Type any word you can read on your safe, answer three quick questions, and we’ll show you which makers on our list fit best, with a clue for dating each one.
Find the maker
Fill in what you can; skip the rest
Look at the plate on the door, the lock cover, the inside of the door and the key. Letters stamped in the metal count too.
2. Where is the safe now?
3. How does it lock?
4. What does it look like?
Type a word from the safe or pick an answer above.
How the maker finder works
Behind it is our list of old safe brands: the makers’ names as they appear on plates, plus the model names, towns and street addresses that turn up on doors and lock covers. Type “Holdfast” and it knows that’s a Milner model; type “Canton” and it points to Diebold, whose works were in Canton, Ohio. Your answers about where the safe is, how it locks and what it looks like then move the likeliest makers up the list.
It only knows the makers we’ve researched, so a name it doesn’t recognise isn’t a dead end. Hundreds of small firms, ironmongers and agents put their names on safes, and some plates name the shop that sold the safe rather than the works that made it.
Where to look for a name
- The plate on the door. Usually brass or cast iron, sometimes a painted transfer. Copy every word, including the town and street.
- The lock cover and keyhole escutcheon. Often carries the lock maker’s name, which may not be the safe maker’s.
- The inside of the door. Some makers put a second plate or a label here, with a number.
- The key and the door edge. Stamped numbers help with dating once you know the maker.
Found the maker? Our “How old is my safe?” tool turns the plate wording, address and serial number into a date range. Still stuck? Send us photos and we’ll take a look.
Frequently asked questions
How do I find out who made my safe?
Read every word on the plate, lock cover and inside of the door, then type one into the finder above or look it up in our list of old safe brands. If there’s no name at all, the construction, lock and any patent dates still help: our guide on how to date an old safe explains them.
My safe has no plate. Can I still identify it?
Sometimes. Plates were unscrewed or painted over, but the shape, the lock, the handles and any stamped numbers can point to a maker. Send us photos of the door, the lock and the inside and we’ll tell you what we can.
The lock says Chubb. Is it a Chubb safe?
Not necessarily. Chubb and Bramah sold locks to other makers, so look for the maker’s plate on the door rather than the name on the keyhole cover.