Monthly Archives: December 2015

New Year’s Resolutions: Improve Home Security

I’m not big on New Year’s Resolutions. One reason is that if I had any flaws I would have fixed them already. The other reason is that most resolutions are never fully met. If you resolve to lose 20 pounds and keep it off, you never really finish. If you resolve to “be a better person”, you never get to quit being good, or you blow your resolution commitment.

If, however, you want to do something meaningful and have an end point at which time you can say “I achieved my resolution” — then I have an idea. Do that home security upgrade that you have been thinking about. It could be installing security cameras, installing deadbolts, putting motion activated lights outside your house, locking up papers and jewelry in a fire/burglary safe, securing your guns in a gun safe, properly protecting your coin or stamp collection, etc.

Take some time to study what you need, spend enough money to buy quality products, and then arrange for installation. By the middle of January you can sit back with a cold beer and feel proud that you accomplished your resolution. No guilt for the rest of the year! Besides, if you try to be a better person than you really are, that’s likely to cause more stress, which might make you eat more, resulting in gain weight, then you feel bad so you start to drink more than you should, which causes . . .

Have a great 2016!

Customize Your Fort Knox Gun Safe

Most brands of gun safes are mass produced with little or no flexibility in colors or options. Fort Knox gun safes (excluding the Maverick series) can be customized to create your own one-of-kind safe that truly reflects your needs and taste. Here are some of the options Fort Knox gives you:

  • Nine sizes of gun safes
  • Internal or external hinges, on the left or right
  • Three textured paint colors and thirteen high gloss paint colors
  • Two tone paint schemes or custom blended colors
  • Eight interior configurations, with five fabric selections
  • Door organizers or Velcro compatible inside door panels
  • Two interior light packages
  • Multiple different graphics packages
  • Up-graded fire protection
  • Add extra steel to the safe body and/or the door – you decide how much
  • Add stainless steel or Armaknox Ballistic AR500 steel
  • Add corner bolts to units that don’t normally have them
  • Pull handles to make opening a heavy safe door easier
  • Locks: Group 2, Group 1, electronic or redundant
  • All kinds of accessories and extras: Mirror inside back wall; jewelry drawers; pistol pockets & storage bags; carpeted pedestals; humidity control, etc.

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The safe shown is a Fort Knox Guardian 6031 in Champaign color, with black chrome hardware & trim, and beige interior. Options include external hinges, pull handle, raised double diamond graphics, electronic lock, internal lights and an inner steel lining of 10 gauge steel. Standard features include the 5 spoke handle, corner bolts, door organizer, internal electric plug, etc.

Everyone’s needs and preferences are different: You store gold, your friend stores silver; you have 47 valuable rare rifles, your friend has 5 low end shotguns; you like black, he likes green; your safe will be a showpiece where everyone sees it, his will be hidden in the furnace room; you keep lots of cash at home, he doesn’t. You need more protection than your friend and you want to project your personality. Don’t buy the same (inferior) gun safe that everyone else buys at the local box store. Work with your Fort Knox dealer to design something special – something with real protection and style.

Used Round Door / Square Door Safes

In past years a particular type of two-door commercial safe was common in grocery stores. A large fire rated compartment, for cash register trays and paper work, had a big square door. This compartment was usually on the bottom.

Large amounts of cash, like the day’s bank deposits, were kept in a small top compartment, which usually had a small round door. This high security money chest (usually TL rated) has a heavy plate steel body which is encased in about 200# of concrete.

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A single outer steel skin encloses both safes into a single unit. If the money chest is on top the units are top heavy and tricky to move. Weight requires these double units to be placed on concrete floors.

These units fell out of favor about twenty years ago because the high security compartment is too small. In addition, it is difficult to fit round doors with electronic locks. Stores seldom want these safes anymore, so that creates an opportunity for homeowners: Used round door /square door safes are readily available at safe shops for reasonable prices. Protect your personal papers from fire in the fire rated lower part, while your cash, silver and gold is safe from burglars in the high security money chest.