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Antique Safes/victor safe

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Expert: - 9/30/2009


Question
I HAVE A VICTOR SAFE DATED 1904.HOW WOULD I GO ABOUT GETTING THE COMBINATION TO OPEN IT.

Answer
Donna,

This company has not been around for many years, and records are not available.  They used several different locks and without knowing more about your safe the best I can do is offer the following:

You can try a series of trial numbers to see if one will open the safe, but there is no guarantee - let me know if it works though.

You will have a total of 100 potential first numbers, using the following "key" you will need to progress a spread sheet of possible combinations to try:

first number plus 35 will be second number,
first number plus 5 will be third number,
first number plus 26 will be the driver gate.

So if the first number is "1" the sequence would be 1-36-6-27

The dialing sequence is:

4 times right to the first number,
3 times left to the second number,
2 times right to the third number,
1 time left to the last number, you should feel the lever engage.
next you will either continue slightly to retract the lock bolts or reverse the dial several numbers to retract the lock bolts, in either case when the lock bolts are retracted, the dial will stop and you can pull the door open.

If the above series doesn't open the safe, you may need the services of a professional safe technician.  Opening the safe by drilling, by a trained safe technician will not cause damage and is repairable.  Generally it would be done by drilling a small hole, less than 1/4", using a fiberoptic scope to decode the lock, open the safe, repair the hole and you are done.
Cost:  $350-$500, 2-3 hours time.

If you need more help, let me know.  If the above key works let me know also.

Andy

Antique Safes

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Terry V Andreasen (Andy)

Expertise

Safe and Vault related Questions; Antique Safe Repair and Restoration; With over 40 years in the Safe & Vault industry, if I can't answer your question I know where to get the answer. Current Project: Restoration of two Tilton & McFarland Safes from the 1860's. Will answer Safe & Vault related questions concerning age, value, restoration, moving, opening & repairing, parts, operation and history. Note: It is not my intention to teach you to open safes or to provide information which may aid in the unlawful opening of a safe. I will not give out drill points or information which I deem inappropriate.

Experience

40 years in the Safe & Vault Industry. Service Manager for one of the largest Safe & Vault companies on the West Coast. Graduate of Lockmasters Safe Lock Servicing, Safe lock Manipulation and Safe Deposit Lock Courses. Graduate of Locksmith Institute. Certified Instructor for the California Locksmith Association teaching Basic and Advanced Lock Servicing, Basic Safe opening and Repairing. Factory Trained by AMSEC, LORD Safes, LeFebure, Mosler, KabaMas, LaGard and Sargent & Greenleaf

Organizations
Safecrackers International and the National Antique Safe Association

Education/Credentials
Graduate of Locksmith Institute 1972 Graduate Lockmasters Safe Lock Servicing 1974 Graduate Lockmasters Safe Lock Manipulation 1975 Graduate Lockmasters Safe Deposit Lock Servicing 1985 Instructor Certified - California Locksmith Association - 1985 Factory trained by AMSEC, MAJOR, STAR, Johnson-Pacific, Kaba-MAS, Allied-Gary, ISM, Lord, Brown Safe, EXL, Mosler, Diebold.

Awards and Honors
2009, 2010 & 2011 Listed in AllExperts top 50 Experts. All Experts Categories - Safes & Security Containers, Locksmithing, Antique Safes. Retired US Army Reserve Chief Warrant Officer (CW3), with 32 years of total service. With numerous awards from Vietnam, Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom. US Navy - 1971-1981 US Army Reserve 1984-2006 US Army Retired Reserve 2006-present

Past/Present Clients
US Secret Service, FBI, BATF, Local Law enforcment agencies, Diebold, Hamilton Pacific, Red Hawk Int., Chubb International, Bank of America, Wells Fargo Bank, Mechanics Bank, El Dorado Savings Bank, many Credit unions and smaller banks. McDonalds, Togos, BurgerKing, TacoBell, Carls Jr. FoodMaxx, SaveMart, Lucky's, Albertson's, Raley's, Safeway, NobHill, Bell Markets, PW Markets. Great America, Century Theatres, Cinemark Theatres, UA Cinemas, and many homeowners and small businesses. Provide warranty service for lock and safe manufactures. Service area is Northern California - Fresno to Oregon, including western Nevada

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