The Forum at Handcuffs.Org

Oregon Boot/Gardner's Shackle Available

28 visible archived posts · 28 preserved total · topic ID 1282

chaosmaster 17 Apr 2006

I have just listed an Oregon Boot/Gardner's Shackle on eBay.

It is complete with weight donut, support, demo shoe, and key.
Note: Key only engages lock on one side.

For more information please see:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... %3AIT&rd=1

Thanks
Lonny

Edri 18 Apr 2006

Afraid I wont be bidding on it anytime this century.Lil too pricey for my taste. Who pays that kind of money for a collectable?

Edri

stan willis 18 Apr 2006

REAL collectors pay that kind of money...and more.
Stan

Noah Webster 18 Apr 2006

I do not know how much a collecAble is worth, but a collectIble is worth that kind of money.

Noah

stan willis 18 Apr 2006

I'm not sure why we are hung up on the term "collectible". Many old handcuffs and restraints are Museum Quality Antiques. I've never considered them collectibles. To me a collectible is something you can buy at the corner store, and is marketed by the manufacturer as a "collectible". Good example is the Beanie Baby or Lladro. Cuffs are collectors items, not collectibles.
I realize that the price of the Boot and other restraints pretty much limits the purchase to advanced collectors who have the money and are willing to spend it.
Stan

larho01 18 Apr 2006

The Oregon Boot is a very rare piece which all long time collectors knows very well.
Only REAL collectors will open the wallet wide enough to get them. I have one myself and I once had to pay very much to get it. And... they are not getting cheaper by waiting... Rare collectibles are expensive regardless of what you are collecting.

Lars

Unknown / guest 18 Apr 2006

Stan, sorry for misusing the word collectibles. Handcuffs were never ment to be collected at the time they were manufactured. Since I'm Swedish I sometimes misuse the English language against better knowledge. From now on I will refer to my handcuffs as collectors items.

Lars

stan willis 18 Apr 2006

Hi Lars:
Your English and spelling is better than many of the Americans who use this board. It is not incorrect use of the word to call cuffs collectibles. It is my personal feeling that cuffs are not collectibles, but are collectors items. I'm sure some will disagree with me.
Stan

Mark Lyons 18 Apr 2006

I used to collect coins (still have them, but have not added to the collection in a long time) and bought a majority of them for a few bucks. These can be considered as collectibles and I wished that one day I could own at least one coin from each denomination starting with the 1/2 cent piece which is fairly expensive in nice condition. Any semi-serious collector could save up and be able to afford one. As one moves up in denomination and passes the silver dollars, it gets much more expensive to collect. If one wanted a 2 1/2 dollar gold piece, they better be prepared to spend some serious money. 5 , 10, and 20 dollar gold pieces would be the equivalent of the Oregon Boot.
The moral of my analogy here is that one has to ask how committed they are to collecting whatever it is that they collect.
If one is very committed, then they know that they will have to pay the price to upgrade their collection.

mark
O--O

Cindi 18 Apr 2006

#10

Hi
I have a "somewhat" replica boot in the making just for a display Item. It is "not" exact. It was recently displayed at a Famous Prison Museum.
People found it most interesting

I'll try to get someone to post a pic here.

Brad Darling 19 Apr 2006

#11

I agree with Stan. Handcuffs long ago left the "miscellaneous collectible" category with some items reaching four and five digits (in dollars). And most anything of interest well over $100.

I have four other areas that I collect in and cuffs are right up there in value with the best of them. And a lot of times I pass in one of the areas to save money for a pair of cuffs I want.

It might seem like an odd hobby to the uninitiated, but it is here to stay and I haven't seen any prices go down. Best of all, thanks to folks like Joe, the literature base is increasing substantially and eventually there will be enough educated folks that our collections will no longer be to, "add a little spice to the relationship, haw, haw, haw" (barf).

Brad

Ian McColl 19 Apr 2006

#12

Hi Cindi, copy boots make a great display item and draw interest from many people. The Late Stanley Smyth ( who wrote a nice book on his restraint collection) made several different types from wood and fitted locks where necessary. He painted these silver. Look forward to your photo.

Ian

Joe Lauher 19 Apr 2006

#13

Here is Cindini's picture. Looks nice.
Joe

Cindi 19 Apr 2006

#14

Hi Ian
This Donut weight is believed to be some type of Old Bearing. It was brought over from England. When it was one piece I put a chain through it to use as a weight for Underwater escapes. When Escape artist Weasel Dandaw and his wife visited Florida he commented how it reminded him of an Oregon Boot weight. Well, that;s all it took, The bearing was cut in half and the process began.
It appears to have some type of BallBearing locking method? I have been trying to find a detailed diagram of lock inside.

Regards,
Cindi

DennisWeb 20 Apr 2006

#15

If you have three of the same thing, that you had to search for in finding, youre a collector!
The mind of a collector cant be easily defined. The reason I collect is my own. The reasons someone would pay colossal amounts of money to own something is infinite. That is part of collecting. What is it worth to you, to have & to hold till death do you part?
Dennisweb

Ian McColl 20 Apr 2006

#16

Hi Cindi, nice chuck of metal, it appears heavy! I had a circular boot made for me many years ago. All machine made and locking like a regular boot, never thought of using a large bearing and then splitting it. Great idea.

