Safecracking for Everyone part 1 (How a safe lock operates)

[@sophiamarchildon3998]

Clearly explained and demonstrated. Succinct, to the point, and without any fluff: three ways of saying that's a proper explanation. Bravo!

[@MischiefandFins]

This was an incredibly helpful video series. A friend died a few days ago, leaving the local chamber of commerce locked out of 5 different safes that only he knew the combinations to. I've been able to get into one (old HHM) for them so far and am making progress on the second now. The old designs require a bit of modification of the tactics to get a feel, but the basics are still there. Thank you for making this series.

[@3791bengs]

I have an old Herring Hall Marvin that I am trying to get open. I would love to hear what modification of tactics it required. Or if you can just point me in the direction of other resources applicable to older HHM safes I would greatly appreciate it!

[@MischiefandFins]

@@3791bengs the latches don't make contact naturally, so you have to put pressure on the handle to feel anything at all. Applying pressure around zero (or wherever the opening number is) will let you feel out the width to use the chart to find the numbers. I was only able to find two that way, but two is enough. The charted gaps were huge on mine, big drop, 5-7 wide. Really easy to spot. But if you take a pipe wrench and apply a lot of pressure to the handle while rotating the dial, you can feel at least one of the combinations directly, and coincidentally it was the one that i was missing, so i didn't have to waste a bunch of time brute forcing the last number through trial and error. Some of them are probably sloppy enough to feel all the numbers with the pressure method, so it's worth doing that first. The gap was 7 wide, so you just use the middle The rest of the stuff in the videos apply directly

[@MischiefandFins]

Oh, and the dial doesn't ever stop. You just have to know to stop on zero (or wherever you find a the big gap) and then the handle will work. I thought i was doing something wrong and wasted a couple hours rechecking everything because i expected the dial to stop.

[@sophiamarchildon3998]

@@MischiefandFins Yeah, OP was telling about dial-only unlockable safes. Those using a handle to operate the bar/arm into the wheel grooves would indeed need handle tension to be able to feel the bar contacting with the wheels. I similarly used some upward shackle tension on run o' the mill Dudley padlocks to get the same effect. The better way of doing this type of lock, and the one I was never able to crack the combination, is to completely separate the movement of the driver cam and wheels from the actual handle/dial testing of the combination (the bar going into the wheel grooves). And have the handle (testing) always give the same feedback, no matter how far the bar travels into the grooves. Zero feel, zero tell. The only out-of-context solution to get the combination would then be bruteforce dialing. That's the type of locks I would like LPL to tackle, without a cheap side-exploit of course. I believe this is the best against lockpicking, and I would like to be proven wrong.

[@TheLemonyOne]

I feel like knowing how the lock functions is key to picking most high security locks, amazing video! I can't wait to start playing with mine (it arrives on monday)

[@sidebar6822]

Thanks to this awesome series and your real-time safecracking video, I cracked my first safe today after about 7 hours total (and much more time than that thinking about the safe when it wasn't in front of me :). Absolutely fascinating subject and a thrilling feeling. Thank you so much for this incredible resource.

[@lockmanipulator]

Congratulations! I'm happy you were able to succeed!

[@MrSmellyBoxer]

Watched all videos through six times. Cracked my first safe in twelve hours, all thanks to your channel. Thanks Lock Manipulator

[@lockmanipulator]

Glad you were successful! Great job!

[@MrSmellyBoxer]

Plotting all wheels left three separate times gave me enough data to be quite sure of two numbers in the combo. Graphing wheel isolation like you suggest, seemed to give a more precise indication of that combination number. Then plotting the second wheel in isolation just around the second suspected number. Again, the wheel isolation graph revealed the gate and combination number of the second wheel accurately. Third number by brute force.

[@fancyfakename8967]

How much time did you use, i got about 2 min left...

[@SuperTigerTV]

@@fancyfakename8967 It ain't easy! Even to make up a believable story about it.

[@pozloadescobar]

This is extremely well explained. Thank you for helping bring people into the community with this resource :)

[@iyeetsecurity922]

My wife left me for a safe cracker. I'm going to learn this and win her back.

