Join Early Retirement Today
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
For Book: Questions About Safes
Old 02-14-2018, 01:11 PM   #1
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
TromboneAl's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 12,880
For Book: Questions About Safes

For the book I'm working on, someone has to get into standard dial combination safe without knowing the last number of the combination.

I was able to open my Sentry safe in this situation, dialing the first two numbers, then moving the dial along while trying the handle. When it hit the last number, the handle turned.

Question 1: Would the same trick work on higher-quality safes?

Question 2: Do all higher quality safes have four-number combinations?'

Question 3: My safe has a margin of error of about one number. True for most?

I'm talking a safe that a rich person would have in his/her condo. In 1978.



Thanks.
__________________
Al
TromboneAl is offline   Reply With Quote
Join the #1 Early Retirement and Financial Independence Forum Today - It's Totally Free!

Are you planning to be financially independent as early as possible so you can live life on your own terms? Discuss successful investing strategies, asset allocation models, tax strategies and other related topics in our online forum community. Our members range from young folks just starting their journey to financial independence, military retirees and even multimillionaires. No matter where you fit in you'll find that Early-Retirement.org is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with our members, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create a retirement blog, send private messages and so much, much more!

Old 02-14-2018, 02:34 PM   #2
Recycles dryer sheets
Nightcap's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Brewster
Posts: 367
I don't know the answer, but it makes me wonder: Just how do you write a mystery story without attracting unwanted attention from law enforcement?

"I need a colorless, odorless, undetectable poison for my villain. Any ideas?"

"How can I have my character off his wife without it showing up in the autopsy?"

Good evening, Officer. How can I help you?
Nightcap is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-14-2018, 02:40 PM   #3
Recycles dryer sheets
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 91
No, not exactly as described.
With an S&G lock like the one on the safe pictured, after you dial the last number, you have to turn the dial in the opposite direction until it stops, then try the handle. You would have to re-dial the first two numbers every time you tried a new 3rd number. You could do it given enough time.
Geld ist Freiheit is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-14-2018, 03:50 PM   #4
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
folivier's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 1,986
I agree with Geld... My safe has a 3 number combo and after hitting the 3rd number you turn in the opposite direction until the dial stops then turn the handle. Also my dial has a key lock which I keep locked.
Interesting story. Years ago at a weekend house we owned a group of not so smart guys broke in, saw the safe and decided to break into it. It was a cheaper one and after breaking off the dial with a hammer and not getting it open they used an axe and hammer to split open the side to remove the contents. Then took pictures of themselves with all the loot. Then dropped the camera in the back yard. Yes I developed the pictures and brought them to the sheriff. He looked at them, shook his head, and said "Yep, not surprised it was these guys".
__________________
You do not have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body.
folivier is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-14-2018, 04:56 PM   #5
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
harley's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: No fixed abode
Posts: 8,764
I'm not sure if I agree with the previous two comments. Since the time period is 1978 I think there's a good chance the safe would work the way your (Al's) safe does. The "turn the knob until it stops" process didn't come along until later, if I remember correctly. I'm not sure what rich people had back them. But I doubt they were even as secure as what normal people have these days.
__________________
"Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement." - Anonymous (not Will Rogers or Sam Clemens)
DW and I - FIREd at 50 (7/06), living off assets
harley is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-15-2018, 08:41 AM   #6
Recycles dryer sheets
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 170
Back in those days, it was common to take a 5 or 6 foot long thin rod and duck tape it to the safe's handle. Mark the extreme outside end of the rod on the wall. As you slowly turned the dial, the rod would dip at certain points. Mark those points and make a record of the number. Do this all the way around the dial. Then spin the dial in the opposite direction and do it again in reverse. At the end of the process you will have either the 3 or 4 number combination numbers. Now just use those numbers in a variety of "combinations". This will work almost every time. On older safes, I can usually figure the combo out in 20 minutes or less.......
DatumPoint5 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-15-2018, 10:41 AM   #7
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
TromboneAl's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 12,880
Good info, thanks.

>Just how do you write a mystery story without attracting unwanted attention from law enforcement?

It's an issue that many fellow writers have discussed, and I have it in mind every time I search for nefarious stuff on the intergoogle.

Also, it's interesting to see how much info is out there. I now know exactly how to pick a lock. The theory is simple, and I'm pretty sure with some practice I could learn to do it. I'm tempted to buy some lockpick tools, readily available on the net, just for fun.

An excerpt from one of my books:
She inserted the tension tool at the bottom of the keyway and exerted gentle pressure. No lock is machined perfectly, and she closed her eyes, picturing the one pin inside that would prevent the cylinder from turning. Sliding the pick tool in, she moved the individual pins, testing the resistance of each. Click! There. She’d located that first pin. On to the next.