I would like to know more on the locking method. thanks for getting the photo up so soon.

cheers

Ian

Cindi 20 Apr 2006

#17

Ian
Reading over my last message I can see where it can be confusing, Sorry. I meant that the "original" boot seemed to have some type of dome head or ball shaped insert as a locking mechanism. I have never been in the very presence of one of the boots. Have only studied photos available via online. I printed these out for a machinist and he claims he can make the same/similar system if I gave him the Key first.
So to answer the question... Yes it is heavy but No it has'nt a locking mechanism as of yet. In fact the Bearing diameter is a bit too small but this will be expanded by adding small fabricated sections to each half.

Cindi

Mark Lyons 22 Apr 2006

#18

A few years ago, I watched an Alfred Hitchcock episode on TV and it was a story about a prisoner being transported by a police sergeant on a train. I recall the name of the episode as being titled "The Oregon Boot".
After picking up my first boot (they ARE heavy) a couple of years ago, I was interested in seeing this show again and possibly buying a VHS or DVD copy. I have been searching high and low for this and could not come up with a single lead. I wrote to several owners of some Hitchcock websites and they all insisted that there was no such episode. One suggested that I research the Twilight Zone. I did try that as I felt that perhaps I only dreamed that I saw such an episode and that I was actually living in the Twilight Zone.
Today, I got to realize that I am living on the planet as I finally ended my quest. The below information appeared on TV.com which I found on a Google search. I was willing to bet that the title was "Oregon Boot" but it turns out to be "Manacled".
My next project is to find this on VHS or DVD. A friend is helping me find an original 35mm film copy as well. I hope to have this episode in my library very soon. If anyone is interested in a copy, please let me know. (my film friend is also working on copies of the Houdini-Radner auction for me, but speediness is foreign to him) Maybe this will all happen by Jan. 27 as it will be its 50th TV anniversary.

First aired: 1/27/1957
Ben Rockwell is transporting prisoner named Steve Fontaine by train. Fontaine manacled by an "Oregon Boot". Rockwell has the only key. During the trip, Fontaine manages to convince Rockwell to let him go, but Rockwell changes his mind. He and Fontaine struggle and Rockwell is shot and killed. When Fontaine finds the key to the boot, he sees that it has been destroyed by the bullet and cannot free him.

Writer: Stirling Silliphant
Director: Robert Stevens
Guest star: Gary Merrill (Sgt. Rockwell), Rusty Lane (Conductor) , William Redfield (Steve Fontaine), Betty Harford (Waitress), Edith Evanson (Pickpocket), Gary Hunley (Little Boy), Kay Stewart (Mother)
Community Score9.0- Superb

The TV.com site has a rating system and this show was given a 9.0, so this is among the very best of the Hitchcock episodes. I will try to add "The Handcuff" to the DVD when this finally happens. This is the I Love Lucy episode where she and Ricky get locked up in Marlin/Pinkertons.

Glad to be back on Earth
Mark
O--O

Ian McColl 22 Apr 2006

#19

Hi Mark, similar theme but different show. I once saw a TV show where a prisoner is transported on an aircraft and
"regulations" stipulated he has to be restrained. The cop fastened a lead shot filled bag to one of his ankles and padlocked it closed. Strange that inside an air plane he didn't have far to run. It was a 1970's TV show or tele-movie.

Ian

RMP 22 Apr 2006

#20

Hi ,
Again similar theme but different show Secret Army was made around the late 70's and was to do with WW 2 evation lines in Belgium. There must be at least forty 1 hour episodes and in one brief schene in Gestapo Headquaters there are around a dozen pairs of Berliners hanging on a rack. I've since gone though each episode looking for the schene unfortunately I cannot find it but.....It's there somewhere.

Cindi 22 Apr 2006

#21

Well I am sure you guys have seen "ConAir". Film about Prisoner transport on an Aircraft that's similar to a modern day Slave ship but with wings. Includes Nicolas Cage and Malcovich. Ya' gott'a see it

C

Ian McColl 22 Apr 2006

#22

Con-air was a good film for seeing lots of cuffs in the one place. It would be nice to have a plane to house a collection and fly around to other collectors at the same time. The worst thing about cuff is the weight, hard to take a lot any where to show off.

Another great cuff is in the movie KRULL but it a fantasy cuff.

Ian

Cindi 25 Apr 2006

#23

Lonny
Sorry the Fur did'nt fly on ebay for your Boot. But Please let us know if you list it again.

Good luck,
Cindi

chris 25 Apr 2006

#24

hi all. why "oregon boot" , does anyone know why that name was picked?, were/are there lots of criminals running around in circles in that state?....

Stan Willis 25 Apr 2006

#25

It was invented by the Warden at Oregon State Prison. Other similar devices were invented about the same time. An early newspaper article referred to it as the Oregon Boot.

Cindi 25 Apr 2006

#26

The concept for the Boot was spurred on by major flaws in the Oregon Prison's perimeter wall. After a number of escapes and/or attempts the Warden got busy on the design. Serious injuries are on report with regard to the use of the boot. It is no wonder it's use has ceased long ago.

Cindi

Jonathan 17 Sep 2010

#27

Is there an update on what the actual locking mechanism is on this restraint.

LK 18 Sep 2010

#28

I STILL HAVE HIM AS HAVING IT LISTED :
Item number: 130432367977

LK D~D