Leaving your fortress unattended, you want to be calm for your hard-earned treasures. But to whom to entrust family jewels and securities? And most importantly, how to protect your most valuable heritage - children - from firearms? Will a safe with a combination lock turn out to be reliable protection?
A bit of the history of a combination lock safe
At first it was just a chest. But crackers forced him to gradually evolve, and from a simple chest he turned into a heavy metal box with a strong lock, which was locked with a key.
An interesting fact: the sunken ship "Titanic" took with it not only human lives, but also their treasures. Diamonds totaling three hundred million dollars were buried in safes at the bottom. It was then that at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the need for reliable safes increased.
But the safe with a combination lock was still far away. They were preceded by cipher locks with a dial, which acted on the principle of rotating disks. Their disadvantage is a light click, slightly distinguishable to the human ear. With the help of a medical stethoscope, thieves calculated its correct location and penetrated inside. Later, the inventors introduced additional false clicks that prevented crackers from analyzing the true sounds.
But who is the inventor of the safe with a combination lock?
Create a combination lock
As you know, truth is born in a dispute. That is how the first combination lock was born. At the beginning of the seventies of the last century, its creator Nick Gartner at dinner argued with Harry Miller, the owner of Sargent & Greenleaf, that Gartner would create a castle that Harry could not crack.
And on May 27, 1974, Gartner patented the first combination lock with a keyboard, the progenitor of all the first electronic locks. It was a real breakthrough, and Harry signed a contract to develop safes with a combination lock.
Gartner immediately began working on the invention of a new tamper-resistant mechanical combination lock, which later became Sargent & Greenleaf's standard.
But really, no one was able to crack the safe with a combination lock?
And the casket just opened. How to open a safe with a combination lock?
As the saying goes, "there is no admission against scrap." Whatever thieves invented, in order to get the contents of the safe. And the sledgehammer was used, and the grinder, and drills with a diamond tip, and a welding lamp. But recently, robbers, without wasting time, take away even the heaviest safes, which they then open in calm conditions. Therefore, experts advise installing them correctly using anchor fasteners.
A bit of educational program: where did the word “bear cub” come from. For breaking, the robbers used a steel L-shaped hook, which was called a bear. To do this, you need to have remarkable physical strength. Hence the name came from.
It so happens that sometimes the owner himself has to become a bear cub. For example, if the code is forgotten. Hopeless situation? Not at all.
If this is a safe with a mechanical lock and released before 2000, then you can use the standard combination:
- turn 4 times clockwise so that the first digit rotates to position “0”:
- turn 3 times counterclockwise to position “30”;
- two turns clockwise to position “59”;
- one turn to the left to "0".
If the algorithm of actions did not help, then it remains only to wait for the specialists, having previously prepared the relevant documents for the safe.
If this is a safe with an electronic combination lock, then in this case the “master key" comes to the rescue. This is a special key that has the ability to reset code. But what if the "master key" is inside the safe? Then things are a little worse, but in this case, you also need to find documents in the hope that the master code from the instructions will help reset the settings and open the safe. But this is only if it was not changed by you upon purchase. If this advice does not help, then it is better to use the services of specialists.
Gun safe or key keeper
It doesn’t matter if you use a safe with a combination lock for keys or for storing weapons, you need to be guided by your capabilities, needs and budget. For example, if these are hotel complexes, then you can’t do without a key keeper. If there are children and hunting lovers in the house, or you just have to work with weapons for the duration of your work, then the weapon safe will allow its owner to sleep peacefully. Moreover, this is one of the requirements of the Ministry of the Interior.
It is interesting that in Europe insurance companies enter into agreements only if there is a safe in the house. And the amount of insurance is proportionally dependent on the value of the safe. In any case, the key keeper and weapon safe will allow these items to have their own reliable and permanent place in the house.
Battle: mechanics or electronics?
When the question arises, which code lock is better, you need to consider all the advantages and disadvantages. So, the advantages of a safe with a mechanical combination lock :
- the reliability that the age of a mechanical lock guarantees;
- the price is much lower than the electronic combination lock;
- Maintenance free.
The disadvantages of mechanics:
- if the key is lost, thieves can use it and steal the contents;
- if the key is lost, it will not be possible to open the safe without damaging it.
Advantages of electronic locks:
- quick code change;
- quick opening of the safe;
- high level of security;
- if the code is pressed incorrectly more than five times within five minutes, a lock occurs.
Disadvantages of electronic locks:
- change of batteries once a year and a half;
- 20% more expensive than mechanical key locks;
- forced code change due to the fact that it is easy to track the wear of the keyboard cover.
So who won? It all depends on the needs and capabilities of the person who is considering a choice.
In-room safe for limited spaces
Modern families, as a rule, live today in apartment buildings with a small area. But it's not a problem. In small apartments you can also put safes. To do this, there are mini-safes with a combination lock, which can easily be placed in a wardrobe, dressing room or wardrobe. Thanks to its small size, a furniture safe can easily fit into the interior of a bedroom, hallway or living room. The big advantage is that the safe remains invisible to prying eyes, and at the same time always at hand.
If you were faced with a choice, we hope that after reading this article your dilemma will be resolved. In any case, every year combination locks progress. And soon there will be no need to remember the code. But this is still a secret ...