Lost the key to an old safe? It’s rarely the end of the story. A qualified safe engineer can usually make a new key for an old lever lock, or fit a new lock, without wrecking the safe. Here’s what kind of key yours takes, who can make one and what it costs.
Key takeaways
- Most old British safes use a lever lock with a stepped key; some later ones take a double-bitted key. Most old American safes use a combination dial instead.
- A key can be made without the original. A safe engineer works from the lock itself, or opens the safe and fits a new lock if that’s cheaper or safer.
- Go to a safe engineer or a locksmith who does safe work, not a key-cutting kiosk. A kiosk can only copy a key you hand over.
- A copy of a surviving safe key costs from about £23 in the UK. A locked safe with no key is a bigger job: in the UK, from about £120 to open, plus the key or lock.
- Keep the spare away from the safe, and never post a clear photo of the key online.
£23.25
MLA guide price to copy a surviving safe key in the UK, 2026; double-bitted from £38.60
£120–£250
daytime safe opening, one UK safe engineer’s 2026 prices
$318
US average to open a safe without drilling (2024 survey)
270+
UK locksmiths listed by the MLA as antique lock and key specialists
In This Article
Replacement safe keys at a glance
Which job you need depends on two things: whether any key survives, and whether the safe is open or locked. Find your situation below.
| One key survives | Have a copy cut by a locksmith who cuts safe keys. Quickest and cheapest.1 |
| No key, safe open | A safe engineer can make a key to suit the lock, or fit a new lock. Easier than a locked safe, because the lock can be reached.2 |
| No key, safe locked | The engineer opens it first, then cuts a new key or fits a fresh lock.2 See what to do if you’re locked out of an old safe. |
| Key turns but won’t open | Stop. Don’t force it, oil it or drill it. Call an engineer. |
| Dial, no keyhole | It’s a combination safe, not a key safe. See our guide to old safe combination locks. |
Types of safe keys: what kind of key does an old safe use?
Pick up an old British safe key and the first surprise is the weight: a long steel shank, a plain bow and a bit cut into steps. That’s a lever-lock key, and it’s what most 19th and 20th-century British safes take. Each step lifts one lever inside the lock to exactly the right height, and only when every lever is lined up can the bolt move.3
Most common
Lever key
One bit, cut in steps, one step per lever. Chubb’s detector lock of 1818 is the famous one, and Britain still calls any lever key a Chubb key.
The size of the key is a rough dating clue. Before powder-proof locks, the key lock itself threw the safe’s bolts, which needed a big key and a big keyhole, an open invitation to anyone with gunpowder.7 At the Great Exhibition of 1851 the large lock and large key were still the standard. Milner’s 1854 patent for a powder-proof safe lock helped change that, and smaller locks followed.8 That’s why a big, heavy key usually points to an early safe.
Milner itself fitted the Hobbs Protector lock until about 1871, then made its own locks with the keyhole slanted like clock hands at five to seven.5 A few other key shapes turn up on old safes and strongboxes:
- A small tubular key means a Bramah-type lock, with sliders instead of levers.3
- A small key on a safe with a dial is probably for an inner drawer or compartment, not the door.
- A small key that fits a keyhole in the back of a dial lock, inside the door, is a combination change key. It changes the code; it never opens the safe.
Can a key be made without the original?
Yes, in most cases, and the honest answer is more hopeful than most owners expect. The Master Locksmiths Association says keys and locks “can also be made for vintage safes”, and that a skilled locksmith can make a key by hand for an old lock.9
How it’s done is the engineer’s business, and we won’t go into it. What matters to you is which of three outcomes you’re being offered:
- 1 A new key for the original lock. The engineer works out the key from the lock, or from a key number stamped on the lock body once it can be reached.2 Best for an antique: the safe keeps its own lock.
- 2 The lock re-levered or rekeyed to a new key. The same lock, set up for fresh keys, so any old key that’s still out there won’t fit.
- 3 A replacement lock. When the lock is badly worn or the keys are gone for good, one UK engineer says a new lock is “often no dearer” and shuts out anyone holding a copy.2
If the safe is locked, opening it comes first, and that’s the bigger part of the bill. Good engineers manage it without damage surprisingly often. A Nottingham firm’s case notes describe a heavy Milners List Three safe made in 1927, its keys “long lost”, opened without drilling or damage and given a new lock; the same firm records a Tann Fortress II that locked its owner out after the detachable bit fell off the key and vanished.10
“Just because the keys go missing does not mean the safe has to be cut open nor destroyed.”
