Home Safes

I'm moving into a new place in a few months. Its a basement apartment in a private home. The renters seem nice enough and the rent is much more affordable for me, but this will be my first time having roommates.

I want to invest in a nice home safe to store my valuables and important documents. I don't know much about safes, but I have been doing some research, and I know what I need.

>I need a safe around 1.3 - 3.0 cubic feet, no bigger.
>I want it to be fire and water, I am especially worried about floods as this is a basement apartment.
>I want the safe to be a combination safe, not a digital safe. Digital safes can be hot-wired and also rely on battery power to open. I prefer a mechanical combination lock. Simpler, tougher to crack, and more reliable.
> I want the safe to have a concealed hinge inside the safe that prevents the safe from being opened even if the hinges are cut off.
> I DO NOT WANT A KEY BYPASS. most safes have a key that can open the safe in case you forget our combination. I am not a retard, so I am not going to forget my combination, and a key bypass is a serious weak point that can be picked.

Do you guys have any brands or models you can recommend?

Other urls found in this thread:

youtube.com/watch?v=ApJQ2wcYjBo
callitout.com/quotes/index.php/kick-it-to-the-curb/55/sentry-fire-safe-wont-open-its-broken/
sturdysafe.com/pages/what-to-look-for-in-a-gun-safe
twitter.com/NSFWRedditGif

I want to avoid buying something like this...


youtube.com/watch?v=ApJQ2wcYjBo


>widely known brand of safe opened in seconds using a magnet.

Go visit a locksmith and ask him what he suggests.

Unless the safe is bolted to the ground and the foundation around it, it's laughably easy to steal the whole safe by tying chains around the safe in a mesh pattern, tying it to a truck and hitting the gas.

>1.3-3.0 cubic feet
>worried about somebody "cracking" the combination
>worried that somebody would bother picking the key bypass
>not realizing that somebody would just pick up the safe and move it somewhere else if they really wanted to

Reminds me of people worried about getting their cars stolen and posting those vulnerability assessments about key fobs for cars, where the vulnerabilities people find require 3-4 people, where at least a couple of them would need a relatively high level of technical skill to pull off. Nobody's going to do that shit when you can get one thug to just knock the guy out and take the fob. Just like how nobody is going to bother cracking the safe code or picking the lock on your safe if they can just move it somewhere else and drill into it.

Professional thief here. I can confirm that these two posts are solid intel.

You are technically right, except when you are driving a truck dragging a safe through a house, which is going to make a bit of noise and hopefully someone would call the police, if I am not home.

I did consider bolting it to the ground, except I am renting this apartment, and I don't think the renter will allow me to do that. Also it is really hard to find a safe that can be bolted to the floor that is also water resistant.

as this is a basement, I am more worried about flooding than having the safe ripped out the wall with chains via a truck like some action movie.

I did consider weighing the safe down with weights so that its too heavy for less than three people to carry out. That would again, be noticeable enough to where someone would call the police.

I can tell you what to not buy:
if the fire resistance is advertized prominently it probably doesn't offer much of anything else. safes are fireproofed with dirt cheap sheet rock.
if only the total thickness of the door is advertized you're probably looking at the thickness of sheet rock sandwiched between flimsy sheet metal which will give way to a stern wave with a screwdriver.
avoid pinstripe decorations and catchy names.
look for the specified steel thickness, the specified steel type or properties (if not specified in any way expect recycled tin cans), whether the body of the safe is double-walled, in how many directions the door bolts into the body and how big of a gap the closed door offers for the insertion of prying tools.

I was thinking of putting a few weights in the safe to make it too heavy to carry out easily without making a lot of noise.

I realize this isn't going to be completely reliable. I am just trying to invest in improving my home secutiry a little.

The goal is to make the safe hard to take without notice. I know that a group of 3-4 people could carry it out, but again, that would hopefully be noticeable enough that someone would call the police.

Idk where to put my safe, I could dead bolt it to my foundation because I'm changing out my flooring but then it would be better to invest in a better safe. Where do people usually keep their safes?

That's a good idea, putting a few 50kg weights in it

I bet the only thing you have ever stolen is the internet you are using to shit post.

>and hopefully someone would call the police, if I am not home.

Nope, if it doesn't affect them directly, nobody bother calling the police
Look up bystander effect

Can you get a small safety deposit box at a bank instead? How much space do you really need for stuff that's really valuable?

Cool, thanks. lots of help there. So your advice would be to what? just not bother?

Also, theft isn't my only concern. Flood is also a possibility and I would like to keep important documents like passports and birth certificate safe.

I would rather not do a safety deposited box, as there are times when I will not be able to get to the bank.

for example, I want to store around $2,000 cash in the safe in the event of some disaster, natural or terror-related. In this scenario, all the banks would be closed and I would not be able to access a safety deposit box.