[@EternalTina]

Great explanation. Thanks. Can't wait for the next episode. (Hope one of them covers how to explain to your SO, that has just gotten used to a constant stream of conventional locks, that you now need a safe 😉)

[@sophiamarchildon3998]

It's easy and simple to explain to your SO your interest in locks and how to lockpick them: "honey, the safe is just for research purposes". ... Well, scratch that. :S

[@pudge9161]

Thanks for helping thieves.

[@greencanner4284]

In the words of Alfred Charles Hobbs, "Rogues are very keen in their profession, and know already much more than we can teach them."

[@ecospider5]

I have a 40 year old safe. I’m looking forward to playing with it soon.

[@jlillieify]

I have an older SentrySafe gun safe where the comb was lost. So far, unable to pickup the contact points. I can sure feel picking up each wheel but i feel nothing relating to contact points. I have a stethoscope and dont hear anything either. I"m wondering if the spring on the nose/lever has been broken. With the Stethoscope I thought i could at least hear the nose riding on the dry cam but i dont evern hear that. Any advise you can give would be much appreciated.

[@lockmanipulator]

Sentry safes are usually different types of locks so these videos won't apply unforutnately.

[@jlillieify]

@@lockmanipulator Wow. Thank you so much for replying. I did not expect to get a reply That is really awesome of you. I watched the whole series and was looking forward to cracking the safe. that would have been fun.....and then really let down when i could not discover the contact points. Once i realized there was something wrong with the lock, I went ahead and cut the lock box out with an angle grinder. to my surprise there was no Group 2 box, but instead a cheap set of wheels out in the open which when lined up would allow the door slide mechanism to enter. Someone had tried to force the spindle from the outside and messed up one of the retaining washers. I've decided to weld the piece back in that I cut out and replace with an S&G Combo lock like the one in your vids. Thanks for all the information:) you've given me a new appreciation for lock boxes.

[@dagg497]

So a good luck could have several fake grooves that arent at full depth so you cant feel which one is the correct one. That basically means only a brute force combination sequence works! kewl!

[@lockmanipulator]

Locks with false gates are generally lower security. Although there is a group 2M s&g with false gates. Although in reality, these don't really make it much harder. You can still crack them, no need to brute force.

[@sharit7970]

I had to laugh at someone joking about all of us viewers now being on an FBI watch list... Not that anyone cares, but I'm here because a relative died; she had a locked safe which we haven't found the combination to. So what do you do...google how to crack a safe? I feel like that's criminal, but seriously, there's a lot of us who have a legit reason for learning this...thanks so much for sharing your expertise!

[@loish.7923]

Same!

[@amygillespie9992]

Im just an AuDHD who likes to be prepared for everything and my last thought was - the video game last of us :D

[@marbella-elviria]

I have safe sitting here 10 years, I know it is empty but I would like to reuse it as an Amazon mailbox at my door so my pitbulls don't eat the packets anymore that are thrown in the garden.

[@DonzLockz]

Very well explained buddy. I had an idea but missed some info. Your explanation made great sense and helped a lot. 🍺👍😎

[@pugnate666]

Well ... Everyone here is on the FBI watchlist now xD

[@SuperTigerTV]

Except no, because people on crack that have no concentration skills are a much bigger danger to everything. The ability to properly crack a safe is like the ability to drive stick shift or fix your own computer or change a flat tire. Practical.

[@zragevii4705]

I am likely going to be putting one of these locks together if it hasn't been drilled. if it has I'll still put it together, but it will be ALOT more work.

[@therubbles]

@lockmanipulator I have an early 20th century safe (maybe 1930s?) with a Yale lock. Do these videos apply?

[@jlillieify]

Info for anyone looking to open an older SentrySafe Model No. E5251-T-4 These safes do not have a Group 2 lock box but instead a cheap 3 wheel locking mechanism that is uncovered behind the door. There is no Lever with a nose that rides on a Drive Cam. The the wheels however do work much like described here and when lined up according to the combination allow the door sliding mechanism to slide in which allows you to turn the door handle to release the 3 pins. but i see no way of figuring out the comb from the outside. Also, between the lock wheels and the door is a thin sheet of hardened steel 2 3/4" x 3 3/4" set horizontally that will stop any drill accept for maybe carbide. Drill through the door outside of this plate and you should be able to scope the wheels to line up the wheels and figure out the comb. Go in from the left of the dial facing the door.