Alan Morgan Master Locksmiths, Nottingham, 2021
What information helps: lock numbers, key numbers and the maker
Before you ring anyone, collect what the engineer will ask for. Five minutes with a torch and a phone camera saves a wasted visit.
- The maker’s plate: the name, town and street. Our guide to dating an old safe from its plate and numbers shows where to look.
- Every number: on the lock case, the door edge, the top bolt and the bow of any old key you have, noting which number was where.
- The keyhole: a photo of its shape, and whether there’s one keyhole or two.
- Open or locked, and the safe’s outside size and where it stands, in case the engineer can’t take it to the workshop.
- Proof it’s yours. Security keys usually need proof of ownership, such as ID and proof of address.11
Milner, Chubb, Tann, Ratner and Withers keys
None of the old British makers runs a key service for its antique safes, so the engineer starts from the lock. What survives in the records differs a lot from maker to maker:
| Maker | What helps with a key |
|---|---|
| Milner | On many Milner safes the key number is the same as the safe number, so a numbered key can sometimes be matched to its safe.1213 Milner’s lock and key registers for 1857–1954 survive at The London Archives.14 |
| Chubb | Lock numbers can be looked up by the Chubb Archive, which dates locks from its registers on request.15 Our guide What is a Chubb key? covers Chubb keys and replacements in detail. |
| John Tann | Tann’s own number records are reported lost; collectors date safes from the number on the top bolt.16 |
| Ratner | Made its own lever locks and stamped them with numbers; no Ratner register has been published.17 |
| Samuel Withers | Park Works, West Bromwich, founded 1843 by George Withers.18 We haven’t found any published Withers lock or number records. |
| Chatwood-Milner | Duplex safes have ten-lever double-bitted locks.4 Chatwood-Milner order books for 1955–1971 are at The London Archives.14 |
We can help
Send us photos of your safe’s plate, keyhole and any numbers and we’ll tell you what we can about its maker, age and lock. Tick “Opening it or getting a key” on the form and we’ll point you towards the right kind of specialist. There’s no need to photograph the key’s bit: the plate and the numbers tell us more. We never open safes or make keys ourselves.
Who can make a key for an old safe?
A safe engineer (in the US, a safe technician), or a locksmith who does safe work. Each of these trade bodies runs a free public search:
| UK | Master Locksmiths Association (MLA): “Find a Safe Engineer Near You”.19 It also lists over 270 UK locksmiths who specialise in antique and heritage locks and keys.9 |
| US | Safe & Vault Technicians Association (SAVTA), Dallas: a trade association devoted entirely to safe and vault technicians, with a search for qualified technicians.20 |
| Australia and New Zealand | Master Locksmiths Association of Australasia (MLAA): “Find a Master Locksmith”. Ask for a member who does safe work.21 |
Why not a key-cutting kiosk?
A kiosk or high-street key bar copies a key you give it. With no key to copy, it has nothing to work from, and even with one, the MLA says that “due to the nature of safe keys they need to be cut by a professional locksmith”.11 Double-bitted safe keys can take up to an hour to cut.1 A badly cut copy is worse than none: a key that nearly fits can jam in an old lever lock.
Modern safes are different. Makers such as Sentry will send a new key if you quote the model and the key code stamped by the keyhole, usually with proof of ownership.22 That route is closed for antiques: as the same US firm points out, a locksmith may be the only choice once the maker has gone out of business.22
Safe key replacement cost: what you’ll pay
Nobody publishes a price list for making a key to a Victorian lock, and I’d be wary of anyone who quotes one without seeing photos. What we can give you is the published prices for the parts of the job. Treat them as a guide to what’s normal, not a quote.
| Where | Job | Published price |
|---|---|---|
| UK | Copy of a surviving safe key | from £23.25; double-bitted from £38.601 |
| UK | Locked safe opened, then new key or new lock | opening £120–£250 by day, £170–£320 overnight; no open, no fee2 |
| UK | Graded commercial safe opened and new lock fitted | from £2802 |
| US | New keys for a modern safe, by key code | $30–50 plus keys; Sentry $30 for two keys22 |
| US | Locksmith service call / labour (national averages) | $93 / $104 an hour, $151 after hours23 |
| US | Open a safe without drilling / by drilling | $318 / $41423 |
| US | Service an antique safe lock | $150–450 per lock (indicative)24 |
| Australia | Safe opening or combination reset, typical | Sydney A$400, Perth A$370, Hobart A$31525 |
What pushes the price up or down:
- Locked or open. An open safe with a reachable lock is far less work than a locked one.
