Fort Knox Underfloor Safe Opening

When a new publican took over a local public house in Skelmersdale, Lancashire he found a Fort Knox underfloor safe which was locked and no keys had been left for it. We were asked to open the safe and to provide new keys so that it could be used. We have opened many of these safes in the past and on first impressions we didn’t expect to have any problem picking the lock but we soon found that the mechanism had seized. We eventually got it moving again and was able to pick it open to find a rather unusual amount of carpet fibres in the lock which had been causing the issue. With new keys provided the safe was put back into service and another non-destructive safe opening was completed.

Fort Knox Chancellor Lost Combination

The combination had been lost to this Fort Knox Chancellor under floor safe at a private residence in Maghull, Merseyside. We attended the customers home and identified the lock as a La Gard Group two, three wheel combination lock, initial diagnostics suggested that the lock was working correctly so we began the process of manipulating it open.

Manipulation is a process of discovering the combination of the lock and is often depicted in movies with the safe cracker using a stethoscope or an upturned glass tumbler to listen to the lock. Whilst we carry high tech listening devices they are not always necessary and with this lock we didn’t need anything but our un-sanded fingers to identify what the lock was ‘saying’ to us. Within a short space of time the lock had given up its first number of the combination shortly followed by the second and the third at which point the lid could be removed to reveal the safes contents. We then reset the combination to one of the owners choosing and gave instructions on how to dial the lock and how to insert and remove the lid.

Fort Knox safes are unfortunately no longer trading but they were based in Maghull so this one didn’t have to travel far from the factory where it was made.

Fort Knox Maghull Liverpool

This Fort Knox under floor safe was discovered by the new owners of a commercial premise in Chorley, Lancashire. Unfortunately the previous owners hadn’t left the keys so we were asked to open it and put it back in to service. We have opened a lot of these safes and this was the second one this week. We picked the lock open and provided two new keys as requested.

Fort Knox Key Stuck In Safe

We were asked to open this Fort Knox safe after a key had been forced and snapped in the lock at a private residence near Richmond in North Yorkshire. Having removed the offending key we identified that it was a five lever mortice lock key and not the correct key for this safe. With the offending key removed we picked the safe open to reveal it’s contents for the owner.

Fort Knox Safe Withy Grove Stores

We were asked to open and supply new keys to this Fort Knox underfloor safe in Oldham, Manchester. Upon arrival we identified that the safe lock was open but the lid would not move. There are a number of things that can cause this but after further discussion with the owner we found out that the safe hadn’t been used for fifteen years. The mostly likely cause then judging by the visible rust was that it had seized up. After much persuasion we got the lid out and was able to replace the lock and put the safe back in to service.

This particular safe was supplied by Withy Grove Stores in Manchester which we often see on safes that we open and previous research showed that they were established way back in 1850 and were still trading. Quite by chance yesterday whilst returning from another opening we passed their store for the first time and saw their impressive large display of safes in the window. We must drop by and have a proper look one day.

Fort Knox Safe Lost Keys

The keys to this Fort Knox under floor safe in St. Helens had been lost and the contents needed to be recovered. We picked the safe open as we have done with many of these, rekeyed the lock and provided two new keys.

Fort Knox Under Floor Safe Stolen Keys

We were called last night after a break in at a property in Formby in which the keys to this Fort Knox safe had been stolen. Unfortunately during the robbery the keys to another safe had also been found and the contents taken but they had been unable to locate this safe which was well concealed. We picked the safe lock open so that they could retrieve the contents to prevent the thieves from being able to return and use the stolen keys. Due to family circumstances the safe was no longer required and so we were able to keep the safe lid for refurbishing. This is always welcome as these locks are no longer in production and are very difficult to source.

Fort Knox Safe Opening

The new owners of a tanning salon in Wigan had not been given the keys to this locked Fort Knox under floor safe and wished to use it. We picked the safe open and were amazed to find it contained bags which appeared to be full of coins. On closer inspection they turned out to be tokens for the old tanning beds so not the great fortune that we were hoping for but it certainly added a bit of excitement to the safe opening. A new key was made by hand to the existing lock and the safe was put back in to service. The excitement must have been too much for the safe engineer who managed to leave one of his big toolboxes in the Salon and had to make a return trip to retrieve it.

Fort Knox Lost Keys

This Fort Knox under floor safe was found by the new owners of a property in Rhyl, North Wales. They wanted the safe opened and had a great idea of using it as a time capsule for their children to open when they were older. We opened it up by picking the lock to reveal that the safe was empty. The lock was changed and new keys provided to prevent any potential existing keys from opening it.

Fort Knox Safe Lost Combination

The combination to this Fort Knox underfloor safe at a church in Liverpool had been lost. We attended the site and successfully opened it without any damage. We put the safe back into service and gave instruction on how to dial the combination.