In theory, lock picking is simple. Continue freeing pins until the final one lines up, and the lock will open. In practice, though, it’s an art. Viviana had mastered the art, but this lock wasn’t cooperating. As she’d suspected, it had at least one sophisticated feature: spool, serrated, or even rotating pins. She shouldn’t have wasted her time on it. On to Plan B.
__________________
Al
TromboneAl is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-15-2018, 10:54 AM   #8
Moderator
braumeister's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Flyover country
Posts: 25,199
When I was in my 20s, I took a mail order locksmithing course that included dealing with door locks, padlocks, safes, making keys from scratch, picking all types of locks, rekeying old locks, everything you could think of. It was fascinating and the skills have served me well many times over the years.

Locks have improved quite a bit since those days, and there are some that are simply unpickable, but the basics really haven't changed much.
braumeister is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-15-2018, 11:22 AM   #9
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
TromboneAl's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 12,880
Quote:
Originally Posted by braumeister View Post
... the skills have served me well many times over the years.
Now, there's a statement that could attract the attention of authorities.

Want to elaborate?
__________________
Al
TromboneAl is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-15-2018, 11:25 AM   #10
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
TromboneAl's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 12,880
On to my next search.
__________________
Al
TromboneAl is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-15-2018, 11:37 AM   #11
Recycles dryer sheets
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 170
Quote:
Originally Posted by TromboneAl View Post
As she’d suspected, it had at least one sophisticated feature: spool, serrated, or even rotating pins. She shouldn’t have wasted her time on it. On to Plan B.
[/INDENT]
Rotating "bottom key pins" were a feature of Medeco Biaxial Locks. They were originally thought to be absolutely "un-pickable", but, then we all learned how to use "key bumping" and moved onto the next challenge!!
DatumPoint5 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-15-2018, 11:47 AM   #12
Moderator
braumeister's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Flyover country
Posts: 25,199
Quote:
Originally Posted by TromboneAl View Post
Now, there's a statement that could attract the attention of authorities.

Want to elaborate?
I guarantee there was never anything illegal.

But I helped friends get into their apartments a couple of times when they had lost their keys. Also rekeyed my own locks whenever I moved into a new home. Handy stuff!
braumeister is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-15-2018, 11:50 AM   #13
Administrator
MichaelB's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Chicagoland
Posts: 40,586
Quote:
Originally Posted by braumeister View Post
I guarantee there was never anything illegal.
Yeah, right. If I had a dollar for every time I heard that ...
MichaelB is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-15-2018, 01:23 PM   #14
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
TromboneAl's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 12,880
Now I need to find out what to put into someone's drink to make them sick, simulating food poisoning.

__________________
Al
TromboneAl is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-15-2018, 01:30 PM   #15
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
GravitySucks's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Syracuse
Posts: 3,501
Quote:
Originally Posted by TromboneAl View Post
Now I need to find out what to put into someone's drink to make them sick, simulating food poisoning.


I've heard Visine eye drops will do that.
__________________
“No, not rich. I am a poor man with money, which is not the same thing"
GravitySucks is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-15-2018, 01:31 PM   #16
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Nemo2's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 8,368
Quote:
Originally Posted by folivier View Post
He looked at them, shook his head, and said "Yep, not surprised it was these guys".
Reminds me of the news item about the two guys who waded through a couple feet of snow to steal from the next house over........tracks there and back.
__________________
"Exit, pursued by a bear."

The Winter's Tale, William Shakespeare
Nemo2 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-15-2018, 07:04 PM   #17
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
TromboneAl's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 12,880
Quote:
Originally Posted by GravitySucks View Post
I've heard Visine eye drops will do that.
That looked good, but snopes.com says no:

https://www.snopes.com/medical/myths/visine.asp

I decided to evade the issue (note that Samuel talks funny):

__________________
Al
TromboneAl is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-15-2018, 09:53 PM   #18
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
harley's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: No fixed abode
Posts: 8,764
ipecac syrup in the right dose would probably work. Just like he says, just something to make him sick.
__________________
"Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement." - Anonymous (not Will Rogers or Sam Clemens)
DW and I - FIREd at 50 (7/06), living off assets
harley is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-17-2018, 01:30 PM   #19
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Car-Guy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Texas
Posts: 10,864
When in doubt, check utube. No need for bad guys to waste time with the combination. There are many others to watch.




This is scary stuff.
Car-Guy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-24-2018, 02:27 PM   #20
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
TromboneAl's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 12,880
Thanks again for the help. I have published the book and you can see it here.
__________________
Al
TromboneAl is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Do you use those hotel safes? Lsbcal Travel Information 46 03-20-2017 03:33 PM
Safes Badger Other topics 38 05-15-2015 08:42 AM
Fireproof home safes steelyman Other topics 8 12-16-2014 04:59 AM
residential safes JohnDoe Other topics 11 06-21-2007 01:37 PM
Book report: "The Little Book of Value Investing" Nords FIRE and Money 5 01-07-2007 11:00 PM

» Quick Links

 
All times are GMT -6. The time now is 06:21 PM.
 
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.