Help Opening Safe Lost Combo

[97F1504RAD]

The title is pretty self-explanatory,

I have a friend who inherited a safe and no one seems to have the correct combination for it so I am seeking out of the help of the Vast WEalth and Knowledge of my Calguns Brethern.

Here is a picture of the safe if that helps They don't know much about it is the issue.

[SkyHawk]

It looks like an old Cannon safe. You may want to send them pics and see if they recognize it and have any tips.

https://www.cannonsafe.com/

Do they have any idea what the combo numbers were, even if they are out of order or not working? Do they have the key for the dial lock?

[97F1504RAD]

Do they have any idea what the combo numbers were, even if they are out of order or not working? Do they have the key for the dial lock?

Yes, I believe they said they had the key and do have numbers but they won't work. Supposedly they had someone try for 4 hours and could not get it open. It kinds of hard getting all the info as it is someone my wife works with so I get everything second hand.

They would like to hopefully get it open without destroying it but if that is what it takes as a last resort they may have no choice but to start cutting.

I'm just trying to help them without resorting to that. They are not even sure what make it is. So any info I can get them would be helpful I think.

[Yodaman]

[Fishwishin]

First of all I am quite envious of your friend and that very attractive safe. Unfortunately I have experience of trying to get into the same model Cannon. In my experience no amount of traditional safe cracking (by a safe tech) worked. He tried everything from listening to the tumblers, removing the dial to get to the mechanism to drilling- all to no avail. Ultimately he had to cut a large portion of the front door away in order to gain access to it. The safe was left in an unusable and unattractive condition.

[DolphinFan]

If you are located anywhere near los angeles, call Dean Safe. He'll open it.

[ErikC12]

If you have the numbers, it should be pretty simple to write down the possible permutations and try each one in turn. Also look up that model to find out which direction to turn and how to clear it out.

[71MUSTY]

Yes, I believe they said they had the key and do have numbers but they won't work. Supposedly they had someone try for 4 hours and could not get it open. It kinds of hard getting all the info as it is someone my wife works with so I get everything second hand.

They would like to hopefully get it open without destroying it but if that is what it takes as a last resort they may have no choice but to start cutting.

I'm just trying to help them without resorting to that. They are not even sure what make it is. So any info I can get them would be helpful I think.

If the numbers are right they are likely just not dialing correctly. Takes a bit of finess and practice.

A good locksmith can open it in minutes.

[Madmox]

[faterikcartman]

At the risk of insulting someone, which is not my intention, sometimes people unfamiliar with safes like this might assume you turn one way (and as noted above they may not be clear on which way to turn) and then the other way and stop on the next number the first time they come to it. Rather than on the second number turning and stopping the third time you reach the number. And then on the last number reversing and stopping the second time they reach the number. You may want to verify they are clear on how this usually works.

[97F1504RAD]

At the risk of insulting someone, which is not my intention, sometimes people unfamiliar with safes like this might assume you turn one way (and as noted above they may not be clear on which way to turn) and then the other way and stop on the next number the first time they come to it. Rather than on the second number turning and stopping the third time you reach the number. And then on the last number reversing and stopping the second time they reach the number. You may want to verify they are clear on how this usually works.

[SkyHawk]

If they have the numbers, they need to start from there. They need to try both left start and right start patterns.

They need to write down the numbers, then write down +1 high and +1 low patterns for EACH number, and try them. Then move to +/-2. And always trying left and right start. They need to try at least 3 numbers high and low for each. A locksmith would try +/- 10.

They need to make a table of combos like this on a sheet of paper, for left start, covering up to +/- 3 for each number, and cross them off one at a time. Then make a copy of it for right start attempts.

The actual table of possibilities they could come up with will be much larger than this. If they can get Cannon to at least tell them the direction to start the combo, it will save them a lot of time trying all these.





It is also possible the safe has a relocker that has fired when the safe was being moved or if it has been dropped, in which case even dialing the correct combo will not help. Cannon should also be able to tell them if this safe had one.

[jeffyhog]

I wouldn't cut into the safe until you get an estimate from a locksmith to open it. I had a similar vintage Cannon and it was 1/4" plate all the way around. I'd try the recommendations above as to working the numbers.

Serial number should be on the side- give Cannon a call and see if they can help. They probably have the factory combination, but no way to know if its been changed, or if you can prove to them that you are the rightful owner of the safe.

You can always give this guy a call- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qw_4HQMS-pk

[faterikcartman]

https://www.hunker.com/12409406/how-to-open-a-cannon-safe

[SanDiego619]

Step 1 (for the safe owner): Call a locksmith who is familiar with Cannon safes