- Workshop or home visit. A small safe may go to the engineer; a big one means call-out and travel. Check the weight with our safe weight calculator before anyone tries to carry it.
- The key. More levers and a double bit mean more work.1
- Key or new lock. Sometimes a new lock costs about the same and is more secure.2 For an antique, keeping the original lock usually matters more.
Is it worth paying for? For most antique safes, yes. Dealers almost always mention the keys, and the prices show why: a Milners safe of about 1870–80 with its key sold at £325, a Milners steel safe box with new keys cut at £395, and a very small Thomas Withers safe with all its keys at £675.26 Our guide to what old safes are worth has more examples. Anything we say about value is an informal view, not a professional appraisal.
Keys for old American safes
American safes went a different way. Early ones did have key locks: owners’ letters in a Herring catalogue mention Jones’ lock in the 1840s and Hall’s burglar-proof lock in the 1860s.27 The Day & Newell bank lock of New York had a key with movable bits, so the owner could rearrange them and change the key at will.3 But dial combination locks were being patented by 1843,28 and most American safes you’ll meet today have a dial on the door.
Where keys still turn up is inside. Many dial safes have small key-locked compartments or drawers, and those keys are the ones that go missing: one auction listing for an antique Victor safe came with the combination for the outside lock but was “missing keys for interior compartments”.29 A safe technician can make those keys too. For the door itself, see our guide to old safe combination locks.
Old safe deposit box keys are a separate case. The number stamped on a Mosler safe deposit key tells a technician how the key is cut, not which bank it belongs to.30 If you’ve found one among a relative’s things, the bank that holds the box is the place to ask, with the executor’s paperwork.
Keep the spare key away from the safe
Once you have keys again, store them like money. The safe historian behind safeman.org.uk puts it simply: a safe key should never be out of the keeper’s personal possession, nor left in the keyhole unattended.5 Insurers agree. Some UK home policies only cover jewellery in a safe if “all safe keys are removed from the HOME” whenever it’s left unattended, and the Financial Ombudsman has quoted a similar clause requiring “any and all keys to the safe” to be taken out of the home while the owner is away.3132 Check your own policy wording. A key safe for your house keys is a different matter.
- Keep the spare somewhere else entirely: a solicitor, a bank, a trusted relative.
- Don’t hang it on a hook by the safe, tape it inside a drawer or label it “safe”.
- Count the keys when you buy an old safe, and if one is unaccounted for, consider having the lock re-levered.
The Clydesdale Bank learned this the hard way. In April 1959 staff at its Shettleston Road branch in Glasgow found the cash safe, a Milner of 1910 with three key locks, standing open and empty, with no sign of force. More than £38,000 had gone. False keys had been made from the bank’s own keys, which were often left hanging in the safe’s keyholes, and three of the accused were each jailed for ten years.5
Did you know?
Even the grandest safes lose their keys. A safe with Charles Chubb’s patent plate, from Bridgewater House in St James’s, London, was once shown at the Science Museum with a label recording that its keys were lost and Chubb opened it to find the Order of the Garter in diamonds. Then the keys were lost again, and in 1974 an MLA member firm, E. Smith & Co, had to open it a second time.8
Why you should never post a photo of your key online
It’s tempting to post a picture of the old key on a forum or a sale listing and ask what it fits. Don’t, if that key still works a lock. In 2008 computer scientists at UC San Diego showed that keys could be copied from photographs, one of them taken about 195 feet away, and warned that photo-sharing sites were full of usable key pictures.33 The MLA notes that some skilled locksmiths “can even make a key just from a picture”.9 And safeman.org.uk records real cases of keys copied from long-lens photographs taken as they went into the keyhole.5
- Safe to share: the bow, the maker’s name on it, the plate and the outside of the safe.
