Customer Reviews

Techniques of Safecracking (52054)

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I suppose I expected a vague overview of safecracking, but I was surprised that this book actually shows the exact ways safes are compromised. Where to drill, how to figure out combinations, etc. It's really rather amazing.

Some people know a little bit about everything. And others know darn near everything about one topic. Wayne B. Yeager shows us that he knows almost everything there is to know about his trade of unauthorized safe entry in "Techniques of Safecracking".

Learn how to open a safe when the keys are gone or when the combination is lost. You'll be shown exactly what to do in a step-by-step series of instructions. Scores of people believe that today's safes are unbeatable. People entrusts thousands of dollars in cash and valuables to safes that guard against little more than being dropped two stories.

"I could not count the number of times I've seen a $200. fire safe holding thousands of dollars in cash, or a 1890's safe expected to withstand 1990's attacks", Says Yeager. So begins this amazing manual that explores the weaknesses in the devices we use to protect our valuables.

This book isn't just for criminals to hone their evil skills. Every safe owner should know what is contained in Yeager's book. From policemen to private investigators, store owners to security professionals, for everyone lucky enough to have something worth keeping, this book is eye-opening reading.

As a locksmith in Australia i was quite excited when i read the reviews for this book but 5 minutes into it i started laughing.When one reads lines such as "This is of no consequence, however,for they all act pretty much the same,and the slight differences do not alter the safecracker's methods in the least" i stopped reading and laughed.Although not a "safecracker " as such i have opened my fair share of safes and know that each safe is different from the other.Boltwork is different , safelocks throw up,down,left and right , some have hardened steel plates others have glass , concrete etc..Wayne's answer to these types of questions was so called Templates avalible for safes.Well i don't know any safecrackers that have such "Templates".Sure they have set drill points etc. but no templates.i suppose i am kinda glad this book was such rubbish as i would hate to think people are out there writing such things just to make a quick buck and allow criminals to learn more tricks!

If you're a fiction writer that needs a general overview of safecracking methods, then this book might work for you. A professional locksmith, however, will find little of value, whereas the inaccuracies and misinformation contained within spell disaster for the trainee who accepts them at face value.

The only ones who might profit from this book are petty criminals who aspire to become safecrackers themselves. The three pages of tryout combinations and the destructive-entry methods might get a crook inside a container, provided he or she has plenty of time and isn't concerned with noise. In most cases, however, it will just mean more work for the locksmith who gets called out to open the safe after a bungled attempt.

If one has seen a movie where the thief breaks into a safe, one has probably seen the thief use a technique called manipulation. (This is what we commonly call a safecracker.) Manipulation is where Wayne Yeager starts his book and I think he would be glad to say that, quite often, manipulation is not enough. So after a couple of chapters Yeager goes on to explain more forceful methods of getting into a safe including using a drill, punching and peeling, using a torch, even using explosives. This is the senior level class... and it takes lots of work and practice to get past it.