A steel security safe is a solid steel safe usually with no fire protection. These safes can rang in thickness from 1/16” to 1” or more. There are many steel safes on the market that range from 1/16” to 1/8” for the door and body thickness. These safes could easily be opened by an amateur with a hammer and crow bar in very little time. Safes made with these thin materials are only really good to keep the honest people out. If someone really wants in, they will likely get in with little effort.
Generally speaking, steel security safes that have less than a ½” door and a ¼” body are not very secure. When a safe has a ½” door and a ¼” body it is “B” rated for security and is the minimum that I recommend for anything of value to you. This type of safe will usually come with a group II combination lock or a UL rated electronic lock. A good “B” rated safe will have a relocker which usually is attached to the back cover of the lock to prevent someone from opening the safe by beating the lock off. A “B” rated safe should also have a hardplate which is made of very hard metal that is difficult to drill through. A hardplate helps protect the lock from drill attacks through the door. The bolts on these safe generally will range from ½” to 2 inches. Be sure your bolts are not made of hollow tube steel and are solid or the security of your safe may be compromised with little effort.
After the “B” rated safes are the “C” rated safes. If you had a “C” rated safe and a “B” rated safe that were the same size, the “C” rated safe would be about double the weight of the “B”. A “C” rated safe has a door of 1” thick solid steel and a body of ½”. A “C” rated safe is very secure and is the step below a high security safe. These safes will be very heavy. If you need a safe that is more secure than the “C” rated safe, take a look at our high security safes page.