Mechanical Lock - Centered Handle with Keyed Lock



Hi, my name’s Jess, and if you need help locking or unlocking your safe, you’ve come to the right place. First, let me congratulate you on having purchased a Liberty Safe. The best built safe on the planet.

Now, because this lock model has some unique features, let me explain how it works. This lock model provides two levels of security. You can lock your safe using the combination and you can lock the dial itself using the keys. Your combination is the primary means of keeping your safe protected. Because the combination is yours and yours alone, it’s both unique and extremely secure.

Locking the dial on the other hand is quick and easy, but it provides a rather low level of security. That’s because there could be other keys out there like yours.

You might be asking, “What good is it then?”

Well, for example, you might use your key to quickly unlock and relock your dial while you’re cleaning and returning each one of your guns to the safe. This way you can quickly get into your safe multiple times without having to dial in the combination every time. For this reason, I like to call your dial key a day lock. It’s quick and convenient, but it’s not highly secure. Consequently, your key is only intended to be used as a quick lock convenience, not as the primary security for your safe.

As you can see, each of these options offer different degrees of standalone protection. However, using them together can provide you with a little higher security. Use these options as best fits your situation.

Unlocking Your Safe

Now, if you’re ready, let me help you get your safe unlocked.

To unlock your dial, you need the keys. You’ll find the keys inside the manila envelope attached to the front of your safe door.

Now, let me show you how to unlock the dial on your safe.

There are four steps to unlocking the dial.

Let’s take a look at step one.

  1. Insert Key: Begin by locating the key slot on your dial and making sure it’s positioned with the slot at the bottom. Then, with the jagged edge of the key pointed down, insert the key into the slot like this.
  2. Turn Key: In step 2, you’ll rotate the key 180 degrees to the right, or clockwise. Start by gripping the dial before rotating the key. This will keep the dial from turning while the key rotates. Once done, extract the key from the dial, which leaves the jagged edge of the key facing up.
  3. Turn Dial: Now that you’ve turned the key, in step 3, you’ll rotate the dial to the right. As you approach the number 95, you’ll notice some resistance. That’s because the dial is lifting the locking bolt inside the safe. So, just keep rotating through the resistance until the dial stops, which will occur near the number 85. If, however, the dial rotates past 80, then an error has occurred and you’ll need to start over, beginning with step one.
  4. Open Door: The first three steps you just performed unlocked your dial. So all that’s left is to open your safe door. First, locate the handle hub on the door. The spokes that screw into the hub were placed inside your safe at the factory. So, if this is your first time opening the safe, you’ll need to open the door without having the spokes to help you.

    Next, place your hand on the door and push forward. This releases the pressure created by the protective foam that’s located in the corners of the door. And pushing makes it easier to turn the hub. Once the foam is removed, you’ll no longer need to push on the door to open it.

    Now, while continuing to push, grasp the hub with your other hand while rotating it to the right, or clockwise. Continue to rotate until the hub stops. At this point, you can stop pushing. And, by pulling the hub towards you, the door will open. That’s all there is to it!

    If, however, you found that your hub would not turn, it probably means your safe is also locked with the combination.

Okay, let’s summarize the steps to unlocking your dial.

In unlocking the dial, you’ll start by inserting the key into its slot with the teeth down. Then rotate the key 180 degrees to the right, or clockwise.

Next, rotate the dial to the right until it stops.

Finally, push on the door, rotate the door hub to the right, and pull out on the hub to open the door.

It’s simply that easy!

How to Lock Your Dial on Your Liberty Safe

Now that you know how to unlock your dial, you’ll also need to know how to lock it. I can show you how.

Locking the dial is even easier than unlocking it.

  1. Close Door: Before closing your safe door, make sure the locking pins are retracted. If they’re not, rotate the door handle to the right, or clockwise.
  2. Engage Pins: Then close the door and engage the pins by rotating the door handle left, or counterclockwise until it stops. With the pins engaged, the dial is ready to be locked.
  1. Rotate the dial left: You lock the dial by rotating it left, or counterclockwise.
  2. Stop Before Zero: However, before the dial reaches 0, you need to stop. Because passing zero will lock the combination. And at this point, we just want to lock the dial.
  3. Insert Key and Rotate Left: Next, you’ll want to insert and rotate the key. Grasp the dial so it won’t turn, insert the key into its slot, and rotate the key 180 degrees to the left, or counterclockwise.
  4. Extract Key: Finally, pull the key out of its slot. That’s all there is to it!

How to Use Your Combination to Open Your Liberty Safe

In using your combination to open your safe, there are a couple of things you need to know.

First, if you don’t know the combination to your lock, you can find it in the use and care manual on page 2. You’ll want to keep this combination in a secure place, other than inside your safe.

Second, though the dial on your lock looks something like this, I’m going to use this graphic to help me illustrate how your lock operates. But don’t worry, your lock works exactly the same way.

Third, I need you to take a look at the dial of your lock. You’ll notice that just like this graphic, there are two marks near the top. The top mark is called the opening index. To dial in any number of your combination, you’ll need to turn the dial until the tick mark for that number aligns with the opening index.

