Safe Opening Service

Safe Opening Service

Safe Opening Services Maryland & DC

Safe Opening is one of the most sought after locksmith services we provide. It takes years of training, a level head, and steady hands to open most safes. Each safe has its own specific mechanism and it is our job to know how every single one works. Most people are fascinated by our ability to gain access to even the most secure safes so we decided to let you know how we do it.

We start by taking a look at what kind of safe it is, the lock on the outside, and what the mechanism will look like on the inside. Then we narrow down our options to 5 main techniques:

Manipulation

Safe Manipulation, often referred to as “cracking the safe” is what we use for some models with the dial lock on the outside. This method is extremely difficult and requires absolute focus, and endless patience. There are only a few models we will use this method on because it takes a very long time and absolute silence to be able to open it.

Bypassing Electronics

Bypassing the electronic lock is a little bit easier than cracking but it is more risky. With this method you must be absolutely perfect in every step or you will fry the motherboard and ruin the safe, forcing it to be cut open. Since this is a risky process we only use this when necessary because one false move will compromise everything.

Picking/ Impressioning

Picking a safe lock is no easy task but it is a lot less difficult than the previous 2 techniques. When opening a safe this way, you can reset and try again many times without damage to the safe. Lower grade Sentry Safes you buy at a local Home Depot can be picked in a matter of minutes, have their locks taken out, and swapped with a new lock for a fairly low cost. You can also sometimes cut keys for them from code if need be.

Impressioning a key is a lot more precise and usually takes a bit longer. With this method we use a high strength magnifying glass to see lines made on the key from the wafers and use a file to file it down accordingly, a lot easier said than done. Especially with high security keyways on safes this process can be a day or two of work just to get that key made.

Scoping

Scoping is the process of drilling a small, patchable hole near the lock on the front door of the safe and sending a specialized tool into the opening to view the mechanism as we turn the dial. This is usually done if we cannot manipulate the safe open by sound alone. This process is a lot faster but it requires absolute knowledge of the mechanism inside so you don’t drill into something important. Once completed we can reset the combination and patch up the hole so it looks like it never happened.

Breaking In

When all else fails or you don’t plan on keeping the safe we resort to breaking into it. This can be done by drilling out the keyhole, drilling into the mechanism very carefully, or cutting of the hinges. Most of these methods are avoided if at all possible but sometimes there is nothing else to do.

Once we get the safe open we can proceed to replacing the lock or even the entire safe. We offer a wide array from little lock boxes to massive gun safes all located at our showroom in Baltimore MD. We also move and install the safes that are a bit too large to carry.