Why a safe? Store it in your bunker instead

refer to the original post where I said I am renting...

if you are just here to be a smart-ass, I am sure there are threads with much more lurkers who could appreciate how clever you are.

You know, in the event of natural disasters, social unrest or literal doomsday, your government documents and government issued fiat currency will be totally worthless.
Stock up on shit that might actually be useful in a shtf type scenario, like a well armed bunker, or emergency rations.

I think the honest answer is probably "you do not need a safe", but you're apparently here for consumer advice and I don't think you're going to get much. If you're dead set on buying one then I would try to find some reputable consumer review outlets and see what they say, stay away from anything that leans too hard in the "prepper" direction as people who get really into any topic tend to overestimate how much money you should spend on it (see: audiophiles).

This user has some worthwhile advice too.

Can you describe a disaster in which banks would all be closed for an extended period of time, in which money (especially such a small amount of money) would still have value?

I am, and thank you for noticing. Still a safe isn't safe unless its bolted in

Who the fuck is talking about Doomsday?

you know during 9/11 that all the banks in New York were shut down for several days right? Was the dollar demonized?

Also I am currently stacking silver, which is why I also need a safe.

Again, I want to also protect my shit from FLOODS AND ROOMMATES, but you jumped straight to doomsday because it was the only way you could still shit on my entire post.

I thought Sup Forums might have a few tech kids who knew some shit about locks, or maybe there were a few adults on this board who are interested in home security tech...

I see now that this is now just another colony of Sup Forums and I will find no genuinly useful advice here.

so far is the only person who even tried.

9-11

I've never had any dumbass roommates with a safe, nobody gives a shit about your papers unless you're storing firearms.

Katrina or the hurricanes we just had in Texas?

meant for

What would $2000 have gotten you after 9/11 that you couldn't have gotten otherwise?

Also want to store a little emergency cash as well as silver I am stacking.

jesus, I honestly had no idea I would have to defend this so hard. I figured the trolls wouldn't be interested.

I guess Sup Forums is so slow and starved for threads, they will jump on anything.

get me through the two or three days the banks were shut down, but wallmarts were still open.

Also do you not keep any emergency cash at home? do you just assume your card will always work?

or do you just trust that mommy will buy your tendies in an emergency?

>everybody who can't see the benefit of a thing I want to buy and questions the new, seemingly made-up-on-the-fly reasons I keep piling on is a troll

>Eating $2000 of food in 3 days
Strong bulk bro.

So far I have explained every issue you have had fairly well. If your goal is to dissuade me from investing in a safe, you are not doing a very good job.

let me just calculate the exact amount of money I would need for the emergency I cannot predict or know how bad it will be...

I am storing away what I think is a good amount. What would you recommend?

they can't roll your safe if you have no material possessions

/k/ speaking

Avoid SentrySafe. They use plastic gears that are designed to break once your warranty expires. I had a $500 fire safe from them and you can just look at this list of people who also had trouble.

callitout.com/quotes/index.php/kick-it-to-the-curb/55/sentry-fire-safe-wont-open-its-broken/

Modern day safes are just like the door and windows of your home and car. They will only keep an honest person honest. A typical cheap firesafe off of the internet might only have a steel shell the thickness of your computer case, some drywall and an inner shell of plastic.

Even some of the best rated safes that costs thousands of dollars are only rated for for 15 minutes to an hour in a burglary or fire. More likely you're going to get a Residential Security Container or less that doesn't have a fire/burglary rating.

sturdysafe.com/pages/what-to-look-for-in-a-gun-safe

If you're worried about fire and water. Mylar and or zip bags are your friend as sometimes it gets through the seal even on ones rated for it.

Either way the list goes:
Insurance
Monitored Alarm system
Dog
Bolted down safe from a reputable manufacturer

Get what you can, do what you can. Since you're renting all you might be able to get is some insurance and a safe that could be picked up and carried off if you aren't allowed to bolt it down.

NOW THAT'S WHAT IM TALKING ABOUT!

I knew I should have posted this in /k/ to begin with, but since its not a gun safe I am looking for, I figured it would get deleted.

thanks for the advice!

I was looking at SentrySafe until I found that video of a guy opening one with a magnet.

Most smaller safes (like the ones they have in hotel rooms) are practically useless. It needs to be of proper thickness so it cannot be bashed open with a sledgehammer, and it needs to be made from a material that is difficult to drill and difficult to grind open with the angle grinder, since these are the only practical tools a thief may bring with them. But most importantly, it must be bolted to concrete. This is the #1 mistake people make. A thief is never going to break into a safe if they can just take with them. Once they're out of your apartment they can spend hours with power tools breaking into the safe.

