Safe Brands, From Bank Vaults to Gun Safes

By Michael Schiavone, owner of Aspire Safe and Lock · Updated October 31, 2026

Brands that turn up in Mike's work

Brands Mike has worked on:

• Mosler. An antique Mosler dial from Mike's bank vault work. Mosler was bought by Diebold in 2001.
• Diebold. A Diebold TL-30 rated safe in a back office, and an old Diebold safe rusted from years in a basement.
• Liberty. Gun safes with electronic locks and spoke handles.
• AMSEC (American Security). An AMSEC safe with a combination dial.
• Mesa. A Mesa depository safe with an electronic keypad.
• Sentinel. A gun cabinet: a budget-friendly way to keep firearms secured, lighter than a true gun safe.
• Herring-Hall-Marvin. An antique Herring-Hall-Marvin safe on casters.
• J. Baum Safe & Lock Co. An antique J. Baum safe lettered for Keystone Safe & Lock Co. of Philadelphia, with the name "Chas. G. Stahl" across the door.
• York Safe & Lock Co. Founded in York, PA in 1882, and a maker of bank vaults.
• Reliance.
• Sargent & Greenleaf style dial locks on commercial safes.

Old safes get their own page: inherited and antique safes. Bank equipment is covered at bank and vault services.

Common home and gun safe brands

Most residential calls involve a handful of brands sold at big-box and sporting goods stores. Mention of a brand here doesn't mean Mike is authorized by that company. For every one of them, the same rules apply: check the battery, don't spray anything into the lock, don't play with the wires, and never cut the hinges. See what to check when a safe won't open.

Liberty

Liberty gun safes turn up in Mike's work often, with electronic locks, mechanical dials and spoke handles. The usual calls are a keypad that just beeps, a lock that stopped after a battery change, or a spoke handle stripped by someone cranking on it. More at Liberty safe lockouts.

SentrySafe

SentrySafe makes many of the fire safes and small keypad safes found in homes, often holding passports, deeds and other papers people need quickly. Dead keypads and lost combinations are the common calls. More at SentrySafe lockouts.

AMSEC

AMSEC (American Security) builds home, gun and commercial safes with both dials and electronic locks. Mike has worked on AMSEC safes with combination dials.

Fort Knox, Cannon, Stack-On, Winchester and Browning

These gun safes generate the same searches over and over: "won't open with correct code," "just beeps," and "won't open after battery change." Most of those start with the battery. When the battery is good, the cause is usually a failed keypad or lock, or a handle that was forced and stripped. See gun safe service.

Honeywell and other small safes

Small fire and security boxes from Honeywell and similar brands lock people out the same ways: batteries, a failed keypad, or a lost key. See safe keys for lost keys.

The lock makers behind the safe

Here's something that surprises a lot of owners: the company on the safe door often didn't make the lock. Many safe brands use locks from a few lock makers:

• Sargent & Greenleaf (S&G) makes dial and electronic safe locks found on many home, gun and commercial safes. Some S&G keypads beep rapidly when the battery is low.
• LaGard, now part of dormakaba along with Kaba Mas, makes dial and electronic locks used on residential and commercial safes.
• SECURAM makes electronic locks used on many gun safes, including Liberty and Browning ProSteel models. SECURAM offers a recovery code service that is available only to registered locksmiths and safe specialists, not to owners directly.

That's why a photo of the keypad or dial is so useful. It tells Mike which lock he's dealing with, which matters as much as the name on the door. If you'd like to switch lock types, see electronic safe locks.