Safe Cracking Customer Testimony

SAFE CRACKING: NOT JUST TV DRAMA

While there are a lot of misconceptions about locksmithing, safe opening is truly one of the most dramatic aspects of the business that often lives up to its exciting reputation.

On one occasion, I got a call to open a jewelry store safe in Wray, Colorado. The father who owned the shop for over 40 years had passed away, taking the shop’s safe combination to the grave with him. The family desperately needed to retrieve their customers’ jewelry from the safe. After calling nine to ten other locksmiths who either said no or insisted that destroying the safe was inevitable, they found me.

It was a five-and-a-half-hour drive each way. I quoted a fair price, received the deposit, and got to work. When it comes to safe opening, you must have plans A, B, C, D, and sometimes E. Every container has its own defenses—hard plates, glass relockers, barrier materials that dull your drill bits, or multi-wheel combination locks that make manipulation extremely complex.

This one had a four-wheel lock, which is especially difficult to manipulate. But through careful diagnostics, scoping, and patience, I was able to open the container. It simply required drilling a precise quarter-inch hole, identifying the internals, and manually dialing the correct combination.

When I turned the handle and opened the safe, the family stared at me in disbelief. They hugged me, jumped for joy, and tipped me $500 on top of the bill. The safe had sentimental value—it was their father’s, used almost daily for four decades. And now it could still be used as good as new while preserving positive and loving memories. We didn’t just save valuables, we preserved a legacy.