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Most gun safes on the market offer a right-hand swing as their primary option or, more likely, their only option for a door swing. I have found that every imported safe today has a hinge on the right (with no left swing option available). However, some USA-made manufacturers offer the hinge on the left (left-hand swing), which we will discuss in today’s article!
Below is every modern gun-safe company that allows you to choose between a right-hand swing or a left-hand swing for whatever reason (we’ll talk about the benefits of a left-hand swing later on). Let’s get into this.
1. Fort Knox Vaults
- Origin: Domestic
- Founded: Unknown
- Owner: Unknown
- Warranty: Lifetime
Fort Knox has long been one of my favorite gun safe manufacturers. This is mainly due to the massive amount of customizations they allow; that said, a left-hand hinge is an easy option for any Fort Knox full-size safe you can purchase, everything from the basic Spartan safe to the Legend Vault. You can quickly build one of their safes on their website and select the left-swing hinge during the build process (you might also want to check out the 2S Crane Hinge)
Make sure to read through this article before ordering to make sure you know which style you would prefer. Thankfully this is also not an additional cost, so anyone can customize their safe the way they want without issues.
2. Sun Welding Safe Co
- Origin: Domestic
- Founded: 1980
- Owner: Unknown
- Warranty: Lifetime
This USA-made gun safe manufacturer is the only one with the left-side hinge as the 1st and standard option rather than the right-sided hinge.
From what I have found, the reasoning behind this is that the founder believed that it is, in fact, better to have the door swing to the left because most of the population is right-handed, meaning they should be able to open the safe with their left hand, and reach for the firearm and get it quickly with their dominant right hand. Regardless, you can choose either the left or right hinge side for no extra cost!
Sun Welding Safes is one of the best budget USA-made gun safes out there, as they have many of the same options as the Fort Knox above, but at a lower price point. Of course, that comes at a price, as they don’t have the aesthetics of Fort Knox.
3. Vault Pro USA
- Origin: Domestic
- Founded: Unknown
- Owner: Tony Darling
- Warranty: Lifetime
While you may be unable to customize the safe on their website, Vault Pro (much like Fort Knox, or even more so), you can completely customize your safe to your liking, even on which side you prefer the hinge.
I have also seen the option to change sides on some retailer websites, so I know it is there, and it appears at no added cost. Either way, I recommend calling them to see what that would look like.
Vault Pro is well known in the industry as being one of the best gun safe companies and has some of the toughest and most secure safes. While I don’t enjoy their style, plenty of people do.
4. Champion Safe Co.
- Origin: Domestic
- Founded: 1999
- Owner: Ray Crosby
- Warranty: Lifetime
Champion Safes is one of Utah’s big four gun safe manufacturers, alongside Liberty, Browning, and Fort Knox. They create a unique safe style, with many models featuring multi-step doors. Speaking of doors, they are also one of the only manufacturers to allow you to swap the hinge over to the left side if you so need.
If you have yet to hear of Champion Safes, they are worth a check before making your final buy, or you can always get one of their white-label safes at this company right here.
5. American Security (AMSEC)
- Origin: Domestic & Import
- Founded: 1946
- Owner: Huntington Ingalls Industries
- Warranty: Lifetime
This company, sometimes known as Amsec, builds quite a few of its safes in America, meaning they can custom-build safes to order (unlike import safes). The BFX and BFII series allow for this left-hand-swing option on their safes.
Amsec is one of the best gun safe companies out there right now! While they may be more well known for their commercial safes, you can’t beat the price on their imported safes, and of course, their USA-made safes are an impressive feat of engineering, which is a unique type of fill for their fire rating.
Why would you need a left swing, left hinge door?
There are quite a few reasons someone would need a left-hinge door.
1. Space constraints
Space constraints are why many people will opt for a left swing door. If you have to nudge your safe up against a wall on the right side of a room, it is easier to open your door with the door handle hitting that wall or just the inability to open it all the way. However, if it is on the right wall but left hinged, you can easily swing the door open as far as you want without hitting a wall.
2. Double Safes
Owning two safes next to each other is the most common reason for having a safe with the hinge on the opposite side. Some people will buy two of the same safe and put them up next to each other. When this is done, you generally want them to swing in opposite directions to give a “French door” style of feel. It will look like a Snapsafe Titan XL, with two safes instead of one.
3. More comfortable opening
Some people may want their door to open the opposite way from the standard just because it feels better for them. As mentioned with Sun Welding earlier in this article, some people believe it is better to have the hinge on the left, as most people are right-hand dominant, and it’s better to open with your left hand and reach for the contents with your right hand. Regardless, it’s personal preference here.
Conclusion
For whatever reason, you may be shopping for a left-hand hinge gun safe; I hope this article helped you out on your hunt for the best regarding this critical feature. While imported gun safes may not have this option, it is much more prevalent in the custom-built, USA-made gun safe arena.
