Samuel Withers Safe

molby

Hi. Would anybody be able to shed any light on this safe for me? We have just moved to new premises at work and we have acquired this safe. It says it is made by Samuel Withers of West Bromwich. It is 66cm high, 48cm deep and 67cm wide. The paint work is not the best inside or out as it looks to have been fairly well used. We need it gone from the office and were wondering whether there is a market for these old safes or should we just haul it outside and fork-lift it into the nearest skip? I see from other posts that there is quite a good knowledge of these and any info would be much appreciated.

Thanks. Rob.

Huntlocks

Hi Rob

You will have to look in the Yellow Pages for someone dealing with ‘safes’. They will need paying to take it. I’m in Cambridgeshire and would want at least £200.

You could try putting it on ebay but doubt you will get much and have to worry about damage caused by amateur removers.

Sorry, not good news.

sparkyskey

Nice safe … (long sigh) … if only I lived in England :-)

Huntlocks

Oh my goodness Sarah…

what are you loyk!?

I nearly said ’it’s a pity it’s not in New Zealand I know some who’d love to take it off your hands’.

It WAS a nice one but look at the rust at the bottom… the doors will be stiff to open, the bottom pins corroded badly. Like I’ve said before - you wouldn’t need to visit the gym any more you’d get fit just onening and closing it.

Nice paint job (pattern) but I’m afraid it would be straight down to the scrap yard for us. Even the locks on these safes were rubbish!

Am I up late or are you up early?

Richard

sparkyskey

He he - well, I guess I am a sucker for nice pair of hands - even if they’re two right ones :-) Perhaps it is best they are on the other side of the world eh!

Timewise, I think it is a little bit of both - current time here 7.12am - I’m early, but had better get a move on before I’m late for work.

Later … S

Huntlocks

Aaaahhh…, I was still on my weekend and you were getting ready for work!

Yeah, I was impressed with the scroll in hand, I put one one my oldified Tom Withers. Oooo, oldified Tom - that reminds me…

Good morning.

Tom Gordon

The hands were sometimes made in both left and right hand for doubledoors like this one.
Cheers
Old Tom

molby

Hi.

Thanks for the info, shame it isn’t better news.

In its defence the rust appears alot worse than it is up close and the doors do swing surprisingly smoothly but I can understand it needs way too much work to make it decent again.

I shall give it 1 try on ebay and then casually lift it into the skip outside!

Would it be worth removing the HANDles and lock covers and trying to sell them seperately? It’s a shame it hasn’t got plaques on it as these seem to be worth a bit!

I will try and post a smaller(!) picture of the inside just in case anyone is interested. Unfortunately it is just as marked as the outside is.

Thanks again.

Rob.

Huntlocks

Hi Rob

I was just posting and spotted your message.

Your winding poor ole Sarah up with that internal photo. I think she might fly over to collect it… she’s in New Zealand so don’t hold y breath!

It’s a nice old safe, imagine it beautifully restored to it’s original condition. A lovely hand made antique. Trouble is I don’t see a market for such safes, you would be a thousand quid poorer and I’d still want £200 to take it away - yep, I’m a Philistine.

Put it on ebay and see what happens. Depends on your location too. Trouble is the collector could do loads of damage to your property so watch out.

The handles would be worth a bit - but I doubt you’d get an evening out on the proceeds - unless you count two Big Mac meals a ‘night out’.

Hope I’m wrong. Anyway, keep us informed - we like a giggle on this site eh Tom, Sarah, Paul?

Richard

sparkyskey

Yep - the internal pics were tempting - but I think the olive green might slightly clash with my apricot/beige, uncomfortable skin coloured monstrosity?? (See post: Safe - Thomas Perry & Son). Its just not feng shui!

After sitting on a cold, concrete garage floor for a couple of hours stripping paint, I begin to wonder why I am not paying someone else to do this. Then it dawns on me that restoration is a labour of love and I would never get my money back. So I cajole myself into believing that paint stripping is ‘character building’ and actually quite ‘therapeutic’. My mother would be quite proud I’m sure! :-)

Always in for a giggle lads, will pass on the Big Mac though :-)

All the best for Ebay - Rob. Have a great long Easter weekend and will catch up again soon. Ciao Sarah

molby

Hi.

The safe is on ebay and so far it is going for the princely sum of…£0.99!!!

A lot of people are asking me how much does it weigh?

Does anybody know a rough estimate of weight for this size safe?

Huntslock you’re a man of much knowledge, any ideas???

Thanks.

Rob.

Huntlocks

Hi Rob

I GUESS that safe weighs no more than 450lb /200kilos. Could weigh a lot less, depends on how much fill is left in it.

If you open the doors wide and press down on the extreme outer corner, does the safe tilt? Watch out for your feet though. This assumes you weigh 16 stone like wot I used to.

Don’t come back and say in a squeeky voice ’it’s heavy…and it’ll take 6 blokes to move it…' Coz it’s NOT.

99p, well you’re already up £199.01 on what it would cost you for me (or one of my compatriats) to collect it - every ones a winner eh?

Anyway good luck with the auction, watch out for damage to your door frames when they come to collect.

Sparkeyskey…forget it…