after massive searches I just got my Sturdy gun Safe

keithhr · August 14, 2009, 01:35 AM

I've spent quite a bit of time reading about what makes a good gun safe as I've been searching for my own, and I found that there are a lot of major phony safe manufacturers using cheap materials and using over dramatized fire ratings to have at least something to claim for their safes. They just delivered my Sturdy Safe (sturdysafe.com) Many major safe builders use 12-16 gauge outer steel which offers virtually no protection against a common axe attack. Usually adding a bit more door thickness , never the less they wouldn't stop much of an attack period, but well disguised fire ratings are used as a ruse. So, a safe with an outer thickness of of just .0589 inches (16 gauge) to .1046 inches (12 gauge) this covers the majority of gun safe outer walls including safes up to $1800-$2000 safes with plaster board, gypsum sheathing or a foamed concrete inner layer, providing not much protection.
So the reason I'm writing this is I've read so much crap recently describing these woefully inadequate safe constructs I felt . I had to speak up. I just purchased a Sturdy safe with outer walls of .1793 thick walls (7 gauge ) with a front door of 5/16" thick. The safe is also made of one sheet with 12 -90 degree bends with a recessed door . It is actually a thing of beauty in the simplicity of it's construction. For the price of this safe, I paid less than $1000 before tax and shipping( unlucky for me they are made in my state so I paid taxes. One of the reasons I am writing this is I wanted to share my good fortune upon discovering this totally made in America company. The only body welds on this safe is for the top and bottom. The safe also uses far fewer locking components as they have placed the handle on the side in direct line with the locking bolts, so no elaborate cam locking structures.
I've never written a safe review but felt this was a substantial enough find to share it with people also interested in the best protection for their firearms that they can. I just bolted mine down today, I must admit that I didn't get the fire protection ( high temperature ceramic glass wool , actually two types compressed to 2" thickness) because I live just a couple of blocks from a fire station. There is a lot more I could have written but just check it our for yourselves, and see if you find it as cool as I did. I think it is unbelievable quality for the money , and granted some have complained of its industrial look on other forums, but I just put on some decals that came with it and it actually looks kind of cool. After reading how they build their safes I kept reading all the major player specs and kept coming back to this manufacturer, and I hope this helps someone else looking for a safe.

Double Naught Spy · August 14, 2009, 09:52 AM

Quote:

I must admit that I didn't get the fire protection ( high temperature ceramic glass wool , actually two types compressed to 2" thickness) because I live just a couple of blocks from a fire station.

So you are sure that if you have a fire, the responders will be coming from that fire station and that they won't otherwise be occupied?

keithhr · August 14, 2009, 09:58 AM

no, I can't be sure, but since I am awakened at all hours of the day and night by fire engines chugging past, I figure my chances are pretty good that they will respond , of course I still have the option of them sending me the firewall kit and taking care of that one item, but I am very pleased with the safe they sent, it was exactly what I was hoping for.

keithhr · August 15, 2009, 05:35 PM

I just wanted to mention that since so many major manufacturers use 12 ga for their outer layer plus whatever inner compositions they use, the seller which seemed to have pretty good specs wast he Zykan diamond eagle safe that had an outer layer of 10 ga with a 1/4" door available. It didn't come close to the 7 ga offered by Sturdy Safe, but better than many others. Had I not discovered the made in the USA Sturdy Safe, I would have give that a go. Frank, the owner was very nice and informative, however the Sturdy Safe simply offered overwhelming build quality compared to all of the other major manufacturers. I do think it is a bit underwhelming to simply be told that the
door is 2" thick total, same for the side walls giving no build construction in
their description. I would imagine I would tout the fire defense capability of the safe if it offered virtually nothing else in the way of actually keeping guns safe from thieves which is certainly more obvious, at least to me.

Skans · August 17, 2009, 07:28 AM

Sportsman Steel offers safes with 1/4" inch body and 1/4" steel in their doors as well. I agree, thicker steel makes a better safe. There are a couple of other manufacturers out there that make heavy walled gun safes, but I doubt that you could get one for under $1000.

Next safe I buy will have a 1/4" body.

keithhr · August 17, 2009, 01:17 PM

I called sportman steel to check it out, and they want $399 to up grade their 25"safe and then $550 to upgrade the 28" safe to 1/4" steel so the net prices go up to $1200 for the 25" safe and $1550 for the 28" safe, not bad, I paid $1060 for my safe plus $140 shipping and $98 tax, for a total of $1301 delivered price with a sidewall of .1800 and a door of 5/16" as their upgrade option and 5/16 goes beyond the steel gauge chart which only goes up to 3 gauge or .2391 in thickness which is just below 1/4" (.2500) in thickness. It's nice to know someone is at least offering the option. I specifically like their construction of the door by not centering the handle they eliminate all the fancy offset locking cams which that requires. Of course to get my safe with the fireproof option it would have cost an additional $300 as well. Since I have a water heater on one side and a furnace on the other side it kind of eliminates axe or cutting sidewall attacks because mine is also expansion anchored into the concrete. I hate having buyers remorse when I buy anything and the best way to avoid that is by doing my homework. Amsec's $1700 safe still uses 12 gauge sidewall construction but they gloss over that by giving the overall thickness of a couple of inches after including fire insulation. The field is surely crowded with pretenders, and although my safe door didn't include a fancy3 or 5 spoke door handle, maybe I can special order one to make my safe look more official LOL>