[@terrystephens1102]

Great safe in excellent condition. Great job opening it. 😃👌👌👏👏👏

[@BlueBird-q3i]

Hi, I want to first thank you for your safe picking series. 1. I have the keys to the safe but not the combination lock. It is a Maximum Securtiy Corp. Corporate Securty Safe/\, Model LS108 S/n 00056..Korean produced safe for Maximum. The combo lock is Janpanese version. Safe is approx. 30-35 years old. 2. The lock is not a S&G. I believe it to be a La Gard combination lock 3. I live in Durant, OK and so far everyone I spoke with around the Dallas, TX all want to drill the safe. 4. I am hoping that you know of someone who can pick the combo lock without drilling. I don't mind paying, just don't want it drilled. 5. I purchased an electronic stethoscope to help. Will try to pick it this week. No luck so far. Hope you can help, Thanks

[@mokseee]

Did you get it to open yet?

[@nakoawarrior3186]

I think a lock smith got in my safe and changed my combination. I have had well the screen door wont close properly like it was opened too far many times or kicked open. Then there's 2 dead bolts and a door knob that don't stop them from then opening all of the other locked doors inside my house,....doors are open inside Pc is still on and the air conditioner is on at 3am when I get home? So I went to tennessee and came back and my liberty safe will not open?

[@chadburcham3620]

How do i know what model i have from the exterior of the safe. I have a mesa safe MFS170-C it has a handle, key and dial.

[@strongarmteebee]

which of the 3 would be referred to as the bottom wheel?

[@JamesMarin-v2l]

I've had a family safe handed down to me for a number of years. Though I doubt there is anything of value within it, its a kind of family heirloom. It is an older Mosler Safe which "Mosler" has been out of business for some time. Would you know if Mosler is Group 2 combination lock? If so, then I assume your videos are most applicable in helping me to learn how to open this older safe. As such, I will study your videos with hope of one day actually opening it. Thank you so very much for sharing your expertise with us pilgrims.

[@lockmanipulator]

Mosler is most likely group 2 but it's not guaranteed. You can tell by spinning the dial. If it has a lot of clicking and decent resistance to turning at certain points then it won't work.

[@mfauz96]

Hmmmm this should be fun to watch!

[@Don-ui8oz]

I have watched all of your videos and they were all great. Some points on this one though: 1. It’s a splined spindle. 2. The contact points are located at the drop in point of the drive cam. 3. The “lugs” are called flies. I watched this one last and it wasn’t quite as good as the others. Overall though, really good job!

[@SuperTigerTV]

You need to make a video yourself to realize how difficult it really is to do this kind of explanation. Looks easy to make how to videos, but it isn't.

[@Don-ui8oz]

@@SuperTigerTV The nomenclature is an essential part of communication. The videos themselves are excellent

[@viewer6709]

YAY i made my first safe lock!

[@jakeblack212]

I have an ole sentry combo safe that I forgot the combo. looking for help to get open

[@tytanzy]

what do you mean by the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd number?

[@chadburcham3620]

Thanks for the content

[@miguelfrancisco7094]

Where did you buy that practice vault mechanism

[@false-set]

Brilliant! Thank you for putting this up :)

[@lowtech_1]

Anyone know why they don't put false gates in the wheels. Can i file some into mine.

[@michaelwetter6733]

Great series! I just bought a house with a floor safe (a Star with an S&G lock) that I was not given the combination to. I tried the technique in your video series but have not gotten a clear gate signature yet. I'm going to try the technique in your book next. But one question I have is when feeling for the right contact point there's a point where you can feel and hear the metal on metal contact. Do you want to take the reading as close as possible to that point? I have one spot where there is slight resistance about 1/4 to 3/8 before the metal on metal feeling/sound. That resistance goes away when I move wheel 3. Could that be a gate? Thanks again for all your help!!

[@michaelwetter6733]

I'm going to answer my own question, in case anyone else has questions about sticky dials. I cracked the safe, but it wasn't as straightforward as the tutorial shows, in part because my dial was so sticky it could be hard to feel the contact point. What I ended up doing was very quickly moving the dial over the contact point so that I could feel and hear the metal on metal. Then I coaxed the dial to just that point where there was a hard stop. It was delicate work and took practice. The gate on my wheel 3 was also shadowed by wheel two and it took me a while to get wheel 2 positioned such that I could feel the gate on wheel 3.

[@chrisjurkowski1381]

Can you do a round door safe lock?

