Need Advice: Choosing a Safe

Guyon said:
All you need is a reciprocating saw and a sense of where the safe is located upstairs. :D

The key is to keep the ladder always to one side of the cuts and never under the actual hole.* :p :p

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* This tip is NOT brought to you by a licensed moving professional, and any actions taken by the reader will be at his or her own risk.
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Actually, I did think of that, but the wife would kill me and lord knows what's under the floor right there. It is drop ceiling in the basement, perhaps I shall go have look. :D
 
Progunner said:
Actually, I did think of that, but the wife would kill me and lord knows what's under the floor right there. It is drop ceiling in the basement, perhaps I shall go have look. :D
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Please review the disclaimer. :D
 
My safes are over 1700# empty..National and Liberty.
Both are now owned by Liberty and are now composite doors..
Both are great safes..I like the old National's
 
Gravelface,
A suggestion, before you buy that find out what it weighs and what your floor can take as a static load. Most Apts are made cheaply and you might wake up one morning to a loud crash and your downstairs tenant now being the suprised owner of new guns and knives.
Jim

I would say wait to get a big one till you have your own place then get the biggest Liberty you can afford.
 
Micky said:
Gravelface,
A suggestion, before you buy that find out what it weighs and what your floor can take as a static load. Most Apts are made cheaply and you might wake up one morning to a loud crash and your downstairs tenant now being the suprised owner of new guns and knives.
Jim

I would say wait to get a big one till you have your own place then get the biggest Liberty you can afford.
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My Mrs. moved us into a very nice, large house on acreage about 18 months ago. The house is built VERY solidly with an extremely high-end security system.

I'm still interested in a gun/knife safe. And like many have said here, I've been thinking Liberty. I could put 'er in the basement (I insisted on a walk-our basement) or in our very large, very sturdy garage. Haven't decided ... but will have to decide soon.
 
OldPhysics said:
My Mrs. moved us into a very nice, large house on acreage about 18 months ago. The house is built VERY solidly with an extremely high-end security system.

I'm still interested in a gun/knife safe. And like many have said here, I've been thinking Liberty. I could put 'er in the basement (I insisted on a walk-our basement) or in our very large, very sturdy garage. Haven't decided ... but will have to decide soon.
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liberty makes nice safes. look at the cannons and fort knox as well. the cannons have about the best fit/finish i have seen, with quite a few options available like modular interior, custom lighting, etc.

i believe the fort knox safes provide better security and fire protection, but lack the "living room" look, more utilitarian. and they also make custom safes.
 
wash said:
Jason,

If you think you won't have any trouble installing it, that sounds pretty good.

If you are concerned about the fire rating, you can cover the safe with sheetrock or even make a full framed, insulated and sheetrocked wall surrounding the safe.

The difference between a fire rated safe and a safe that isn't fire rated is just a layer of sheetrock inside the safe. Sheetrock outside of the safe should give you similar protection.

For any one that's curious, the $400 Sentry safe has sheet rock. The door is 1/4" thick I think. The hinges are hidden, there are plenty of bolts (I think 8). The body of the safe is pretty thick also. It would take a real safe cracker or a really determined amature to open it.

When you think about the value of the safes content, you should also consider who you are trying to protect it from. Fire is a valid concern, it doesn't discriminate. I don't think a real safe cracker would take the risk to steal my collection, stealing a Mercedes would be easier and much more lucrative. Some crack head might think I'm a good target but I doubt they will be able to do anything beside tip over the safe. I doubt any one stupid enough to target me could get the safe to the top of the stairs without someone seeing them, then they would have to push it down the stairs which would create a real racket.
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good points hogwash. the people ive known in the last few years that have purchased safes went into it thinking they would get the cheapest one.

after talking to a few of us and the guys at the store, they realized that the money they spend should reflect what is going inside.

sentry offers lockboxes that are fire rated for reasonable prices, but for guns and jason's infi collection, i wouldnt pinch pennies. :)

skilled burglars will defeat nearly anything out there, they not only "crack" the lock, but will also just cut a hole in the back. and it is not unheard of to just haul the whole thing away, regardless of weight.
 
generally, you should always over-buy when it comes to safes... you will grow into them and out of them fast. The Condo/Apt. thing is a problem... especially with upper level/stairs involved...

Personally, i have a long line of cheap/adequate Sentry safes from my condo/apt days, and some larger variety... (AmSec/Canon)... With this next (and maybe final move) i will likely get another super large safe, and dump the Sentry's, as i grew tired of the dial locks... (you really have to be very sober to operate those)...
 
Guyon said:
Here's a good article on buying a safe. A recommended read with good illustrations, charts/graphs:

http://www.6mmbr.com/gunsafes.html
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That's a good place to start, Guyon. Thanks for the link.


G-Face is looking at a nice safe for the money, 23-square ft is good to start with. Champion is a good brand, and for the money, it's a cheap investment.

I like the idea of selling it when he's done with it, or making it a 'bait safe' in the garage... :D NOT RECOMMENDED TO PUT A SAFE IN A GARAGE IN PLAIN VIEW OR ACCESS!!!!

When he gets settled, he can drop a dime on something more, uhm, Permanent..... :D http://www.rhinovault.com/

Good luck on your choices, Gravelface! :D :thumbup:

.
 
Rat that Rhino is when I have more than a "few" dimes to drop......just might have them build my house! It would be hurricane proof to say the least!

I am on the first floor so no worries about the folks below!
 
Rat-30 said:
I like the idea of selling it when he's done with it, or making it a 'bait safe' in the garage... :D
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If he goes the latter route, he could fill it with Dark Ops knives. That'll show any thieving bastids dumb enough to breach the safe. :D
 
Guyon said:
If he goes the latter route, he could fill it with Dark Ops knives. That'll show any thieving bastids dumb enough to breach the safe. :D
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Dork Ops!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHARDYHARHAR!


That was a good one!:D :thumbup:
 
Safe buying summary:

*Largest you can afford, you will always outgrow it.

*Best fire rating you can find, this is the tricky part as research will you show you some "variability" between brands on how to test fire ratings.

*Security. Unless you are a jeweler with a million dollars of inventory, chances are you won't need as much safe security as you think you need. This is counter intuitive to gadget guys but really a safe stops the knuckle draggers who are most likely to raid your house for things to sell. They'll beat on it for a while with whatever is handy then settle for your electronics. ;)

*Interior set-up/layout, shelves or rifle racks not to mention a power supply for an electric dehumidifier and interior lights (both handy and/or essential...)

*Safe location, are you going to need to open your safe and fondle the contents often, or will you safe queen your goods to only see once in a while. Having to hump down to the basement 8 times a day may get old for some...
 
When I did my research for purchasing a safe I was told they simply break into three groups.

One, "Fire Safe" this type is needed if you live in the country as the response time from the Fire Dept will be longer - you're paying for about an extra 15 minutes of fire protection.

The second being a "Gun Safe" this offers less fire protection (as the FD is close by) and is primarily used to deter non professional thieves and keep small children out.

And third, “Gun Locker”, this offers no fire protection but help keep thieves out. I once head the best way to keep a “Gun locker” is to not have it look like a “gun locker”, makes sense to me.

As I live in the country I opted for a Liberty Fire Safe (approx 900#). My wife and I agree, best investment I ever made.

*And if anyone wanted to know how to get a safe this size across door frames without damage please let me know…I’ll explain how we did it, and it wasn’t hard. My best advice with little ones in the house…get something ASAP.

Let us know what you end up with...

Happy trails.
 
I wish I could! But living in an Apartment I want something somewhat portable.....damn that link Guyon posted! Too much good information!!!!!
 
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