Very rare cuffs from the Swedish Police Museum

Dear fellow collectors,

I just had to post some pictures of some rare handcuffs from the Swedish Police Museum. The quality of the pictures is unfortunately bad since they are scanned from photo copies.

/Lars

http://www.holstcollection.com/




Finnish "Konepaja Voima". This set has rounded bows and appears to be a very early non-swingthrough model.


Probably the German handcuffs "Mühlenfeld"


Berliner handcuffs ??? Maker??


???????????

could the ones being the 2nd from the Bottom Possibly be Towers. Don,

Dear fellow collectors,

I just had to post some pictures of some rare handcuffs from the Swedish Police Museum. The quality of the pictures is unfortunately bad since they are scanned from photo copies.

/Lars

http://www.holstcollection.com/




Finnish "Konepaja Voima". This set has rounded bows and appears to be a very early non-swingthrough model.


Probably the German handcuffs "Mühlenfeld"


Berliner handcuffs ??? Maker??


???????????

Click to expand...

Lars

Very interesting stuff. I particularly like the Konepaja Voima cuff. And that last one. What a strange one.

Has anyone seen anything like it before?


Joe

Dear fellow collectors,

I just had to post some pictures of some rare handcuffs from the Swedish Police Museum. The quality of the pictures is unfortunately bad since they are scanned from photo copies.

/Lars

http://www.holstcollection.com/




Finnish "Konepaja Voima". This set has rounded bows and appears to be a very early non-swingthrough model.


Probably the German handcuffs "Mühlenfeld"


Berliner handcuffs ??? Maker??


???????????

Click to expand...

Hi Lars,

Cool pictures!

The second cuff pictured is known by some as the Schwartiger cuff. Some attribute it as German, some say it is Russian, and some say it is Finnish. The one you picture is the first model which takes a barrel key with no bit. The hole in the barrel key for this cuff is shaped like a triangle. This hole fits over and moves a triangle shaped post in the lock.

Later models of the Schwartiger take a key which has a bit shaped like a Mattatuck key. They also have a groove running down the bow and the bow teeth machined into the edge of this groove. Not like these early ones which have the teeth simply cut into the edge of the bow arm. Very nice cuff. I wish I still had mine!

The second last cuff is of course the Mullenfeld and the last cuff,... heck, I am still trying to imagine how the darn thing would work! Very strange.

Thank you for these Lars. Best to you, Steve Santini

Dear fellow collectors,

I just had to post some pictures of some rare handcuffs from the Swedish Police Museum. The quality of the pictures is unfortunately bad since they are scanned from photo copies.

/Lars

http://www.holstcollection.com/




Finnish "Konepaja Voima". This set has rounded bows and appears to be a very early non-swingthrough model.


Probably the German handcuffs "Mühlenfeld"


Berliner handcuffs ??? Maker??


???????????

Click to expand...

Hi Lars,

indeed very nice pictures of rare items. The strange device on last picture seems to a police grip which could work this way:
The right part looks like an adjustable cuff which could be unlocked with the lock on the bottom. The left part seems to be the handle for a police officer to hold the grip. It looks like the grip could be adjusted to the current wrist size by pressing the rachet on the top...

Best wishes
Bjoern

Dear fellow collectors,

I just had to post some pictures of some rare handcuffs from the Swedish Police Museum. The quality of the pictures is unfortunately bad since they are scanned from photo copies.

/Lars

http://www.holstcollection.com/




Finnish "Konepaja Voima". This set has rounded bows and appears to be a very early non-swingthrough model.


Probably the German handcuffs "Mühlenfeld"


Berliner handcuffs ??? Maker??


???????????

Click to expand...

Hi,

I'm happy you appreciated the pictures.
At my next visit to Stockholm, where the museum is situated, I hope to see the entire collection and take some better pictures and closeups and post here. There are maybe more interesting restraints to see...

Like Bjoern says, the last item seems to be some kind of a lockable grip rather than a handcuff. Interesting about the second cuffs Steve, I actually thought it was a Muhlenfeld too even if they look quite simliar to the more common "Schwartiger" that takes the bit shaped Mattatuck key.

BTW -Does anyone have an original key for a Tower Detective to sell??

Cheers,

Lars

Dear fellow collectors,

I just had to post some pictures of some rare handcuffs from the Swedish Police Museum. The quality of the pictures is unfortunately bad since they are scanned from photo copies.

/Lars

http://www.holstcollection.com/




Finnish "Konepaja Voima". This set has rounded bows and appears to be a very early non-swingthrough model.


Probably the German handcuffs "Mühlenfeld"


Berliner handcuffs ??? Maker??


???????????

Click to expand...

Hi
It seems to me that this is a grip or a nipper as well. It looks like the bow (has the paper tag attached to it) telescopes into the slightly larger handle which is on the opposite side. There is a metal tab close to the end of the bow (appears toward the bottom in this picture) that would make it easy to allow one to slide the cuff along and snap it shut into the lock. The tab would also prevent the bow to slide into the handle too far when opening. The other lock on top looks like it controls the middle bar so that it can be adjusted to fit tighter against the wrist.

Very neat item!
Ian, check it out!
m

Dear fellow collectors,

I just had to post some pictures of some rare handcuffs from the Swedish Police Museum. The quality of the pictures is unfortunately bad since they are scanned from photo copies.

/Lars

http://www.holstcollection.com/




Finnish "Konepaja Voima". This set has rounded bows and appears to be a very early non-swingthrough model.


Probably the German handcuffs "Mühlenfeld"


Berliner handcuffs ??? Maker??


???????????

Click to expand...

