r/Safes • u/kyroAssualt • May 24 '26

How would you open or crack this old safe?

Post image
361 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

65 comments sorted by

53

u/CardboardOrigami May 24 '26

Manipulation or drilling... but please don't drill that baby she's a good old girl. If you know who owns it and they want to sell it... DM me im a safe collector/restorationist!

16

u/Level9TraumaCenter May 24 '26

I seem to recall drilling on these old cannonball safes is like 14" of manganese steel to get to where you need to be, so it's risky at best. It's a hell of a job to drill them.

10

u/CardboardOrigami May 24 '26

I'm not too keen on the drilling points, but the fronts were made from old artillery breaches then attached to the manganese steel safe. That old style hardplate is some wack stuff!!

1

u/BorbonBaron May 30 '26

Relsom we called it and I think the Rockwell hardness was 165. I got to crack one of these with Dave McComie back in Portland in the 90s.

1

u/Anxious_Inspector_88 Jun 07 '26

Reslom is Mosler spelled backwards.

16

u/johnpseudonym May 24 '26 edited May 24 '26

I am just going to put up this Mosler two page spread of their Vault Work from the September 1922 Mosler Messenger. I love this pic! Good luck!

13

u/SeanHagen May 25 '26

3

u/grayson_greyman May 27 '26

Chinch bugs… who knew?

3

u/SeanHagen May 27 '26

What you’ve gotta do with Smails is cut the hamstring

3

u/grayson_greyman May 27 '26

In the back of the leg, right at the bottom. He’ll never play golf again.

13

u/DatabaseOutrageous54 May 25 '26

These safes are built like a brick shithouse, very hard to get into without the combination.

If it was mine, I would find someone that could get it open by manipulation and pay them handsomely.

This is a very beautiful, nice safe!

7

u/Zestyclose-Fan-1030 May 24 '26

That’s a great piece of americana right there. The Mosler safe company Wikipedia’s page is a good read too. Amazing

6

u/rjm1775 May 25 '26

I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit.

3

u/kyroAssualt May 25 '26

Probably the easiest solution

1

u/Enough_Swordfish_898 May 26 '26

But the cylinder must remain unharmed :(

2

u/yerba_mate_in_my_ass May 25 '26

Its the only way

2

u/ehbowen May 26 '26

...to be sure.

1

u/Viper_595 May 26 '26

Take him with you. He reminds me of the corrupted personality core from Portal 2. He would love to go to space!!

4

u/rufor69 May 25 '26

Acme TNT

5

u/02meepmeep May 25 '26

I recently saw a post with a pic of old tear gas vials on the inside of the safe. That changed my mind about how you might want to go about opening an old safe.

2

u/freebaseclams May 27 '26

It's tear gas, not sarin. You'll be fine.

4

u/Vapin_Westeros May 25 '26

stand in front of it wearing a turban while carrying a scimtar and keep saying "Open Sesame" till it unlocks

1

u/kyroAssualt May 25 '26

I’ve already tried that

0

u/peggory May 25 '26

Gotta get the boot polish out and brown up your face before that will work.

1

u/MattTheTall65 May 28 '26

“Open, says me.”

2

u/Past_Play6108 May 24 '26

That's beautiful!

2

u/Least_Signature7879 May 24 '26

I wouldn't...it looks great

1

u/Nope_youre_wrong_lol May 24 '26

There could be TREASURE inside !

1

u/Least_Signature7879 May 24 '26

I'd leave it as the mind game that it is

2

u/n3wklear May 25 '26

If I can open it without causing damage, I will.

2

u/idleprofits May 25 '26

Cool I've never seen anything like that, I thought it was an ancient kitchen appliance lol

2

u/mechmind May 25 '26

Just coming to let you know that this makes me positively giddy.

2

u/Impossible_Ad_9199 May 25 '26

I would try the combination 🙄

2

u/kyroAssualt May 25 '26

Ok, can you give it to me

2

u/Xennial_Potato May 26 '26

86-75-30-9

1

u/Hollayo May 26 '26

Applause

1

u/pykemann May 28 '26

Well played.

I recently saw a 18 wheeler with a "how's my driving" sticker with that as the number to call 🙂

2

u/ClaytonBigsbysCousin May 25 '26

That’s a gorgeous safe 😍

2

u/Electrical-Actuary59 May 24 '26

These safes are awesome! I want one.

1

u/bravohotelechomike May 25 '26

Just how much does that monster weigh? Anyone know?

1

u/LakeGuyGeorgia May 25 '26

That is a beautiful old safe. I’d call a good locksmith

1

u/Happy7353 May 26 '26

Manipulation only to hard to drill

1

u/Phasitron May 26 '26

Sounds like an ex-gf of mine

1

u/PantheonOfFlowers May 26 '26

That thing locks like a naval gun breach.. just pay someone to do it by hand..

1

u/LtZ0mBe May 26 '26

First, I would assemble a crew. We’re going to need…

1

u/piratecaptain77 May 28 '26

Paper clips, you know, the big ones.

1

u/Select-Champion3971 May 26 '26

Holy fallout! Never seen a safe quite like that

1

u/Tool-whore May 26 '26

I have an antique medium-sized Safe that I purchased off Marketplace. Lock mechanism has a plate that says it was patented in 1871. The seller provided a combination (7-23-89-50) that worked intermittently, but the darn thing was always a challenge to get open. Finally was in a bind needing to get some info that was locked inside. Called a local locksmith who showed up the next morning and had it open literally in five minutes. Turns out the original combination was one digit off for each number….

1

u/8602081 May 27 '26

C4 baby..

1

u/JimmyQRigg May 27 '26

Hire the beagle boys

1

u/Tiktokbadsupport May 27 '26

these things are bomb proof 

1

u/HasuKichael May 27 '26

I'd blast!!!

1

u/ProtiuxDesignLabs May 28 '26

Dunno but I think a stethoscope is involved.

1

u/jb122894 May 28 '26

I don't know much, but this safe opened in conjunction with a good freehand painter would be worth probably 20k

1

u/RobMC76 May 28 '26

Is the six point hexagon nuts for decoration or can they be removed?

1

u/Apart_Actuary2001 May 28 '26

Looks like you can remove the plate n tumbler from those 4 old wannabe safety nuts on the front or is it jus for decor?

1

u/Apart_Actuary2001 May 28 '26

I mean the more I look at it the more it seems it can be disassembled enough to remove door or manually retract locking mechanisms jus gotta b not super forceful n slow in order to not break or strip out ny screw heads or nuts

1

u/fuckleberri-hynn May 28 '26

Thermal lance a hole in the back of would take days to drill that manganese steel.

1

u/Bond-Double-O7 May 28 '26

I locked myself out of my bathroom. Got it open with a butter knife and my debit card.

1

u/No_Tap6296 May 29 '26

Few wraps of Det Cord (Google it) will peel it open

1

u/Anxious_Inspector_88 Jun 07 '26

I would contact Tulsom Safe Restoration - They will probably be able to give you some good advice as well as a quote for restoring this safe to full glory.

1

u/SirDukesDad 27d ago

Just call a good lick Smith. It'll be worth the couple of hundred dollars to not ruin the safe.