Dong Bang Safe

I managed to buy another locked safe in this TradeMe auction for 30$NZ. This one might work out to be quite a nice challenge.

The safe has a key lock and a combination dial, but no handle. I don't have either the key or the combination.

The manufacturer label came off the dial when I moved the safe:

The label indicates it is from Dong Band Safe Manufacture Co., Seoul. Korea (fantastic name). It is quite small (48cm x 37cm x 38cm) and I can carry it around (less than 30kg). I don't think there is anything in it since nothing rattles or falls around when I turn it over.

Turning the dial I can feel it picking up three wheels. The last wheel adds quite a bit of friction. I can't feel any cam gate, which would indicate that the lever nose (see picture below) is held above the drive cam by the key locking mechanism. This means that the key lock has to be picked first in order to have a go at the combination lock.

This picture is from http://www.crypto.com/papers/safelocks.pdf

I will have a go at it this weekend and post if I make any progress.

The new safe arrived

My first impression is that this safe is much heavier. It took two people and a sack barrel to maneuver it into the house and my back is still sore. First, here are some photos:

This is obviously a fire protection safe, the make is Kingdom Safemakers Limited. Which I think is based in Australia. I would say its a fairly recent model.

There are two keys, one of them is in the lock. Both are bent. The key does turn and a click indicates that it disengages some locking mechanism. The key in the lock is stuck and I was unable to remove it so far. The handle next to the key should operate the bolts. It goes down slightly lower when the lock is unlocked (what I assume is unlocked).

The combination lock turns nice and freely, one hears distinct clicks with each disk that is being picked up in the lock. According to the clicks there are three of them. No gate can be felt at any location of the dial. However when pushing down the handle the gate is clearly felt around 85. This means that the handle brings down the nose onto the disks. This does not happen so clearly when the key lock is locked.

Therefore to measure the depth of the nose in the gate one would have to dial in a combination and then return to 85, pull the handle and measure the width of the gate. I tried this but found that the gate kept a very constant width over all samples I took.

Another way would be to measure how low the handle goes, assuming that it directly brings the nose into the gate and therefore indicates the current state of the combination disks.

The safe arrives

Today the safe was delivered by the seller. It was easier to move than I expected, due to wheels that allow it been pushed sideways. I estimate the weight top be somewhere between 100 and 200kg. I could easily manoeuvre it into the basement.

My first impression is that it looks better than on the pictures. For some reasons the safes surface appears rusty on the photos.


I am publishing more photos of the safe here:
Safe Photos

The seller told me that he bought the safe in an household auction after the owner died in a car accident. The drill marks next to the dial and the cut marks in the base were already there when he acquired the safe.

The make of the safe as stated on it is:
Herring Hall Marvin Safe Co Hamilton Ohio