Peerless question

When I collected cuffs 10 or so years ago I bought a new pair of Peerless model 300s. Now there's a model 700 which I read somewhere replaced the model 500. Did they whiz through some designs or am I missing something. Please explain how we got from the 300 to the 700.

Thanks in advance,

Tim

Hi Tim,
Peerless went through the numbers pretty fast. For years, decades even, the unmarked model 300 was the standard. The pre 300's are thicker, heavier, and are easy to spot by the lack of guide pins for the ratchets, plus the serial numbers genrally are in the 2XXXXXX range. I collect the heck out of these just because I like them. If I am remebering correctly, the started marking the model # on the cuffs about 1980 or so. The 300 became the model 400, which is relatively rare due to a very short production run. This was about in 1995 or so, and this is by far my personal favorite cuff, not counting the Colt's. The 400 was thick, solid, and had a squared double lock that is much easier to depress than anything since. I was lucky enough to get about 5 pair of these before the stopped making them due to cost and patent problems. I still have all 5. The model 500 had some changes in the swivel and the finish , but not a lot different than the 300 really. There was no model 600, and the model 700 is pretty much a new design for Peerless. they seem to be great cuffs, with the minor exception that they are a bit bulkier than the 300 and they do not fit in the Safariland clamshell cuff cases very well. This info is for the hollow key models only, the older solid bit models I have only seen referred to by thier dates, like the model 1912, 1915, and 1925 . Hope this helps, and people, correct me if I am mistaken in anything . Have a great one and play safe,
Tim M
gentlemansgt

When I collected cuffs 10 or so years ago I bought a new pair of Peerless model 300s. Now there's a model 700 which I read somewhere replaced the model 500. Did they whiz through some designs or am I missing something. Please explain how we got from the 300 to the 700.

Thanks in advance,

Tim

Hi,
Not only did Peerless change the outward appearance of it's models slightly over the years but they also changed the way the lock works. One the first types of barrel key double lock cuffs Peerless made has an anti shim notch cut into the front endge of the pawl. The internal spring that operated these cuffs was a coiled one.

On some later models, before and after being marked 300, the cuffs had an extra small coil spring underneath the back end of the double locking slide bar. I would imagine that this was to make the double lock less easy to pick. It did not work very well and did very little, if anything, to hamper picking.

The model 400 breaks with tradition in a number of areas and has a slightly different spring operated lock.

Currently Peerless has completely done away with a coil spring to operate the pawl and instead now uses a small bent leaf spring. I imagine this is to save money. With the old coil spring you needed to not only make the spring but also the little "bullet" shaped sleeve which would house it. You then needed to have a hole cast or machined into the underside of the pawl to recieve it. Switching to a single leaf spring cuts down on manufacturing expense a fair bit I would imagine.

Regards, Steve Santini

When I collected cuffs 10 or so years ago I bought a new pair of Peerless model 300s. Now there's a model 700 which I read somewhere replaced the model 500. Did they whiz through some designs or am I missing something. Please explain how we got from the 300 to the 700.

Thanks in advance,

Tim

There was a model 600 but very, very few were made and the one's that were made were proto-types. I have only seen a picture of one and it was from someone on this site. So you might as well just say that they don't exist., James

When I collected cuffs 10 or so years ago I bought a new pair of Peerless model 300s. Now there's a model 700 which I read somewhere replaced the model 500. Did they whiz through some designs or am I missing something. Please explain how we got from the 300 to the 700.

Thanks in advance,

Tim

James, you have a good memory about the model 600. I have the set that you saw here awhile back. It was a prototype and very few were made. But given that they were made, even though they weren't released to production, I don't believe that it should be said that they don't exist. Who knows who else might have a set in their collection that might appear on eBay someday like mine did. If you would like to see a picture of them again, click http://home.earthlink.net/~philsplace/PHC600/PHC600.htm
or copy the link into your web browser.

And thanks for getting the Peerless thread started. I'm looking forward to Joe putting an historical inventory together. Sounds like a great idea. I hope to contribute some pics to it.

With kindest regards,
Phil