Victorian Safe - ideas for destroying the contents within

[bendevlin]

Hey there,

Hope you find the following safe related questions interesting and can spare me your thoughts - I'm a writer researching a thriller.

My story is set in 1981 in the United Kingdom. Two young and naïve men have a problem - there's a key-lock safe that contains audio cassette tapes that they must steal or destroy. So, as amateurs they can try picking the lock or try doing something to the safe that will destroy the contents within.

It's a Victoria safe - like this one: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/285400645274?var=0&mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=710-53481-19255-0&campid=5338749402&toolid=20006&customid=GB_20081_285400645274.142371218109~1869552423334-g_Cj0KCQjwrfymBhCTARIsADXTabkY47-T9cXVTBjkeFtFhrrVTpX3w7AWtQhXa_EwCm7Qvfg5XYnURT8aArVcEALw_wcB

Here are some of the odd things they plan to do - good to have your thought - or suggestions.


1) Turn the whole safe into a giant magnet - with copper reels and a car battery
2) Jerry rig a microwave to try and try to beam waves inside the safe
3) Use a harness and a Land Rover/Jeep to tear it from the cabinet it's sitting in - and then transport it to a lake.

Not strictly a lock picking question - it occurs to me that they would have little to no success - esp without the internet!

Thanks, Ben

[MartinHewitt]

Hi Ben,

I am not an RF expert, but 2 sounds very unrealistic to me. The chance of 1 and 3 to work are IMHO good enough for a story. The preference for 1 or 3 depends on the story and the actors. If they are technical savvy (McGuyver types. ), then 1 works probably quite well with some sparks and smoke. 3 is the standard thing. Rope it to a card and rip it out. With a safe like this it isn't like to be anchored, so they could just load it onto the car without force. But if it has to be done quietly it can be an adventure on its own.

Have fun

[bendevlin]

Thanks Martin …
I think my heroes are quite daft … they might even cooking the safe … Ben

[MartinHewitt]

The safe you linked is also a fire safe. But it is only protecting paper, not magnetic tape. Gasoline and a lighter are the dirty solution of their problem. Not any finesse.

[billdeserthills]

Wanna crack a safe, try nitro glycerine

https://www.scientificamerican.com/arti ... glycerine/

[nothumbs]

Pipe solvent into safe, the keyhole seems a likely portal. Bonus points for a flammable solvent.

[MartinHewitt]

Great idea! Maybe any mounting holes on the back?

[fibersport]

I'm new here but got a kick out of the question. One thing I would add though is that gasoline in an enclosed space tends to explode if there is enough oxygen so I would be careful of using flammable liquids.