FN Herstal Magnetic Handcuffs

Hello, I would like to have information on the FN Herstal Magnetic Handcuffs. are it of good Handcuffs? Are it solid? Are it secure and difficult to open without the key?

Hi SA,

These cuffs were manufactured in Belgium during the late 1960 to early 1970's by Fabrique Nationale. They are of a swing beside design and use a cylindrical magnet to release the bow. Any magnet that fits into the recess will retract the pin which allows the cuffs to unlock.

They may have worked on a draughts mans drawing board but in reality they suffered from practical problems which resulted in their production ceasing.
They were difficult to remove when in use as movement of the prisoners wrist could easily cause the magnet to lose its hold causing the locking pin to spring back into place resulting in the cuff relocking. Also I should imagine that as any suitable size magnet could unlock them they're not that secure.

As a child I had a bicycle lock which used an almost identical key.

Hope this may help.

Hello, I would like to have information on the FN Herstal Magnetic Handcuffs. are it of good Handcuffs? Are it solid? Are it secure and difficult to open without the key?

They can be rapped open and they can be shimmed open.

Steve Santini www.thedarkmaster.com

Hello, I would like to have information on the FN Herstal Magnetic Handcuffs. are it of good Handcuffs? Are it solid? Are it secure and difficult to open without the key?

Hi,

great handcuffs for any collection - really golden item, but not for police service. They are nicely made, very interesting construction, but I would never use them as a policeman.
Difficult to say how much withstand.

Bye

Josef
http://cz-pouta.wz.cz

Hello, I would like to have information on the FN Herstal Magnetic Handcuffs. are it of good Handcuffs? Are it solid? Are it secure and difficult to open without the key?

The most interesting thing I find in FN handcuffs, besides the non-standard mechanism, is the material from which they've been made - titanium aloy, I know only one more manufacturer (AHC) made cuffs from this metal.

Hello, I would like to have information on the FN Herstal Magnetic Handcuffs. are it of good Handcuffs? Are it solid? Are it secure and difficult to open without the key?

Thanks you all for your response.

Hello, I would like to have information on the FN Herstal Magnetic Handcuffs. are it of good Handcuffs? Are it solid? Are it secure and difficult to open without the key?

I found this old thread while doing a search on Titanium and handcuffs and wanting to bang my head on a solid wall. People seem to think there are handcuffs made of Titanium or an alloy which is false at this time. If anything, and that is not likely but would have to research it in metallurgy, a base metal such as steel, Aluminum would be doped with Titanium. You also have the cost factor to consider and would increase the cost of the metal alloy and machining costs.

Hello, I would like to have information on the FN Herstal Magnetic Handcuffs. are it of good Handcuffs? Are it solid? Are it secure and difficult to open without the key?

A very flawed lock design and a marketing disaster. As far as I know, they were only ever used in Belgium, and still are. You can still see Brussels cops carrying them. This is probably because, even after all these years, FN must have warehouses full of unsold handcuffs.

Still, they have a striking and futuristic design, so much so that they will be used as props in Men In Black 3.

Hello, I would like to have information on the FN Herstal Magnetic Handcuffs. are it of good Handcuffs? Are it solid? Are it secure and difficult to open without the key?

The handcuffs Browning FN are fabricated since 1973. I have a copy of the patent which was in Antwerp (Belgium). The manufactor (building) who fabricated these handcuffs was complety detroyed.

Best regards.