What is Hardplate Steel?
A thick plate of good quality steel is pretty tough on its own. However, it can be made even stronger by going through a special heating process that gives it a much harder surface. These hardplates can be used as lock guards that provide additional security protection to keep your firearms and valuables safe from crooks.
Liberty uses two types of these anti-drill plates in our higher quality safes:
- Tripled-layered hardplate
- Ball-bearing hardplate
But wait, what about lock guard protection on an entry-level/economy safe? If you choose one of Liberty Safe’s budget-friendly safes, you are still protected with a hardplate lock guard.
Benefits that Hardplate Lock Guards Provide
Tripled-layered hardplate is just what it sounds like…three strong layers of hardplate steel that protects your safe’s lock and locking mechanism. So why do we use three layers rather than one?
Multiple layers of hardplate will chew up a drill bit quickly as it continues to shake, trying to get through the steel’s hard surface. In fact, when going through Underwriters Laboratories’ testing, their professional safe crackers could not get through the second layer of hardplate.
Ball-bearing hardplate is even tougher on a burglar’s drill bit. Numerous ball-bearings are encased into a piece of hardplate. When the crook tries to drill into your lock, he will be met with a very unpleasant surprise: Either his drill bit is going to snap, or it will keep spinning on those tiny steel bearings forever. And with most home burglaries occurring in less than 10 minutes, a thief is going to give up very quickly.
Liberty’s Safe Security Levels and Lock Guards
Liberty rates our safes according to eight security levels according to their security features, which includes our lock guards.
- Level 1 safes, like the Centurion, have a single hardplate lock guard.
- Level 2 safes, like the USA, have a tripled layered hardplate lock guard.
- Level 3 safes, like the Colonial and Fatboy 48, have a tripled layered hardplate lock guard.
- Level 4 safes, like the Franklin and Fatboy 64, have a tripled layered hardplate lock guard.
- Level 5 safes, like the Lincoln, have a ball-bearing hardplate lock guard.
- Level 6 safes, like the Classic Select, have a ball-bearing hardplate lock guard.
- Level 7 safes, like the Classic Plus, have a ball-bearing hardplate lock guard.
- Level 8 safes, like the Presidential and Magnum, have a ball-bearing hardplate lock guard.
See for yourself all the great security features, including lock guards that a Liberty safe has to offer.