There a handful of different lock types when dealing with safes. All of them are designed to do the exact same thing – protect your belongings and only give access to you.
With that being said, a first time home safe buyer can become a bit confused as to what they should go with. Normally, people looking to save some money will cheap out on a safe and get something from a lower quality brand. This is a good idea if you are ready to hide your safe in a great hiding spot. But, should you have the safe in a visible position, you’re going to want to have a sturdy, reliable lock in place.
There are 3 main types of locks used on almost all of the highest quality home safes out there today. They are;
- Combination Lock
- Electronic/Digital Keypad Lock
- Biometric Lock
If you have ever stepped foot inside of a hardware store or a store specializing in security, there is a really good chance that you have walked past all three.
Combination Locks – The Old School Method
Combination locks have been around for a while. If you are unsure what they are, they are a lock that has numbers on it, sometimes letters. Usually up to 40 that spin around, and should you get
the correct combination of numbers, it will open. They do not use keys, meaning you won’t lose any crucial pieces that are required to open your safe.
These are really popular in high schools for the lockers. Every year, students receive a new locker number plus a combo for their new lock.
This style of lock is still really appealing to a lot of people because of how easy to use they can be. It is the easiest to manufacture for security companies. It can also be argued that because almost everyone in any Western world country has used these locks prior to buying a safe, they will be able to use the safe out of the box without having to consult to the instruction manual.
Electronic/Digital Keypad Lock – Like A 1990s Sci-Fi Movie
Anyone who has watched a Sci-Fi movie from the 1990’s will have seen a digital keypad lock. The concept to the lock is quite simple. You hit the required numbers in sequence, and the lock opens
up. Leaving you free to store away or pull out any items sitting inside the safe that you need.
These electronic keypad locks shouldn’t be used by people with bad memories or memory problems. You need to memorize the code, and it is not recommended that you keep it written down. Should somebody you don’t trust find the piece of the paper with the code on it, you could find yourself in some trouble.
The good part about these locks is that you will never have to sit their fiddling around trying to get the right combination. It is a few simple button presses to gain access to your belongings.
Biometric Lock
Biometric technology has only recently become popular in the general public. Normally this kind of technology was reserved for governments or
companies with large amounts of cash to spend. Recently however; there has been a few companies making strides in making it more accessible to the everyday consumer.
Biometric locks are simply a fingerprint scanner. Of course they are tested heavily to ensure there are no fingerprints other than your own granted access. It’s as simple as it sounds, press your finger on the scanner, and you are in. Really no other way of explaining, it’s fast and very simple.
Although, they are usually a little more in price, which is no surprise to most people. The price tag will have more weight to It if you want the latest and the greatest.
So What Should You Go With?
This can be a difficult question to answer as everyone has different opinions on what a safe for their home should and shouldn’t do. In order to answer those, we recommend you check out our top rated home safes article to see what the best of security industry has to offer.
But, if you’re someone who isn’t overly worried about what you buy, then we’d recommend:
- Combo Lock for easy setting up + low faults
- Digital for the people who like electronic devices
- Biometric technology for people wanting the latest technology
There isn’t a set method to the madness. Either way – buy a safe from a top manufacturer with a decent warranty and it will be almost impossible for you to have gone wrong.
