Change from blacksmiths to mass production: When did it happen?

At what point did the making of handcuffs move away from the craft/metal worker to an approximation of the modern day assembly line/mass production?

And, how have the techniques changed? What has stayed the same? Still labor intensive?

Thanks.

Hi Monica, the subject or question has a very broad answer. As you can see with some handcuff still made in the east, they are nearly all still hand crafted ( blacksmithed)

The industrial revolution of start in 1700's, to simplify the making of many items which were once hammered and shaped in iron, mould techniques were improved and allowed for more complex designs, but each article made was hand machined ( parts filed and drilled) hand assembled and then hand finished ( polished etc) Even at this stage many items were not interchangeable and each piece was unique ( Tower handcuffs are a good example) even though they look the same, they are not and one key doesn't fit everyone.

To make it easier and quicker to make modern styles of handcuffs, the complex shape reverted back to simple ones which could be stamped out of sheet metal and then assembled.
I am not sure when this was started.

It seems to be different from product type to product type.
Jewerly has been cast for thousand of year and also weapons, axe head and spears etc. but at the same time these were and could be totally blacksmithed. it the same today depending on what technology is available to any given country.

Ian

At what point did the making of handcuffs move away from the craft/metal worker to an approximation of the modern day assembly line/mass production?

And, how have the techniques changed? What has stayed the same? Still labor intensive?

Thanks.

Thanks, Ian.

Yes, I figured during the industrial revolution, except that it seems like there are so many parts that need to be precisely fixed in order for cuffs to operate smoothly and that cuffs still need so much hands-on fab and assembly that, perhaps it is not as automated as many other industries have become. Would the modern day cuff shop be something like that of a watchmaker/assembler?

At what point did the making of handcuffs move away from the craft/metal worker to an approximation of the modern day assembly line/mass production?

And, how have the techniques changed? What has stayed the same? Still labor intensive?

Thanks.

Hi Monica, I have never visited a handcuff manufacturer but someone here might have and will let us know. I suspect that like many lock maker today some will be hand assembeled and other by computerised machines.

The new style of pawl in the S&W for example was patented as an easier way to assemble cuffs, so I could see this being done by machine.

The pawl of the Peerless i think would have to be hand fitted and the pivot hole aligned by hand before the pin put in.

I would like to know also if someone has seen how it's done.

Ian

At what point did the making of handcuffs move away from the craft/metal worker to an approximation of the modern day assembly line/mass production?

And, how have the techniques changed? What has stayed the same? Still labor intensive?

Thanks.

Hi Monica:

I've never been to a handcuff factory, but I've toured others (cars, guns, faucets, cameras). As I understand it, for any precision *metallic*, mechanical mechanism, you can never completely eliminate the need for hand finishing to some degree because the tools used to make the individual parts wear down themselves over time, even if they're carbide or diamond tipped. The result is that the part that is stamped/machined today will be slightly different from the one produced a month or even a few days later due to ordinary wear and tear on the dies and cutters. Hence, to get the various parts to properly interact, they have to be hand fitted.

With plastic injection molding, you avoid this problem, which is why so many items today have plastic gears, ratchets, levers and such.