EEVblog 1494 - FIVE Ways to Open a CHEAP SAFE!

FIVE different easy methods to crack into a cheap Sandleford safe found in the dumpster, WITHOUT using physical force. Including a bonus 6th method that doesn't work on this one.
Don't buy cheap hardware store safes, they are garbage!
Also advice on what to look for in a good quality home security safe, and TDR safes. Plus some lock picking.

00:00 - Don't buy cheap harwdare store safes!
00:47 - The Default Code
01:29 - Picking the cheap wafer lock
02:42 - Bumping the safe
03:28 - How bumping works. A look inside the mechanism
06:35 - Just punch out the cheap lock
07:11 - Coathanger attack
08:24 - They tried to prevent it and STILL failed! LOL
09:23 - Solenoid & Reset code wire attack
11:42 - The physical construction is just LAUGHABLE!
12:36 - Magnetic attack
13:03 - LOL I locked myself out & have to pick it again!
13:41 - So what IS a good quality safe?
16:35 - TDR Safes
17:50 - Inside a good quality key lock safe
19:12 - Conclusion

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#Safes #lockpicking #locksmithing

[GannDolph]

New & improved instructions: 1) Place safe on desk; fill with nuts, bolts and hotel bibles; lock safe. 2) Place valuables in desk drawer.

[Moraren]

I have a similar one. Whacking the top with your fist while twisting the knob at the right moment works the same as the drop method. Once you get the hang of it, its faster and easier than punching in the code. Actually the batteries died years ago so this is now the main method of opening

[MakerofThingss]

Ooooh! My time for a fun story!

I recently bought a locked safe for $15 at an estate sale!

The guy running the sale said "I don't care if its full of gold and jewlery, I don't want to move the thing!"

We'll, a few helping hands and 5 hours of learning how to crack a safe and it was full of someones old coin collection and bars of silver from the 70s!

[Graham_Wideman]

15:40 "This here is an entry level safe." Seems like you should move up to at least a prevent-entry level safe!

[michaelsommers]

Feynman found that many safes at Los Alamos were still set to the default combination of 50-25-50.

[knarf]

"Hi, its the lock picking eevblog, with your host, dave!" great stuff 👍

[ales_xy]

I'm using one of these cheap "lockboxes" for storing my firearm, but... I knew about their weaknesses, so I made some modifications to the mechanism and door and bolted the lockbox to the concrete wall. Then, I live in the flat on the 8th floor and the only way inside is good quality safety door, so this is the main line of defense against the outsiders. And there are only adults in out home, so this lockbox is only against visitor's nosy kids or something random like that. It is definitely better than keeping the gun in the bedside cabinet drawer. Also, if you have one or two firearms, there are no specific requirement for a certified safe in our law.
But I agree with you about the quality of these things, at least in the as-sold state, without modifications. Of course, I wouldn't even consider one of these lockboxes, if the conditions is different (living in house or on lower floor, kids in house, ...) In that case, I would buy a proper, certified safe, even though it is not required by the law.

[BuyitFixit]

LOL I was going to say you'll be taking over from the Lock Picking Lawyer, but you beat me to it!

[patrickstarnes]

Listen to this guy 😂 he's sounds like he's a sports commentator the longest horse race ever 😂

[TheDefpom]

I found a while ago a cheap safe I picked up can be unlocked simply by turning it upside down !

[MrVNCNVG]

The 6th way is to insert a rod through the mounting holes on the back and press the code reset button. I've actually done this. This is why it's so important to anchor these cheap safes.

[MisterkeTube]

I have a very similar one. I never intended it to keep out burglars, but just wanted it to hold some of the important paperwork that you collect over the years and need to keep just in case someone asks for them (diploma's, deeds from the notary, insurance papers...) and want to protect a bit extra against fire. As far as I was concerned, the lock was not really required as long as the door can be kept close.

[Brian-L]

Dave raking the lock open twice to show us that it was not a fluke.

[treelineresearch]

I love the giant locking pins held closed by a plastic bushing on a tiny solenoid shaft. It's like a big plastic wing on a base model Civic.

[skaruts]

For those interested in acquiring safes, though, do keep this in mind before you waste your money on crap: it doesn't matter how sophisticated the lock is, any safe that hides naively behind a painting or is in some way easy to find or bump into, is crap, as it can always be easily opened with the _gun-to-the-head_ master key. Bulky safes with locks are only safely closed when no one's around (e.g., in a business building, during the night, when no one's there).

For personal use, though, the only safes worth having are those that no one even dreams they exist. They don't even need a lock, they just need to be inconspicuous and very hard to find or bump into. A great example of that is a fake electrical plug. Potential thieves never dream that one (or more) of your 20 or 30 plugs contains a stash of jewels or money or whatever.

Regular objects can also be turned into safes. But keep in mind you should choose objects that aren't worth stealing. Don't insert hidden containers into your €500 speakers or your beautiful ornate chest, or else potential thieves might take your safes with them. Also keep in mind, thieves might throw things on the ground and find a safe on a fragile object.

[SeanBZA]

I made a stronger safe in appy school, using scrap steel from the welding shop. Cut pieces of 6mm steel plate, and welded them together to make the cabinet, and similar steel for the door. Put on a cheapish Ezlett wafer lock, but it is hard to copy the keys, simply because they are so sloppy, and thus tend to need hand finishing to get the copy to work. Used it for years as a basic money, document and key safe. A lot better than the junk electronic ones, which you can open with nothing more than a few paper clips, or even just a big screwdriver.

Incidentally the solid steel safe is not resistant to a plasma cutter, you need to have layered protection for that, and there to make matters worse for the one breaking in they put tool steel rods in the cement fill they use between the layers, to shatter diamond bits as well. You need to mount them 3 sides to the wall and floor to make them more resistant, as thieves come these days with big crowbars, and the fixings supplied with the safes are laughable. I mounted using M10 rawlbolts for the 3 sides, and that was going to make it hard to break it out, going into concrete on 2 sides and solid brick the third.

Incidentally that CMI is the only one of the 2 you have that actually is rated to store firearms, the dumpster one is not even rated for anything, not fire resistant, or even rated for anything more that $100 in contents.

[petes_ventures]

Thanks for the tear down. These are typical hotel room safes (in Bali etc). I remember hearing that you could wack the top with a bottle or can of coke to get the same result.

[Magicspirit]

Take off LaGard keypad 1 sec.
Drill 1/8th inch hole into lockbody through spindle hole 10 sec.
Inject 500 cc contact fluid into lockbody with a syringe 10. sec,
Attach 9V battery (2 in line are better) 5 sec.
Turn spindle into opening position with a hex key.
OPENS all LaGard's, some S&Gs, Wittkopp Swingbolt 1000,
M-Lock Roto/Swing/Straight. All Technosicurezza and the KABA SL 525 ATM Locks-

[ppv_gh]

Thinking about it, this type of safe will be the perfect box for my 1.8kVA isolation transformer.

[Breakfast_of_Champions]

This is the safe type that provides nominal safety for simple hotel/motel rooms, needed to reach a middling stars rating. It works against opportunistic housekeepers and that's good enough.