- Keep private: the bit, side-on or face-on, and the lock and key numbers alongside a photo of your safe. The Chubb Archive only publishes a lock’s details with its owner’s permission, for the same reason.15
- Sharing with an engineer, the Chubb Archive or our form is fine. Posting to the world isn’t.
If the key won’t turn or the lock is jammed
An old lever lock that has sat unused for decades can stick, and a worn or badly copied key can make it worse. The temptation is to lean on the key. Please don’t: a snapped key in the keyhole turns a simple job into a hard one.
- Stop after a few gentle tries. Don’t use pliers or a bar on the bow.
- Don’t spray oil into the keyhole. It collects dust and grit inside the lock.
- Don’t drill or cut. Most safes with mechanical locks can be opened by an expert without drilling, and safes made before 2000 may contain asbestos in the door and walls.34
- Call a safe engineer, and read locked out of an old safe: your options, costs and who to call first.
Myths about old safe keys
No key means the safe has to be cut open.
Engineers regularly open old lever-lock safes without damage and make new keys.
Any key cutter can copy a safe key.
Safe keys need a professional locksmith, and a kiosk can’t make a key from nothing.
The original maker can send a key.
The old British makers are long gone or merged; a safe engineer is the route.
A photo of the key is harmless.
Keys have been copied from photographs. Show the bow, never the bit.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get a replacement key for an old safe?
Usually, yes. A safe engineer can make a key for the original lock, re-lever it to a new key, or fit a new lock. Bring photos of the plate, keyhole and any numbers, and proof that the safe is yours.
How much does safe key replacement cost?
Copying a surviving safe key costs from about £23 in the UK (double-bitted from about £39). If the safe is locked, expect an opening charge first: about £120–£250 by day in the UK, an average of $318–414 in the US and A$315–400 in Australian cities, plus the key or lock.
Can a locksmith cut a key for an antique safe without the original?
A locksmith or safe engineer who does safe work can. Ordinary key cutters and kiosks can’t, because they need a key to copy.
Where can I get a key for a Milners safe?
From a safe engineer; Milner no longer exists. On many Milner safes the key number matches the safe number, so note any number on the door and lock.
Can I get a Chubb, John Tann or Ratner safe key replaced?
Yes, through a safe engineer, as none of these firms makes keys for its antique safes. For a Chubb, the Chubb Archive can date the lock from its number.
What types of safe keys are there?
On old safes, mainly lever keys with a stepped bit, double-bitted keys, changeable keys, small tubular Bramah keys, inner-compartment keys and combination change keys, which only change a dial’s code.
Is an antique safe worth more with its key?
Generally, yes. A safe that locks and opens with its own key is easier to sell, and dealers nearly always mention the keys in their listings.
Sources:
- Master Locksmiths Association, “Key cutting price list (2026)”: safe key from £23.25, double-sided (bitted) safe key from £38.60, both copied from an existing key; prices vary between locksmiths. ↩︎
- The Safe Engineers (UK), home page: lost keys, prices and makers opened (accessed 26 October 2026). A trade firm’s own published prices. ↩︎
- Charles Tomlinson (ed.), Rudimentary Treatise on the Construction of Locks, from the papers of A. C. Hobbs (1853), chapters on lever locks, Bramah’s lock and the American bank locks of Day & Newell, via Project Gutenberg. ↩︎
- Chatwood-Milner Duplex catalogue text quoted in dealer listings: A to Z Safes, “Chatwood Milner Duplex Major Mk2”; BDB Safe and Vault, “Chatwood Milner Duplex Anti Blowpipe” (checked 26 October 2026). ↩︎
- safeman.org.uk, “Safe scrapbook”: sections on key security, the Shettleston bank robbery of April 1959 and Milner safe data. ↩︎
- Grace’s Guide, “Ratner Safe Co”, citing the 1914 Whitaker’s Red Book. ↩︎