The mark on the left, we use at the factory for setting your combination, so you don’t need to pay any attention to it.

My last tip for you is this: as you dial in each number of your combination, make sure you’re looking at the dial from straight on. That way you will perfectly align each number in the combination with the opening index.

Now, what do you say I show you how to open your safe using the combination?

You probably remember the lockers we had back in high school, right? Well, this lock works a little differently than those did. Let me show you.

There are five steps to unlocking your combination.

  1. First Number

Let’s assume that your combination is 25 - 8 - 72. The beginning step in the process is to enter the first number in the combination: 25.

And to enter the 25, we’ll take a total of four rotations of the dial to the left, or counterclockwise. Let’s take a look.

Before you start, make sure the zero on your dial is aligned with the opening index.

Next, taking note of the tick mark next to the 25, rotate the dial, passing the 25 three times. On the fourth turn, you’ll want to slow down a little, stopping on the 25 when it aligns with the opening index.

  1. Second Number

Now that we’ve dialed in the 25, we need to enter the second number in our combination, which is 8.

This time, instead of four rotations, it will take us a total of three rotations of the dial. And we’ll do it by rotating the dial in the opposite direction from before, this time to the right, or clockwise.

Here’s how:

Looking on the dial, find the tickmark for the number 8, then rotate the dial to the right, passing the 8 two times. On the third rotation, slow down and stop once the 8 is aligned with the opening index.

  1. Third Number

The third number in our combination is 72. To enter this number, we’ll rotate the dial a total of two times while turning the dial to the left, or counterclockwise.

I’ll show you. On the dial, find the tickmark for the 72. Then rotate the dial left until it passes the 72 once. On the second and final turn, slow down, stopping on the 72.

Now, we’re almost done.

  1. Turn/Stop

You’ve now dialed in all the numbers of the combination. So only two steps left. In step 4, you’ll be rotating the dial to the right, or clockwise, for less than one turn.

Let’s walk through it.

Begin by rotating the dial clockwise. As you near 95, the dial will get a little harder to turn. That’s because the dial is lifting up the locking bolt inside the safe. So, continue rotating through the resistance until the dial stops, which will occur somewhere near 85. Your combination is now unlocked!

If, however, the dial rotates past 80, then an error has occurred and you’ll need to re-enter the combination.

  1. Open Door

With the combination unlocked, all that’s left to do is open the door. Begin by locating the hub of your door handle. The spokes that screw into the hub are inside your safe, so this first time you’ll need to open the door by turning the hub only.

Place your hand on the door and push in. While continuing to push, grasp the hub with your other hand and rotate the hub to the right, or clockwise.

You’ll find it will stop somewhere around a half turn. At this point, you can stop pushing. And by pulling the hub towards you, the door will open. You’ve got it!

With the door open, you can remove the styrofoam protectors in the corners of your door. And in the future, you won’t need to push on the door in order to open it.

Now, let’s summarize by reviewing the steps to opening your combination.

The lock combination in our example was 25 - 8 - 72.

  1. In step 1, you made a total of four rotations of the dial to the left, or counterclockwise. You started on zero, passing the 25 three times, and on the fourth turn you stopped on the 25.
  2. In step 2, you rotated the dial to the right, or clockwise, for a total of three turns, first passing the 8 two times and then stopping on the 8 for the third turn.
  3. Step 3 had you rotate the dial to the left for a total of two turns. You passed the 72 once and you stopped at the 72 on the second turn.
  4. Having finished inputting the combination, in step 4, you turned the dial right, or clockwise, until it stopped.
  5. And finally, for step 5, you took hold of the door hub, rotating it right until it stopped, and then pulling the door open.

Notice the pattern of decreasing the number of dial turns with each step. Four turns, three turns, two turns, and one turn. And you probably also noticed that with each step, you turned the dial in opposite directions. Left, right, left, and right. However, when you rotated the hub to open the door, you turned the hub right.

As you memorize your lock combination, keeping these patterns in mind should help.

How to Lock Your Combination on Your Liberty Safe

Now that you know how to unlock your combination, let me show you how to lock it.

If this is your first time locking your safe, you’ll want to practice locking and unlocking the combination a number of times. However, make sure you’ve practiced with your safe door open until you feel comfortable.

In addition, while practicing, your door needs to be open at a 90-degree angle. Otherwise, when you turn the handle, the locking pins will hit your door jam and possibly cause damage.

Now, let me show you how to lock your safe using the combination.

  1. Close Door

Before closing your safe door, make sure the locking pins have been retracted. If they’re extended, rotate the door handle to the right, or clockwise, until the handle stops. You can then close the door.

  1. Engage Pins

With the door closed, engage the pins by rotating the handle left, or counterclockwise, until it stops. This secures your door.

  1. Rotate Dial Left

Finally, rotate your dial to the left, or counterclockwise. This clears the combination, thereby locking the door.

  1. Try Turning Handle

Nevertheless, I make it a habit of double-checking that my door is locked by trying to turn the door handle. If the handle will not turn, then I know my safe is locked and my valuables are secure.

By the way, when rotating your dial, be careful not to spin it rapidly, as this can cause damage to the lock.

That’s all it takes to lock your combination!