Noob hoping to manipulate Victor safe

[Moosedoc]

A friend (really) acquired an older Victor safe while managing the estate of a deceased relative. It is unlikely to have anything of high value. It may have been used to store gunpowder since the original owner was an avid shooter of powder rifles.

Since I have free time and enjoy new projects, I offered to help try opening before he hires a locksmith or sells safe ‘as is’.

Have watched many YouTube vids and reviewed many posts here. Appreciate the depth and breadth of info.

Photos of safe linked here.
https://ibb.co/BCxf8yQ
https://ibb.co/9qJ3z5B

Hoping to start by identifying safe so I can be as sure as possible about sequence. Then will take a shot at manipulation, and will likely return for more help!

Thanks for any input….. JB

[98G]

A friend (really) acquired an older Victor safe while managing the estate of a deceased relative. It is unlikely to have anything of high value. It may have been used to store gunpowder since the original owner was an avid shooter of powder rifles.

Since I have free time and enjoy new projects, I offered to help try opening before he hires a locksmith or sells safe ‘as is’.

Have watched many YouTube vids and reviewed many posts here. Appreciate the depth and breadth of info.

Photos of safe linked here.
https://ibb.co/BCxf8yQ
https://ibb.co/9qJ3z5B

Hoping to start by identifying safe so I can be as sure as possible about sequence. Then will take a shot at manipulation, and will likely return for more help!

Thanks for any input….. JB

Please provide a better pic of the dial.
Where are you?

[Squelchtone]

A friend (really) acquired an older Victor safe while managing the estate of a deceased relative. It is unlikely to have anything of high value. It may have been used to store gunpowder since the original owner was an avid shooter of powder rifles.

Since I have free time and enjoy new projects, I offered to help try opening before he hires a locksmith or sells safe ‘as is’.

Have watched many YouTube vids and reviewed many posts here. Appreciate the depth and breadth of info.

Photos of safe linked here.
https://ibb.co/BCxf8yQ
https://ibb.co/9qJ3z5B

Hoping to start by identifying safe so I can be as sure as possible about sequence. Then will take a shot at manipulation, and will likely return for more help!

Thanks for any input….. JB

Looks like an S&G 6700 Rochester NY era
Please provide a better pic of the dial.
Where are you?

[Moosedoc]

I’m in northern Maine.
Awaiting delivery of sage from friend. Will try to get better pics of dial before then.

[Moosedoc]

This is same pick enlarged. Working on better photo.
https://ibb.co/HYr9y0t

[Moosedoc]

Better photo of lock:

https://ibb.co/Zgfdg55

[98G]

Better photo of lock:

https://ibb.co/Zgfdg55

As Squelchtone said, it looks like a 6700 series S&G group 2 lock. I couldn't see the change index in the earlier Pic so I wasn't sure.

It's just about ideal to learn manipulation on. There's a bunch of videos available on the topic.

[Moosedoc]

Excellent. Sounds encouraging. I’ve watched many vids. I found this one the easiest to follow. Will post my results once I get a shot at it. Thanks.

https://youtu.be/whNwQGZSqHk?feature=shared

[98G]

Excellent. Sounds encouraging. I’ve watched many vids. I found this one the easiest to follow. Will post my results once I get a shot at it. Thanks.

https://youtu.be/whNwQGZSqHk?feature=shared

That's the video that started me down the manipulation rabbit hole. There's some assumptions in there that don't always apply but it's a good place to start.

[Moosedoc]

Got it!

Took about 3 days of intermittent effort. Probably 8 hours total. Watched vids, tried it out, watched more vids. Combination of trial and error, developing better feel, and understanding videos better the 2nd and 3rd time around after playing with safe.

I’m sure it helped a lot having a common, relatively simple lick (S&G6700 series).

The vid that helped me the most is:

https://youtu.be/L8xv5eoNI_M?si=-IGeOR_wKdxQI2Vk

I will post some pics of my “Macguyvered” version of a vernier scale. Helped quite a bit.

[Moosedoc]

I thought it was pretty easy to “find the gates” by feel. Even on my old safe in only fair condition, the lock was smooth enough to feel the detentes. However, I found it much harder to identify subtle differences in travel. Many posters talk about confidently identifying differences of 1/8 of a number. I used a simple tool to amplify the dial readings. I simply used a hose clamp and a paper clip. See photo. This made it much easier to reliably identify small differences in gap endpoints. FWIW.

https://ibb.co/Yt5CVVC

[98G]

I thought it was pretty easy to “find the gates” by feel. Even on my old safe in only fair condition, the lock was smooth enough to feel the detentes. However, I found it much harder to identify subtle differences in travel. Many posters talk about confidently identifying differences of 1/8 of a number. I used a simple tool to amplify the dial readings. I simply used a hose clamp and a paper clip. See photo. This made it much easier to reliably identify small differences in gap endpoints. FWIW.

https://ibb.co/Yt5CVVC

Nice! Thanks for sharing.