Anything past a couple hundred is something where government relief would probably cover you (unless you're in Puerto Rico).

For everything other than the cash (flooding, roommates stealing shit, having to go and buy weights, not understanding that nobody is going to give a shit and call the police for you), you're better off getting a safety deposit box - especially since you're renting and are likely to have to move all this shit every time you move.

>trust government relief.

Good luck driving to your safety deposit box during the next hurricane/terror attack/ wildfire etc.. to get your shit user.

I will be grabbing my cash, my dog, and my girl and getting the fuck out of town at the first sign of trouble, while you are banging on the bank doors demanding they let you in to get your money so you can pay to get your loved ones to safety.

a regular part-time burglar won't bring an angle grinder. he'll come with a screwdriver or a prybar, maybe a hammer, and when he sees a safe he'll try to pry or bash a bit and when he sees the safe starting to give in he'll continue to pry or bash until it's open or he realizes his efforts are useless. sad thing is, many consumer safes can't even resist a junkie with a flat-head screwdriver.
the professional burglar who comes with a grider, torch or hydraulic prying tool won't be physically stopped with any reasonable effort anyway.

I don't expect a safe to be 100% thief proof. I know even the highest rated safes in the world can be cracked by a pro in 45 minutes.

I just need something that is Dindu proof. That is, too heavy to carry out (I will weigh it down) and too complicated for the simplest picking tools, which can still be pretty sophisticated.

A key bypass can be picked with a tool you buy on Amazon that requires no skill so even a crack head could have one.

But obviously, if fucking Sam Fisher breaks into my place, I am fucked no matter what I do.

Couldn't you just withdraw your money at at a different branch location then?
A couple hundred seems fine for a few days.

What if its more than a few days, like when a hurricane knocks out the power for a week?

Or what if its something that would require emergency plane tickets?

What if suddenly inflation hits and a bottle of water costs $20 like we just say in Texas?

the fact that you are this nieve tells me you definitely still live with your parents.

just saw* in Texas.

sorry, it's late.

He said he was getting the fuck out of dodge.
If you can't get the fuck out of dodge with a couple hundred dollars then I don't know what the hell to tell you.

>drive to gas station to fill tank
>gas is at $10 a gallon because crazy inflation during emergency
>$1,200 to fill my 12-gallon tank and drive as far as I need.
>still have $800 for food and lodging, hopefully, its enough

popped one of those with a crowbar and hammer

I used to own a safe, took me like 5 mins to break into.

I got that off google images.

I know they make safes with a glass rod inside. WHen you hit it with a hammer, the glass breaks, and the safe auto locks.

might try to find something with that... do you have any recommendations on what safe would be hard to get into?

You can't get to a working bank branch with #200?
Why have your money in a bank at all my man? Sounds like you're going to need at least $50 grand if you want to survive the apocalypse.

You bought a shit safe. That's what I am trying to avoid.

Got a healthy savings account, but I want some emergency cash at home.

you honestly don't seem to understand what I am trying to do here, and you are trying to turn this into a doomsday prepper thread, which is not even in the top 3 reasons why I want this safe.

>emergency cash
Yes, that is what we're talking about here.
The safest place to keep your cash is in a bank.
So you only need enough cash to get to a working ATM/bank.
>which is not even in the top 3 reasons why I want this safe.
Does this means doomsday prepping is on your top 5 list of reasons why you want the safe?

word, well i got a few useful bits out of this thread,

thanks to /k/ bro and a few anons for the info.

Hope you got as much out of this as I did. not staying up any later for this, got work in the morning. night.

>Digital safes can be hot-wired and also rely on battery power to open.
1) "Digital" safes can be SPIKED, not hot-wired, and even then only the shitty ones are susceptible.
2) Have you considered changing the fucking batteries? Besides, most have mechanical backup locks if you have no batteries.

safety deposit box

I dunno why you'd try and use a safe, you're better off obfuscating shit. I'd be willing to bet you could easily build something equally water/fireproof that could hold your paperwork while being effectively hidden away from even the most adamant thieves. Sheet metal is cheap and easy to work with, as is gypsum board, you could have a well protected low profile, locked safe hidden and camouflaged under a sink or attached to your furniture.

A safe is just a big target for anybody that walks in there. What's more is considering you're on Sup Forums you'll probably have enough tech laying around to deter the thief from diving through your cleaning supplies for no apparent reason.

>safebox
>not physical steganography

Obfuscation is probably your best bet user. Be it digital or physical assets. A big sturdy safe is only going to make people curious.

Not him but safes have actual uses like stopping fire and water. I store my favourite photos, documents cash and dakimakura cover in mine

Just lock the bypass key inside the safe you retard

>gas is $10 a gallon
>$1,200 to fill 12 gallon tank
10*12=$120, so you'd still have $1,880...