3 ms·

1 in 216000... seems like you could build some robotic device to brute force that pretty easily... or you know, introduce it to a thermic lance. EDIT: sorry, m

1 in 216000... seems like you could build some robotic device to brute force that pretty easily... or you know, introduce it to a thermic lance. EDIT: sorry, my research suggests that safe-cracking with thermic lances is plausible but not practical (source; Mythbusters, of course)

bArray 7y ago
+1 for using a robotic cracking device, I would go as far to say that a good hacker could whip something up in a weekend that would have cracked this.
- userbinator 7y ago
  Automatic lock bruteforcers make an occasional appearance on HN and Hackaday: https://hackaday.com/2011/03/09/automatic-lock-cracker-makes-breaking-and-entering-a-breeze/ https://hackaday.com/2011/03/09/automatic-lock-cracker-makes...
yakshaving_jgt 7y ago
A brute-force robot was my first thought too. It's been done a bunch of times. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fTz2D6x20U https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fTz2D6x20U
jopsen 7y ago
Sure, but an unopened safe with mysterious contents is a better attraction :) Actually, having that and letting visitors try is really cool.
spyder 7y ago
or maybe with a handheld x-ray like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovqJpcaWD7o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovqJpcaWD7o but not with every safe: "Some modern safe locks are made of lightweight materials such as nylon to inhibit this technique, since most safe exteriors are made of much denser metals" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safe-cracking#Radiological_methods https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safe-cracking#Radiological_met...
- SuperGent 7y ago
  Not that this was a modern safe (Thought to be bought in 1907)
arrrg 7y ago
Irrespective of how practical thermic lances are, the likelihood that there would be something more valuable inside the safe than the safe itself was low (that’s also confirmed now by the actual contents of the safe) and that’s probably why destructive opening of the safe was never even considered. The safe itself was the exhibition piece that was valuable to the museum. Destroying it just to get at its unknown but probably boring contents would have been pointless.
ufmace 7y ago
Well yeah, but that would almost certainly have destroyed the contents, which turned out to be all paper.

bArray 7y ago

+1 for using a robotic cracking device, I would go as far to say that a good hacker could whip something up in a weekend that would have cracked this.

userbinator 7y ago
Automatic lock bruteforcers make an occasional appearance on HN and Hackaday: https://hackaday.com/2011/03/09/automatic-lock-cracker-makes-breaking-and-entering-a-breeze/ https://hackaday.com/2011/03/09/automatic-lock-cracker-makes...

yakshaving_jgt 7y ago

A brute-force robot was my first thought too. It's been done a bunch of times. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fTz2D6x20U https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fTz2D6x20U

jopsen 7y ago

Sure, but an unopened safe with mysterious contents is a better attraction :) Actually, having that and letting visitors try is really cool.

spyder 7y ago

or maybe with a handheld x-ray like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovqJpcaWD7o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovqJpcaWD7o but not with every safe: "Some modern safe locks are made of lightweight materials such as nylon to inhibit this technique, since most safe exteriors are made of much denser metals" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safe-cracking#Radiological_methods https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safe-cracking#Radiological_met...

SuperGent 7y ago
Not that this was a modern safe (Thought to be bought in 1907)

arrrg 7y ago

Irrespective of how practical thermic lances are, the likelihood that there would be something more valuable inside the safe than the safe itself was low (that’s also confirmed now by the actual contents of the safe) and that’s probably why destructive opening of the safe was never even considered. The safe itself was the exhibition piece that was valuable to the museum. Destroying it just to get at its unknown but probably boring contents would have been pointless.

ufmace 7y ago

Well yeah, but that would almost certainly have destroyed the contents, which turned out to be all paper.