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  1. #101
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
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    Cleveland, Ohio USA
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    1,433
    Country: United States

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    Sorry Max, the only really thick heavy stuff I have seen goes back to the laminated plate era of the late 1800's-early 1900's. It did seem a bit strange when I started in the trade that Mosler/Diebold were importing safes for the jewelers market. Then again, they both had the banking industry heavily covered with regional sales and service offices in many larger U.S. cities. Here in the states, we see jewelers safes from all over the world, Kaso from Finland all the way to Lord from Australia. SLS had an office in Philadelphia, which I suppose is how that Gem safe ended up here. And Tom on that H-H-M safe, it is possible the outer door had insulation, but outwardly it was a typical solid steel laminated door. Unfortunately I cannot find the pictures I took of it.

  2. #102
    Join Date
    Dec 2015
    Posts
    18
    Country: France

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    In Europe most safes are classified from I to VI. But there are also classes VII and VIII.

    Regards
    Winter
    Last edited by Huw Eastwood; 06-05-19 at 10:45 AM. Reason: Link removed

  3. #103
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
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    1,755
    Country: Wales

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    Winter, that's an interesting safe and from a European maker little seen or known here in the UK. I'm not overly convinced it is to grade VIII though, it appears from their site they missed a grade out completely from their range, and I'm wondering if the extra 'I' was added on this model by mistake?
    To be honest I am unaware of any other free standing safe yet to meet grade VIII, as the Eurovault Atlas launched by Burtons a couple of years back was I thought still the first and only safe to grade VII. Perhaps this is another to add to the VII grade?
    I'm quite possibly wrong, but I'll be surprised if it is actually a genuine grade VIII safe, all seems a bit odd and I would also expect noticeable increases in wall thicknesses on a free standing safe jumping yet another grade up to VIII, but that's just my opinion of course.

    The EN1143-1 European grades do of course go up to XIII, but because most of the safe manufacturers only build free standing safes generally upto grades VI or VII, it's normally only strong rooms and doors found above these grades.

    Interestingly, I mentioned before that only German maker Stacke produce a vault door to the highest grade 13. Surprising that the Gunnebo group hadn't jumped in on that one...

    As far as I know though, there is no restriction or definition limiting free standing safes from the higher grades, it's down to whether a safe could be produced to meet them, and the probable hornets nest it could stir with the many governing European bodies and councils that make the assessments and decisions behind the assessments, testing and procedures.
    If a manufacturer did actually design, build, and put to test a safe to grade 13, it would certainly make things a bit more lively for them, that's for sure.
    It would probably need to be a cube sized about 3 metres each way, weighing about 100 tons and with an internal volume big enough to house and protect a Mars bar. That's actually the sort of safe I dream of though...

  4. #104
    Join Date
    Dec 2015
    Posts
    18
    Country: France

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    MaxVaultage,
    It is possible that "I" was forgotten, but it is also possible that the compagny has found it unnecessary to provide a safe class VII. as regards the thickness of its walls, the Chubb Sovereign, too, a shield 12 cm thickness. In all cases, and even if it is "only" a class VII, I thought it might be of interest because is the only european model than VI I know.
    best regards
    Winter

  5. #105
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
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    Country: Wales

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    Winter, apologies if my reply seemed harsh, I didn't intend it to be, it's just that I'm not convinced its a true euro grade 8 safe.

  6. #106
    Join Date
    Dec 2015
    Posts
    18
    Country: France

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    MaxVaultage,
    I do not find your answer is harsh. On your side, I hope you do not find my answers too dry. As I wrote above, I use French translator into English and vice versa. In order to be as clear as possible, I ma compelled to make only short and simple sentences and then translate more or less well. If sometimes I watch me incorrect, this is not voluntary.
    Best regards
    Winter

  7. #107
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
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    Country: Wales

    Default Fichet Bauche's GC68 Bankers

    These were FB's ultimate offering for many years- first launched in 1968 and made well into the 1980s.

    Not many standard production free standing safes can claim 6 inches of protection on all six sides

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    Tried everything to add these pics the right way up. Don't know why theyre turning sideways, it's never done it before. I even tried turning the originals through 90 the opposite way, in the hope they'd then end up right, but it uploads them like this every time

  8. #108
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Location
    Bulgaria
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    686
    Country: Bulgaria

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    What is "Volcanite two"?

  9. #109
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
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    Country: Wales

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    The name for their anti-penetration refractory monolithic conglomerate, back then. Security concrete to you and me.

  10. #110
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Aberdeenshire
    Posts
    697
    Country: Great Britain

    Default Fichet GC68.

    Quote Originally Posted by MaxVaultage View Post
    The name for their anti-penetration refractory monolithic conglomerate, back then. Security concrete to you and me.
    Max, you've done it again. First it was Stephen Cox and now it's Fichet which is taking me back in time.
    1966 in fact when I was invited to the Fichet factory in Sens to test the GC68 against attack by explosives.

    They were hoping to enter the British market at the time when safe-blowing was at it's peak and as there had been no incidents of such attacks in France they had to design a safe which would be acceptable to the underwriters in this country and this was it.

    To save any hassle at Le Bourget I had Fichet provide the explosives and detonators. After testing the relockers I attempted a side blowing to clear the door but as you can see it was really destined to fail, mainly because the boltwork was so deeply recessed into the body. The shot holes were created using a packed lance but not quite deep enough. The cooling down period was aided by tumblers of champagne (taken internally).

    The outer body was 4mm + 100mm tangbar concrete + 3mm inner body + 2 x 18mm layers of rubber enclosing 5mm tensile steel cables, one layer running horizontally and one vertically.

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ID:	14948 For Vulcanite .... say Michelin.

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