[@Roger11719]

Where would I get a practice safe mechanism?

[@Javier-ww7rv]

Hi, awesome job, some site to buy a dial for training? Greetings from spain.

[@stevenshields9993]

So I bought a house that had a big gardall safe. It has this same lock and is in the open position. What's the easiest way to figure out the combo? Tyia

[@lockmanipulator]

Take off the back cover so you can see the wheels. Turn left until all are moving together and stop when the gate of the first wheel (deepest in the lock) is aligned under the fence. The number on the dial is the 1st number in the combo. Turn right 2 rotations and then you should see the 2nd wheel start to move and stop it when its gate is under the fence. That's the 2nd number. Then turn left 1 rotation and keep going until the gate of wheel 3 is aligned under the fence. That's the 3rd number. Then turn right to the contact area. If the nose doesn't drop in then you were off a bit. You can look through the gates and see which wheel was off and in which direction. Add or minus 1 from the number for that wheel and try again. It can be hard to see exactly when the gates are under the fence so you'll probably be wrong the first time.

[@thanosthedwarf]

Nice vid! Great explanation.

[@johnvossler250]

I have an S&G II that has a bit different procedure to open it. After dialing in the three number combination you have to rotate the dial to 00 then push in the dial until it clicks. Then you can rotate the dial clockwise to withdraw the lock. Once withdrawn you can retract the bolts to open the door. What is that last part of the procedure doing to the lock. The dial to 00 push and rotate.

[@lockmanipulator]

That's an s&g 8500 and is a group 1 lock. Manipulation for that is not covered here as that is considered a high security lock.

[@johnvossler250]

@@lockmanipulator Thanks. This is on the large safe I purchased in 1990.

[@supremekizzle]

One thing I don't quite understand. I get the reason for initially turning the wheel 4 times in the first direction gets all of the stoppers spinning together, but once you pass the second number a couple of times in the next direction; wouldn't that just reset everything again by picking up the wheels at the same points as we did in strep 1?

[@lockmanipulator]

Passing the second number twice and stopping on the third time won't mess up the position of the first wheel. So let's say the first number is 50. We spin left past 50 3 times to ensure all wheels are picked up and then stop on the 4th pass of 50. Now we reverse directions and spin right. After 1 revolution we have passed the second number once and now we are back at 50. As we pass it the first time, the 3rd wheel gets picked up. We go for another revolution. Now we passed our second number in the combination twice and we're back at 50. As we pass 50 the second time, the 2nd wheel gets picked up. The first still is still at 50 because it requires the second wheel to pick it up and we only just picked up the second wheel; with the second pass of 50. So, so far we did two rotations of the dial and passed our second number in the combination twice and passed 50 twice. The wheels spinning with the dial right now are wheels 3 and 2. So after we do our second pass of 50, we keep going until we reach our 2nd number in the combination and stop when we reach it. This is the 3rd time we have reached that number. Not 3 rotations, but the 3rd time we reached the second number in our combination. That's 2.x rotations and the 3rd wheel requires 3 rotations to be picked up in this case (because we had all the wheels picked up initially with left rotation, so it would require 3 full rotations in the opposite direction to pick up the 1st wheel again). The second wheel is now set, and the first wheel remains untouched at 50. I highly recommend you look at the back of a lock with the back cover removed while dialing, it will be much easier to understand!

[@supremekizzle]

@@lockmanipulator ahhh, I think I get it. So only the first wheel is attached to the number spindle and the wheels are disconnected in a sense, with the rotations being transferred through the stoppers? So it takes 4 rotations to ensure all stoppers have been picked up the first go around, but only rotating 3 times on the next rotation would leave behind the last wheel and stopper? If you were to rotate 4 times instead of 3, you would have picked up the last stopper, thus resetting it?

[@lockmanipulator]

@@supremekizzle The dial is connected to the drive cam through the spindle and that's the only thing directly connected to the dial. All the wheels are "disconnected" as you say, with the rotations being transferred by the stoppers (called fly's, I had forgot the name while making the video). You're close with the number of rotations but you're 1 high. It takes 3 rotations to ensure the wheels are all picked up. 1 rotation to ensure wheel 3 is picked up, 1 more rotation to pick up wheel 2, and a 3rd rotation to pick up wheel 1.

[@justtim9767]

Excellent video.

