Have a Locked Antique Safe? Here's What to Do.
Picture this: You're exploring the basement in your new house, and you come upon a huge safe. It's roughly as large as a refrigerator, it has an antique date stamped on it, and it's locked. It's been locked for a very long time.
A locked safe conjures visions of stacked gold bars, piles of antique jewelry, and long-lost wills. But getting an antique safe open can be a challenge; keys and combinations are easy to lose over the decades. So if you've come to own a locked antique safe with no key, what are your options?
Don't try to open the safe yourself. These safes are designed to be resistant to safe cracking, and even an antique can be nearly impossible to open--especially if you're a beginner. Even if you do manage to get the safe open, you could damage the contents if you aren't careful.
You'll need professional help if you want to keep the safe and what's inside intact. Start at the phone book or with the search engines, and look under safes, not locksmiths. A locksmith is different from a safecracker. Locksmiths know current lock designs, while a professional safe cracker should be familiar with safe locks from the past 100 years or more.
Make sure the person you hire is a professional. Safe crackers usually charge by the hour. An inexperienced safe cracker will waste time with techniques an experienced person would know not to try, and you'll wind up paying more for less skill. If the safe cracker can't open the safe, you should not be charged.
Expect to pay a lot for a professional job. Many people believe the cost to open a locked safe is generally minimal, and it isn't unusual to see locked antique safes for sale on Ebay for low prices. People buy them, believing that the contents or the safe itself may be worth something and the cost to open it won't be to great. They're in for a nasty surprise when they get quotes for a thousand dollars or more.
Safe crackers charge by the hour or by the job. Hourly rates will often include mileage and the cost of special equipment, if needed. The less common flat rate doesn't always cover repairs after the safe has been opened.
And repairs aren't unusual. Most professional safecrackers will resort to drilling if needed, although some prefer to try manipulation first. Manipulation is the art of opening a safe without drilling or breaking the safe in any way, and it's not always possible. The pros know where and how to drill in order to ensure minimal damage.
An antique safe can be the size of a refrigerator. But don't be fooled into thinking it will weigh the same. These safes can weigh a ton or more, making them a challenge to move.
If you want to get that safe out of your basement, do not try to do it yourself--and don't hire a general moving company. Anyone inexperienced with moving a safe can vastly underestimate the weight, and may not be skilled enough to handle such a heavy load. You'll need the help of a safe-moving specialist.
It's natural to be curious about what's in that locked safe. But the satisfaction can be costly. And if you don't find the fabled pirate's treasure inside, you could be in for disappointment. It isn't unusual to unlock a safe that has been locked for years, only to find stale air and dust.
If you've come into ownership of a locked antique safe, you'll need to get professional help to open it--or leave the mystery to the next generation.