The Safe Cracker
A while back I had the great pleasure of interviewing Rick Ammazzini, a celebrated (legal) safe-cracker, probably Canada’s best. Rick lives in Winnipeg and is in his forties. He has a day job, but he also has a calling “on the side”. A very unique one.
About ten years ago somebody gave him a combination lock with the challenge that nobody could open it. “Now,” he thought to himself, “that’s a challenge!” So Rick sat down to figure out how to crack it.
To be sure, there are online manuals and videos, which were of some help, but mostly Rick had to figure it out for himself, little by little. The first one took him seven days in his spare time. Most now take far less. He estimates he’s cracked over a hundred combination locks, including bank safes, all over North America. All legally, of course.
He explains that the principles involve the minor imperfections in the manufacturing process of the locks. “There’s no such thing as a perfect circle. Also, the lock is designed to be open, it wants to open. You just need to listen to it speak to you.”
Opening a lock is a process of logic and elimination, a matter of deduction. He listens for point touches, measures for tiny changes between the dial numbers, 0.25 or less. With a stethoscope he can be even more precise. “I get the lock to tell me.”
Like all great professionals, Rick invests in himself and his trade. Practice, practice, and more practice, reading, and thinking about first principles. As well, he works on making the work simpler and more effective, for example by designing a fulcrum-based device which exaggerates the points on the dial so that a more accurate reading can be had.
His keys to being the best? “Interest and dedication. It’s not a fluke. You need to know how to solve problems, persist, and rise to challenges. It’s mostly a matter of practice, trying to get better and better.”
So, how’s your version of safe cracking coming along?