August 14, 2009, 01:35 AM	#1
keithhr Junior Member Join Date: August 4, 2009 Posts: 4	after massive searches I just got my Sturdy gun Safe I've spent quite a bit of time reading about what makes a good gun safe as I've been searching for my own, and I found that there are a lot of major phony safe manufacturers using cheap materials and using over dramatized fire ratings to have at least something to claim for their safes. They just delivered my Sturdy Safe (sturdysafe.com) Many major safe builders use 12-16 gauge outer steel which offers virtually no protection against a common axe attack. Usually adding a bit more door thickness , never the less they wouldn't stop much of an attack period, but well disguised fire ratings are used as a ruse. So, a safe with an outer thickness of of just .0589 inches (16 gauge) to .1046 inches (12 gauge) this covers the majority of gun safe outer walls including safes up to $1800-$2000 safes with plaster board, gypsum sheathing or a foamed concrete inner layer, providing not much protection. So the reason I'm writing this is I've read so much crap recently describing these woefully inadequate safe constructs I felt . I had to speak up. I just purchased a Sturdy safe with outer walls of .1793 thick walls (7 gauge ) with a front door of 5/16" thick. The safe is also made of one sheet with 12 -90 degree bends with a recessed door . It is actually a thing of beauty in the simplicity of it's construction. For the price of this safe, I paid less than $1000 before tax and shipping( unlucky for me they are made in my state so I paid taxes. One of the reasons I am writing this is I wanted to share my good fortune upon discovering this totally made in America company. The only body welds on this safe is for the top and bottom. The safe also uses far fewer locking components as they have placed the handle on the side in direct line with the locking bolts, so no elaborate cam locking structures. I've never written a safe review but felt this was a substantial enough find to share it with people also interested in the best protection for their firearms that they can. I just bolted mine down today, I must admit that I didn't get the fire protection ( high temperature ceramic glass wool , actually two types compressed to 2" thickness) because I live just a couple of blocks from a fire station. There is a lot more I could have written but just check it our for yourselves, and see if you find it as cool as I did. I think it is unbelievable quality for the money , and granted some have complained of its industrial look on other forums, but I just put on some decals that came with it and it actually looks kind of cool. After reading how they build their safes I kept reading all the major player specs and kept coming back to this manufacturer, and I hope this helps someone else looking for a safe.

August 14, 2009, 09:58 AM	#3
keithhr Junior Member Join Date: August 4, 2009 Posts: 4	sturdy safe no, I can't be sure, but since I am awakened at all hours of the day and night by fire engines chugging past, I figure my chances are pretty good that they will respond , of course I still have the option of them sending me the firewall kit and taking care of that one item, but I am very pleased with the safe they sent, it was exactly what I was hoping for.

August 15, 2009, 05:35 PM	#4
keithhr Junior Member Join Date: August 4, 2009 Posts: 4	safe that wound up second in my practical searach I just wanted to mention that since so many major manufacturers use 12 ga for their outer layer plus whatever inner compositions they use, the seller which seemed to have pretty good specs wast he Zykan diamond eagle safe that had an outer layer of 10 ga with a 1/4" door available. It didn't come close to the 7 ga offered by Sturdy Safe, but better than many others. Had I not discovered the made in the USA Sturdy Safe, I would have give that a go. Frank, the owner was very nice and informative, however the Sturdy Safe simply offered overwhelming build quality compared to all of the other major manufacturers. I do think it is a bit underwhelming to simply be told that the door is 2" thick total, same for the side walls giving no build construction in their description. I would imagine I would tout the fire defense capability of the safe if it offered virtually nothing else in the way of actually keeping guns safe from thieves which is certainly more obvious, at least to me.

August 17, 2009, 01:17 PM	#6
keithhr Junior Member Join Date: August 4, 2009 Posts: 4	the 1/4" upgrade isn't bad compared to the competition I called sportman steel to check it out, and they want $399 to up grade their 25"safe and then $550 to upgrade the 28" safe to 1/4" steel so the net prices go up to $1200 for the 25" safe and $1550 for the 28" safe, not bad, I paid $1060 for my safe plus $140 shipping and $98 tax, for a total of $1301 delivered price with a sidewall of .1800 and a door of 5/16" as their upgrade option and 5/16 goes beyond the steel gauge chart which only goes up to 3 gauge or .2391 in thickness which is just below 1/4" (.2500) in thickness. It's nice to know someone is at least offering the option. I specifically like their construction of the door by not centering the handle they eliminate all the fancy offset locking cams which that requires. Of course to get my safe with the fireproof option it would have cost an additional $300 as well. Since I have a water heater on one side and a furnace on the other side it kind of eliminates axe or cutting sidewall attacks because mine is also expansion anchored into the concrete. I hate having buyers remorse when I buy anything and the best way to avoid that is by doing my homework. Amsec's $1700 safe still uses 12 gauge sidewall construction but they gloss over that by giving the overall thickness of a couple of inches after including fire insulation. The field is surely crowded with pretenders, and although my safe door didn't include a fancy3 or 5 spoke door handle, maybe I can special order one to make my safe look more official LOL>

August 17, 2009, 07:28 AM	#5
Skans Senior Member Join Date: November 20, 2008 Posts: 11,132	Sportsman Steel offers safes with 1/4" inch body and 1/4" steel in their doors as well. I agree, thicker steel makes a better safe. There are a couple of other manufacturers out there that make heavy walled gun safes, but I doubt that you could get one for under $1000. Next safe I buy will have a 1/4" body.