?

In terms of earnings as a safe specialist, what is the salary range? (From average to the top guys (best) ?)

Thank you to anyone who takes the time to respond.

[lockey1963]

safes are a specialist area that truly takes years to achieve basic proficiency in , and an investment of around £50k in kit.


Salary range is almost impossible to state as almost no employed positions exist in this sector in the uk, going it alone and making a name for yourself is the only way to go.

The main part of this sector in the uk is controlled by the top 15% of safe techs , they get the work , take what they want , pass any other decent jobs to those that they know and the scraps that are left a fought over by lockies who dabble in safes, its a very well protected market in the uk, so becoming known, having all of the kit and being able to use it is a must before you will get any work, and it will take alot of years to earn even a living wage from it.

If you have the commitment , the attitude , the skill and investment required , if good enough its a great area to work in, but its also the hardest area in the industry to crack, but if you have these qualities and very deep pockets its still possible to make it, but will take alot of years.

getting a good safe tech to take you under his wing is the ideal , but such opportunities are gold dust and as rare as rocking horse doodoo , you can talk to the likes of insafe in the uk to get a start on ladder, but again rare oportunities if inexperienced.

good luck

[Rickthepick]

youd be better off dabbling in it whilst working as a locksmith.

With so many types of safe out there and very little opportunity to mess with them, take them apart etc it would take years to gain enough knowledge to call yourself a specialist.

simple 7 lever safes wont be a problem to pick, make new keys, change locks, but when you come across good safes with shoot bolts and anti tamper devices you really need to know what your doin

[SALocksmith]

Here in the states, every retail shop and restaraunt has a safe, even if only a "B Rate" safe, with no hardplate, just an electronic lock like Lagard Basic, or S&G 6120, and a steel box with a simple relocker. No hardplate, all you need is a battery powered 18v drill and standard drill bits, with a little bit of knowledge on how to defeat the above locks. The real skill comes in when you start going against hard plate, glass relocking devices, composite hard plate, ball bearings etc, un-marked, un-identified safes with no brand name or model #'s. Old safes that are no longer made and the original companies are long since gone.. these are the harder jobs. But there's plenty of the aforementioned b-rate junk to keep many busy. My uncle's a safe man, and he makes over 250k a year doing almost exclusively safes. Alot of his work is government based though, which means X-09's and GSA Containers, big $$ jobs.

[lockinabox]

Here in the states, every retail shop and restaraunt has a <censored> safe, even if only a "B Rate" safe, with no hardplate

I agree with you that most "B Rated"(1/2" thick steel door 1/4" thick steel body) safes are junk, but virtually all of them (Amsec, Gardall, Hayman, Adesco, etc..) have a hardplate between the lock and the door. It's not a good hardplate, but it's much harder than the mild steel in the door and it provides some protection for the lock.

Can you give me some examples of a "B Rated" safe that has no hardplate? I have never seen or heard of even one.

[SALocksmith]

Sure, there's a real big outfit called "Corporate Safe Specialist" you can look them up online. They are a pretty big company and have major contract's with 100's of shops, and restaurants. They sell a cheap safe and make a good deal on it with a service contract, they make their money on the contract, more then the initial safe sale. All of these safes are made in China and shipped over by the boatload, none of them have hard plate, they are very very common here. It's intentional though, as it makes them easy to service and it still keeps most "thugs" out. You can't punch it, and it's difficult to pry open as well, and they are almost always bolted to the floor too. But there's nothing more then mild steel.

[SALocksmith]

here's a link to some of their products, you'll notice, even in the spec sheets, a distinct lack of hardplate.. these are cheap safes though, mostly to keep employee's honest I think.. it works well enough.

[SALocksmith]

ah crap i forgot to post the link heh... how the heck do you edit your own post on this forum?

http://www.corporatesafe.com/store/item.asp?ITEM_ID=13

[lockinabox]

Yes, those are some of the worst safes ever made and do not come with a hardplate. They are definitely the exception and not the rule when it comes to "B rated" safes and hardplates in the US. Here are some examples of "B Rated" safes with hardplates:

Amsec MS Series
Amsec BLB Series
Amsec BWB Series
Amsec DS Series
Amsec BF Series
Cobalt S Series
Gardall B Series
Gardall DS Series
Gardall RC Series
Hayman D Series
Hayman H Series
Hayman GPS Series
Brown Safe every model
McGunn CH
McGunn CK Series
McGunn QD Series
Graffunder HB Series
Meilink/Adesco WB Series
Meilink/Adesco HB Series
Meilink/Adesco FB Series
Meilink/Adesco BR Series
Protex FD Series

Obviously this is not a complete list, but it does represent the vast majority (95% or more?) of B Rated safes in the U.S. market.

[SALocksmith]

Yep, they are certainly not to good. They are however very common here in san antonio. Not to say you don't run across the others, you do. Im a bit biased because I did contract work for CSS (Corporate safe specialist) so I serviced the safes alot, and i've seen how huge their clientèle list is. Even still, most of the other safes listed are no match for some Strong Arm bits and a 500$ drill rig. But yeah, they require more skill and equipment to gain entry.