Old Heavy Safe

FBennettandson · 2015-09-24T07:23:31+00:00

Hello, Please could someone tell me if this safe is worth any money, if so what is the best way to sell this safe, as we would like to get rid of it asap. Or is there any value in this as scrap? Please see the pictures attached. The safe is very heavy and we have the safe key but maybe not the internal draw keys but the the drawers are unlocked. I hope someone can help. Regards Neil

safeman

Neil, thank you for the photos of the lock interior.

No doubt the actual model of the lock will be revealed by the experts in that field.

I think Chubby and magpie are as close to the true facts as we’re likely to get. If it was made by Tann they should be ashamed of themselves. Judging by the apparent depth of the door rebate a stronger wedge-resistant 1″ thick made-up door appears to be fitted instead of the weaker ½″ single iron plate, yet the bolts fixing the lockcase are pathetically inadequate to prevent dismemberment.

Then to put the tin lid on it a top class Chubb 9-lever (?) lock is fitted. So, as suggested, this could have been a retro-fit which was not an infrequent practice. The Tann account books often mention the fitting of such as Gibbon. Barron and Chubb locks at the customer’s request with the latter being priced at £10.0.0. In purchasing power terms that’s around £870 today. Not exactly balanced security.

magpie

That’s an interesting lock, as it was made at a time when several design changes had just been introduced, following ‘The Great Lock Controversy’ where the locks of several respected makers had been shown to be less secure than the public believed.
The barrel and curtain had recently been introduced to Chubb locks. Here, the curtain is made of steel. In later locks, it was made from brass. False notches are now present in the levers.
The unexpected feature of this definitive style lock is the brass resetting plate. This carry-over from the earlier designs enables the detector to be reset without the locked bolt needing to advance further out of the lock, something not always possible in safe bolt-work, where the bolt receiving holes may not be deep enough, or become filled with dirt . In most versions of this design, the detector is reset by riding up a slope on the bolt lath.
Not expecting the resetting plate, I initially predicted 7 levers, but can now see the lock has 6 maximum (maybe 5?).

FBennettandson

Thanks again to all that have taken the time to reply with your wealth of knowledge.

I am still interested in selling either the safe with lock or the lock on it’s own and disposing of the safe (sonmehow). Can you direct me the best way to do this and where one would go to sell something of this nature. It seems the lock will gain the most interest and value, would ebay or an auction be the best place? Does anyone know of an approximate value too?

Regards
Neil

Paul Prescott

The safe is scrap - nothing more.

The lock is another matter. Value I would say to a collector IRO of GBP100 - 150 or thereabouts.

FBennettandson

Thanks for the reply and estimate valuation. I will be putting this on eBay or is there a specialist lock selling group that it would be to place on?

FBennettandson

Hello,

For those that may be of interest the lock Chubb safe lock i have is now listed on eBay.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/-/131654668535?

Good luck bidding and thank you for your help with this.

Regards
Neil

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