- safeman.org.uk, “About safes” (on bolts thrown by the key lock itself, before powder-proof locks). ↩︎
- safeman.org.uk, “Edward Tann & Sons: the story of Britain’s first safemaker”, including the note on the Chubb safe from Bridgewater House once shown at the Science Museum. ↩︎
- Master Locksmiths Association, “Antique lock and key repair or restoration”, accessed 26 October 2026. ↩︎
- Alan Morgan Master Locksmiths, Stapleford, Nottingham, posts tagged “Lost safe keys”, including “Milners List Three Safe” and “High Security Tann Fortress II” (2021). A trade firm’s own case notes. ↩︎
- Master Locksmiths Association, “Key cutting near me” (safe keys, security keys cut to code, proof of ownership), accessed 26 October 2026. ↩︎
- antique-locks.com forum, “Milner 212 safe” (reply by Peter Gunn of the Chubb Archive, 4 December 2008). ↩︎
- antique-locks.com forum, “Information about Milner safe” (replies by safeman, Huw_Eastwood and Chubby, November 2017). ↩︎
- AIM25 / The London Archives, “Chubb and Son Limited, locksmiths and safe manufacturers”, ref. CLC/B/002 (includes records of Hobbs Hart, Chatwood, Chatwood-Milner and Milner’s Safe Co.). ↩︎
- The Chubb Archive, “Registers”: lock number look-ups on request; lock details published only with the owner’s permission. ↩︎
- antique-locks.com forum, “Accidental collector chasing info” (reply by safeman, 25 June 2016). ↩︎
- The History of Locks and Locksmithing Museum, “Ratner gallery” (page of February 2010, via the Internet Archive). ↩︎
- Grace’s Guide, “Samuel Withers and Co” (Park Works, West Bromwich; established 1843 by George Withers; limited company 1909). ↩︎
- Master Locksmiths Association, “Safe opening” and “Find a Safe Engineer Near You” search (accessed 26 October 2026). ↩︎
- Safe & Vault Technicians Association, Dallas, Texas, savta.org, “Find a qualified technician” (accessed 26 October 2026). ↩︎
- Master Locksmiths Association of Australasia Ltd, masterlocksmiths.com.au, “Find a Master Locksmith” (Australia and New Zealand). ↩︎
- Acme Locksmith, Phoenix, “How to get a replacement safe key in Phoenix” (updated 11 September 2026). A US locksmith firm’s guide, written mainly about modern safes. ↩︎
- Locksmith Ledger, 2024 National Locksmith Price Survey, as summarised by CLK Supplies, “Locksmith price survey breakdown: what you should know for 2024” (21 October 2024). ↩︎
- LatestCost, “Antique safe restoration cost and price guide 2026” (19 October 2026). An unsigned US cost guide that cites no sources; treat as indicative only. ↩︎
- What’s the Damage, locksmith cost guides for Sydney, Perth and Hobart (updated October 2026; prices include GST). ↩︎
- Antiques Atlas dealer listings marked sold (checked 26 October 2026; the price shown is the dealer’s last listed price): Milners fire-resistant safe, c.1870–80, with key, £325; Milners steel safe box, c.1900, new keys cut, £395; very small Thomas Withers safe with keys, late Victorian, £675. ↩︎
- Herring, Farrel & Sherman, Fighting Fire for Twenty-Six Years (New York, 1867), trade catalogue with owners’ letters, Library of Congress copy via Internet Archive. ↩︎
- US Patent 3,312, “Combination safety-lock for doors”, 20 October 1843, via Google Patents. ↩︎
- Everything But The House, “Antique cast iron Victor safe”, lot 17DEN072-072 (auction listing). ↩︎
- Mosler Inc., “Frequently asked questions about Mosler products”, mosler.com, ©1999 (archived 1 March 2000). ↩︎
- Pen Underwriting, home insurance endorsement library, endorsement AP004 “Protection of jewellery and watches”. ↩︎
- Financial Ombudsman Service, decision DRN-4592782 (Fairmead Insurance), quoting the policy’s “J03 Safe Clause”. ↩︎
- University of California San Diego, Jacobs School of Engineering, “Keys can be copied from afar, Jacobs School computer scientists show” (news release, 30 October 2008), on B. Laxton, K. Wang and S. Savage, “Reconsidering physical key secrecy: teleduplication via optical decoding”, ACM CCS 2008, doi:10.1145/1455770.1455830. ↩︎
- Health and Safety Authority (Ireland), “Asbestos risks in safes and fire resistant cabinets” (information note, updated September 2023). ↩︎
