Today’s safes are made to protect nearly anything – documents, valuables, weapons, money, and more. They’ve come a long way from the “iron chests” of the pre-1800s, evolving into the impressive safes of today.

Early Safes/h3>

The earliest lockboxes were made of wood in the 1700s, and while their bolts and locking mechanisms were fairly secure for their day, thieves had little difficulty prying them open.
Safe construction improved when cast iron was used in the late 18th century, and the lock itself became the weakest component of this new strongbox.

Fire-Proofing and Lock Innovation

In the early 1800s, there were several different patents on ways to make safes impervious to flame, resulting in competition amongst inventors -and the creation of the first fire safes.
In 1818, a “detector lock” was invented with the intention that it would not open if someone attempted to pick it. Egyptian pin-tumbler designs were adopted by a father and son and became the common design seen today.

20th-Century Steel and Today

A single piece of steel was used to make safes in the 1900s, and safecrackers and robbers used explosives to open them. Anti-explosive technology improved, and a safe from the 40s survived the Hiroshima atomic blast from a distance of less than 1,000 feet.
Today’s safes feature complex locks, drill- and torch-proof construction, and often have layers of concrete sandwiched between steel.
Fire safes incorporate materials that help the contents resist extremely high temperatures for up to an hour in residential applications, and gun safes keep firearms protected from both tampering and theft.

King Safe & Lock is a premier Houston locksmith specializing in fine safes that are designed to guard your valuables. Our fire and gun safes come in many varieties to best suit your protective requirements. Contact us for all of your safe needs!

The danger of fire is a constant one, as fire departments responded to nearly 400,000 home fires in the United States in 2009, and 44,867 fires in Houston. While you do all you can to prevent a fire from ever happening, knowing that your most important documents and valuables are protected provides peace of mind.

If the unthinkable were to happen, you can rest assured that the contents of your home fire safe will remain intact.

1. Regular safes are not impervious to fire. In fact, the construction of a regular anti-burglary safe is not intended to protect valuables from fire, but from intrusion. Their metal construction can act like an oven in the event of a fire, all but cooking their contents.

Fire safes are designed to withstand the extremely high temperatures of a fire. Composite materials are used to shield the inner compartment, and many offer a gasket seal to prevent water from getting inside. Some fire safes are rated to withstand temperatures up to 1,800 degrees for four hours.

2. Hybrid safes solve two problems. A safe that is certified against both fire and burglary is capable not only of withstanding the effects of a house fire, but it also protects the contents against intrusive attacks. These kinds of fire safes use insulative material to keep internal temperatures below that of a fire in order to prevent melting or igniting of the contents, while the outer shell is often constructed with attack-resistant steel.

3. Concentrate on your most valuable possessions. In a fire, trying to save material items delays your safe exit and increases the risk that you may become trapped. When you know that your important papers and other belongings will be able to withstand the flames until help arrives, you can focus on getting your loved ones to safety.

Keep your important documents and possessions in a fire safe, and know that they’ll be protected. King Safe & Lock carries a wide selection of fire safes designed to defend your valuables from fire and burglary. Protect your property – contact us to learn more.

Even if you have all of the proper safety equipment to safely own a gun, accidents can still happen. If you want to protect your family from falling prey to accidents involving guns, then you need to keep your weapon locked securely in a safe. Look over our reasons for investing in a secure gun safe, and make the decision to buy one today.

Protect Your Children

There are far too many firearm accidents involving children who accidentally shoot themselves with their parentsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ or neighborsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ guns each year. Keeping your firearm in a gun safe will reduce the chances of a tragedy like his from happening to you. Lock your gun away safely to protect your kids.

You Are Responsible

Can you imagine how bad you would feel if someone else used your gun and something terrible happened? Guns draw attention, and sometimes others want to know how it feels to shoot them. If you keep your gun in a gun safe that requires a transponder chip key or another key that you can carry on you, then other people wonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t be as tempted to try the gun, which can protect you and others from bad accidents.

Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Your Property

You keep important documents in fire safes to protect them in case of fire, right? A gun safe can protect your firearm from burglars or other unknown persons, preventing others from taking and potentially using it somewhere else. Your gun is your property, and you should protect the same way you would any other important piece of property.

Having a gun is a big responsibility, one that needs to be taken seriously. Get a gun safe for your firearm and be secure in the fact that you will know where it is at all times.

For dependable gun safes, come to Houston Safe & Lock for the security you seek. We are Houstonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s top locksmith and safe company and are here to help you protect your home and family. Check us out online to see the kinds of safety products we have to offer.

Bob Sallee President of American Security Products makes the grade (A) on quality control for CSC3417 and CSC1717 Burgulary & Fire Safe. These safes are well built and perform as advertised.

Houston Safe & Lock received a call from a long time customer who requested that we open two Fire and Burglary Rated safes she had purchased from us years prior. The safes had been in a large house fire and had been taken to the Houston crime lab by the arson investigators because there were fatalities involved. We inspected the safes at the crime lab the day prior to the scheduled opening and found the safes were made by American Security Products.

Both safes were charred so bad that they were unrecognizable by an average person but once I saw the American Security Products unique spoke handle from the melted remains that used to be a handle and Amsec recognizable heavy duty hinge design made identification an easy task. The arson investigator had shared with me that he had not experienced a fire with that much heat intensity in 25 years. He said the home was a complete burn down.

The safes took hours to open using two highly trained safe technicians with years of experience and exact diagrams and measurements acquired from past openings. Once opened we were all shocked to find that all contents inside both safe were unharmed, from the jewelry right on down to the precious metals ,important documents and folding money. Even the medicine bottles were like new and medicine usable. This news is great to know for coin collectors who are always concerned about protecting their graded pneumatic collectible coins. These coins are already enclosed in a fire protective plastic and have greater value above the spot price of gold and silver because of where they were minted and rare dates.

I will have no problem recommending American Security Products Fire and Burglary Rated Safes to protect coin and stamp collections and other valuables in the future. These safes are well built and perform as advertised. Why use any other product.

If you own a gun, you want to do everything you can to keep it out of the wrong hands. You especially want to be sure that your children or other family members can never accidentally get hold of your gun. While you can employ many precautions to keep your guns out of the wrong hands, you should also invest in a gun safe.

If you collect guns, be sure to buy a gun safe larger than your current collection. This will ensure that your gun safe will be able to hold your collection as it expands.

Make sure that your safe will not only take care of your gun, but can function as a fire safe. This will ensure that, in the case of a fire, your guns remain protected.

You can find many types of gun safes, but go for one that can offer you the best in protection with the right materials and customized locks, which can stop the safe from being tampered with or broken open. Locks can come with both combination locks and key locks.

See if extras can come with your gun safe, like a rifle rack, shelves, and gun slots, so that you can keep your guns and their accessories organized.

Look into getting a gun safe that will anchor to the floor. In case you are burgled, you want to make sure that the burglars are unable to just pick up your safe and walk off with your guns.
Looking for a Houston locksmith who can give you the perfect gun safe for you needs? Visit us at Houston Safe and Lock where you can find what you need to make sure that your gun collection is safe and secure and your home is safe from any gun accidents.

Dove season is on the horizon!  Come visit the largest safe shop and showroom in Houston and browse our selection of shiny new 30, 60 and 90 minute fireproof gun safes.  There are several options for securing your guns, but gun safes are definitely the most reliable.  Whether you are looking for a small single capacity gun safe or a unit that will hold up to 50, there is a gun safe for every hunter and collector.  Unlike the big box store or on-line company safes, King  Safe and Lock stands behind every gun safe and will deliver, install and service every safe purchase. Stop by and visit our massive shop and showroom for special deals on hundreds of safes in stock.