I have a pair of S & W Airweight Model 926 handcuffs, the aluminum model, that I bought in 1976. Does S & W still make these and is there any info on how strong or dependable they are or were? I used them on about 200 arrests and they worked fine, but I am curious since I have not seen them used by anyone except me.
Thanks
Do you still have these handcuffs? What condition are they in as far as looks and also functionality? Can you share some images? I have seen date ranges for model 926 that conflict and I have not seen a hard defined "They were made from this point to this point" but I do know that the model has not been manufactured for a very long time. It seems manufacturers prefer less lightweight models that incorporate steel, which is a shame.
djhalfdead 16 Jun 2023
#3Hello Michael. One of the members on this forum, David Teeters, wrote a book about the history of Smith & Wesson and Peerless Restraints. In his book, David states that the Model 926 is the Polished version of the Aluminum cuffs that S&W had made. They were produced between 1958 to 1979. S&W did not pursue making a different model of lightweight cuffs, after the Model 926 was discontinued. Now, I do not know why, exactly, S&W decided to discontinue making and offering their aluminum cuffs? I dont think it was a reliability factory, as Peerless continued making aluminum cuffs after S&W and still offer a lightweight model, today. I do know when the aluminum cuffs were introduced, a lot of officers just didnt trust that aluminum would stand the test of time, being used on prisoners. Many officers stuck to the old reliable Model 90 and the later Model 100 and 100-1 handcuffs, since they were made of steel.
-Richard Knip-
djhalfdead wrote:
↑Jun 16, 2023
Hello Michael. One of the members on this forum, David Teeters, wrote a book about the history of Smith & Wesson and Peerless Restraints. In his book, David states that the Model 926 is the Polished version of the Aluminum cuffs that S&W had made. They were produced between 1958 to 1979. S&W did not pursue making a different model of lightweight cuffs, after the Model 926 was discontinued. Now, I do not know why, exactly, S&W decided to discontinue making and offering their aluminum cuffs? I dont think it was a reliability factory, as Peerless continued making aluminum cuffs after S&W and still offer a lightweight model, today. I do know when the aluminum cuffs were introduced, a lot of officers just didnt trust that aluminum would stand the test of time, being used on prisoners. Many officers stuck to the old reliable Model 90 and the later Model 100 and 100-1 handcuffs, since they were made of steel.
-Richard Knip-
Very interesting. So it seems the claims of the sort of "they were only manufactured for 1 year and then halted" is not actually accurate then, lending weight to the "they are not rare, just scarce" comments?
djhalfdead 16 Jun 2023
#5Correct. They are more "rare" since not as many were produced during their production run, as compared to the Model 90. They are harder to find in the used market and do pull a higher price than the standard Model 90 does. The model 925 Aluminum , nickel plated version that had stamping that looked exactly like the Model 90, was also introduced in 1958, but was dropped from the catalog when S&W was taken over by Bangor Punta in 1965. So, there are less of the Model 925 to find, than the Model 926. I do not have a number for how many units were produced each year of each model, so I cannot say how many were made in total.
-Richard Knip-
Example of a S&W 925 & 926 and product brochure.
Dave
dltvette wrote:
↑Jun 16, 2023
Example of a S&W 925 & 926 and product brochure.
Dave
That is really nice. I think the 925 over all look nicer, but having seen a really grotty Hiatt lightweight where the plating was all flaking off, I would imagine 926 would aesthetically last longer than a 925 in terms of the finish. I think the older 925 looks more modern than the 926.