[@kieranwade6505]

hi do u now any cheap safes or something like yours to practise

[@bluewater79]

I'm watching for a friend...

[@trilobyte_official]

Thanks alot!

[@garyoja8608]

Is there an easy way to figure out a safe combo if the door is open but the bolt is in the lock position? I have a safe that was given to us but he lost the combo

[@lockmanipulator]

Yes, you can take off the back cover of the lock and look at the dial when you line up all the notches on the wheels

[@adamblank7421]

Just curious how much safer are biometric safes? Are they any harder to crack. Lets say a $500 one or so?

[@seanlawlor262]

What’s the best way to set a random combination for practice? I keep ending up with combinations with two wheels on the same number.

[@mzmagister]

Signing up for this answer as well! Printing my mount as I type this.

[@louisassankumah8832]

Just wanna know how to do it

[@routtookc8064]

i got an OLD safe with the alphabet on the dial. still lost on how to even start

[@Monkfutrucker]

The best safe in the world is one you can't find.

Hello - I'm confident you are giving great information but, I get somehow dizzy. I'm sure if I get into it I will get it. I have a HerringHall-Marvin. It was my grandfather and we would like to open it. Don't know the combo? I don't know if I start to the L or R. If it's 3 or 4 numbers. How do I listen to that lever falling? Thanks!

[@lockmanipulator]

No listening required, it's all by touch. To tell if it's 3 or 4 numbers you can spin the dial 5 times in one direction (lets say to 50). Then reverse direction and every time you pass ~50 you should feel some slight resistance. If you feel the resistance 3 times then it has 3 numbers. 4 times and it has 4 numbers.

[@andytane4406]

Where did you get your S&G lock and practice stand combo from? Liked, Subbed & Bell Rang.

[@lockmanipulator]

Ty! I got mine from ebay

[@dougmacqueen1679]

The metal rod is not called the spline. It is called the spindle.

[@lockmanipulator]

You're right, I got it mixed up with spline from the spline key lol

[@bitovik142]

👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@jacklol1834]

Hi Lockmanipulator, is it normal the my safe combination dial can still be opened when the numbers are dial in at plus/minus 1 value? For example if my codes are 16/73/42, it can be opened with 16/72/43 or 17/73/41

[@lockmanipulator]

Yep! It can be up to 1.5 numbers sometimes, depending on the specific lock.

[@jacklol1834]

@@lockmanipulator thank you for your reply. So it is an acceptable industry norm? Well unless we are protecting the Crown Jewels.. 😂

[@lockmanipulator]

@@jacklol1834 it's generally the accepted way to do things since it can be hard for users to be so accurate when entering the combination in quickly. Higher security locks will have tighter tolerances but can still be +-0.75 increments or so.

[@jacklol1834]

@@lockmanipulator thank you for your reply Sir. Now I feel more relieved, I was thinking my safe is a “lemon”

[@johnbesharian9965]

@@lockmanipulator, You may have just solved ("Unlocked"?) my years long dilemma. I have a Liberty "Jefferson" series safe w/dial combination lock (no batteries, nor electronics to fail or go awry) purchased brand new in 1996, if not by, which, after many years, has started to not always follow the actual combination. (May have to stop a little before or after the real number, etc. While I am mechanically inclined, I've been hesitant to pull the backing plate off the door and take a shot at seeing what's wrong and (if possible) fixing it. While the literature says they use Sargent & Greenleaf locks on all their other models, they specifically say they do not on the model I have. They also do not identify where it was made, nor by whom. The worse thing that can happen is that I have to remove it and take it to a real locksmith for repair or replacement. Being retired gives me far more time than money to indulge my inquisitiveness.

[@stevelewis7263]

I'll stick with GELIGNITE

[@sandigarrison409]

bet u cant get in rx safe with 4 number lock w/out reseting code

[@saidsabamusic]

Please help 😩😩

[@bimil8724]

6741 easy, try a 6730.

[@deborahostrander489]

What if it the digital safe

[@dougmacqueen1679]

Gr. 2 locks on safes anyone can open in under 5 minutes. Bullshit.

[@jwn5]

My first impression with someone in the safe cracking industry was garbage, just kept repeating legality bullshit as if i didnt already flat out specify im just looking for tools that could help as a personal hobby, i dont need a damn licence to buy and crack my own sht for my personal enjoyment