Thread: Opening a Chubb Safe

Anyone know how we can go about opening the safe without a gas torch? Would like to be able to use it after, keys have been lost and has been there at work bolted to the ground for as long as anyone can remember. It’s located in Christchurch



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ok to destroy the safe in the process ??

Originally Posted by gonetropo

ok to destroy the safe in the process ??

Yea I guess it is, just would have been good to use it again that’s all


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Originally Posted by muzza

A good locksmith and lots of time

Any decent ones around?


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You need to contact Ted West

unless there is $$$$ in there then best you just cut it open.
drill a small hole in the top. duct tape all openings and fill it with water then grind away. i did this years back in a floor safe full of money and cheques. although cheques were waterlogged each owner said they had written it.

I had a Chubb safe that was locked (but fortunately not bolted down) a couple years ago, up in Auckland. Dropped it to Auckland Safe and Lock on the back of the work ute, and ended up costing me just under $200 to get it open, service the locks, and reset the code. He was pretty confident he'd get it open, gave me a price range (came in on the low side) which was much less than an equivalent safe, so crossed fingers and left him to it. Next day he rang and asked what I'd like the code to be, come and pick it up end of the day.

Give a good lockie a call and see what they recommend. Make sure it's someone that deals with safes

I have read that they can strap them very tightly onto a centrifuge like device and spin the sh!t out of them until the pins are all down and the door flies open.

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Contact Brenda at Challenger Safes www.safes.co.nz she will be straight up and probably put you in touch with someone down there

Being a chubb safe there will be a serial number on it somewhere
Chubb nz will be able to get you the keys and its combination once they have checked that you are legitimate

They did that for me about 10 years ago that came out of a retail strip out when i was a shop fitter
Don't recall having any particular isses

https://www.nxburst.co.nz/

This will get it out of the floor.

Any decent locksmith experienced in safes will be able to open it.

There are three grades of safe

1.Security cabinets, like gun safes, thin steel boxes

2. Plate safes, 10-20mm plate steel, sometimes pure plate, sometimes the body has an extra layer of steel with firefluff or concrete poured. The door is usually still a single sheet of plate.

3. TDR (torch and drill resisant) safes, Where both the door and walls are several inches thick, usually double layered metals and high MPA concrete with material though it to destroy tool edges.

No's 2 and 3 can sometimes be difficult to tell the difference from the outside, both have similar thick bodies but when you swing the door open the TDR becomes apparaent door as mentioned is several times thicker, not just a single steel plate. The TDR safe is also heavier as a result.A good locksmith should be able to give an idea what he is dealing with anyway. usually big heavy hinges indicates more likely its TDR.

Locksmiths once identifying the safe will have knowledge of the internal lock positions and will drill specified points to avoid the relockers and bore scope and manipulate the locks. The safe can be opened , keys recut or combo reset and the drill point welded or concreted back up, good as new.


Type 1 is a few minutes job to get into.
Type 2 is not a big job either.
Type 3 can range from a few hours work to a couple of days for the highest security units, can be lots of money.


Keep in mind type 3 TDR just torching wont work. They usually have concrete layers, non arc material like copper/aloxite layers etc. The safe will also have glass relockers, so if you cut into the door and activate these it will release locking pins and seize the door.

Make sure you get a decent locksmith experienced in the level of safe. The highest level TDR units like a Chubb AA or Isolator, only a few blokes in the country will be equipped to handle. Unless you are recovering family hierlooms the cost may be prohibitive.

What you need is....
1 Mini
2 Spaghetti
3 In your best Michael Caine voice “I only told you to blow the bloody doors off”!