Truly wonderful especially the last item, I have never seen anything like it in England. I would agree it does appear to be some sort of grip restraint. How easy is it for you to look up patents in Sweden for old handcuffs and restraints? Over here in the UK I have found a couple of good sites mainly run by the UK Patent Office but they are a little limited. I am sure with a bit of searching you could come up with some interesting Scandinavian patents. Let us know.

Dear fellow collectors,

I just had to post some pictures of some rare handcuffs from the Swedish Police Museum. The quality of the pictures is unfortunately bad since they are scanned from photo copies.

/Lars

http://www.holstcollection.com/




Finnish "Konepaja Voima". This set has rounded bows and appears to be a very early non-swingthrough model.


Probably the German handcuffs "Mühlenfeld"


Berliner handcuffs ??? Maker??


???????????

Click to expand...

Chris,

I will do my best! While visiting the museum I will take a very close look to all restraints and try find some clues about patents and origin. -Especially on the last one

/Lars

Dear fellow collectors,

I just had to post some pictures of some rare handcuffs from the Swedish Police Museum. The quality of the pictures is unfortunately bad since they are scanned from photo copies.

/Lars

http://www.holstcollection.com/




Finnish "Konepaja Voima". This set has rounded bows and appears to be a very early non-swingthrough model.


Probably the German handcuffs "Mühlenfeld"


Berliner handcuffs ??? Maker??


???????????

Click to expand...

I'm not sure if this will make things more clear or less clear. I believe that the Muhlenfeld is the 3rd picture down, and there is no berliner in any of the pictures. Also, I believe that the name "Schwartiger" is really "Schwertfeger", and refers to a different cuff patented in Germany in 1912. You can see the patent papers and the cuff on my web site at http://www.handcuffsandbadges.com and push the button for the handcuffs page.
Stan

Dear fellow collectors,

I just had to post some pictures of some rare handcuffs from the Swedish Police Museum. The quality of the pictures is unfortunately bad since they are scanned from photo copies.

/Lars

http://www.holstcollection.com/




Finnish "Konepaja Voima". This set has rounded bows and appears to be a very early non-swingthrough model.


Probably the German handcuffs "Mühlenfeld"


Berliner handcuffs ??? Maker??


???????????

Click to expand...

Hi Stan,

I have in the past gotten all of the different Schwartiger model handcuffs I have ever owned from one single collector in Finland who has a rather large restraint collection.

In time Joe Tanner ended up with them and even one or two more from the very same collector.

It was he (the Finland collector) who told me of the name Schwartiger which he applied to all of these cuffs.

The ones in the Swedish Police Museum are the first model. They are almost identical in body size and shape to the second model with the exception of using different keys and a different design of bow arm.

I have owned both variations and in fact 3 of the second model like you have. None of these cuffs I have had bore any markings attributing them to the Mullenfeld makers of Germany.

The third cuff in the pictures appears to be a true Mullenfeld (I know I probably spelt this wrong) and is also known as a "Dortmunder" cuff.

To my knowledge all of these style cuffs are stamped by the factory.

Perhaps Mullenfeld did indeed make the cuffs known by myself and the collector in Finland as "Schwartiger" but if they did why did they not stamp them as such?

I also wonder why they produced two differently keyed versions?

The collector in Finland had still a third version of this cuff which has the clevis and swivel attatched to the underside on one bow and not to the hinge area.

I know these cuffs certainly look a good deal like illustrations of cuffs that are shown in old Mullenfeld catalogs, but the smaller lighter one the guy in Finland has with the clevis in a different spot shows yet another variation.

My collector friend in Finland is not confusing what he calls a Schwartiger with the German cuff you mention patented in the early 1900's because he does not own one of these. He has just always called this style of cuff by this name.

So, there is still a mystery. One singular shape of handcuff with 2 different keying systems and 2 or 3 design modifications during it's evolution.

It may be a Mullenfeld but I do not think so.

Regards, Steve Santini

Dear fellow collectors,

I just had to post some pictures of some rare handcuffs from the Swedish Police Museum. The quality of the pictures is unfortunately bad since they are scanned from photo copies.

/Lars

http://www.holstcollection.com/




Finnish "Konepaja Voima". This set has rounded bows and appears to be a very early non-swingthrough model.


Probably the German handcuffs "Mühlenfeld"


Berliner handcuffs ??? Maker??


???????????

Click to expand...

Hi Stan,

Read it wrong. You are of course right, the Mullenfeld is the 3rd cuff down. However, the "Schwartiger" cuffs are still a mystery as to country of origin although they do resemble a chain linked cuff in an old Mullenfled catalog.

Cheers, Steve Santini

Dear fellow collectors,

I just had to post some pictures of some rare handcuffs from the Swedish Police Museum. The quality of the pictures is unfortunately bad since they are scanned from photo copies.

/Lars

http://www.holstcollection.com/




Finnish "Konepaja Voima". This set has rounded bows and appears to be a very early non-swingthrough model.


Probably the German handcuffs "Mühlenfeld"


Berliner handcuffs ??? Maker??


???????????

Click to expand...

Hello fellow Collectors,

I recently got a (bad) photocopy of an old Muehlenfeld, Barmen catalogue where you can see handcuffs (No.115), which pretty look like the ones shown in Lars' posting, except of the single connecting ring.

Regards,
Guenter

PS: I updated <a href="http://www.atame.info/</A" target=_new>http://www.atame.info/</A> today. Just some new historical documents including some pretty interesting ones (alas written in German).

<IMG src=" http://www.atame.info/Cuffs/dokus/muehlenfeld.gif">

Dear fellow collectors,

I just had to post some pictures of some rare handcuffs from the Swedish Police Museum. The quality of the pictures is unfortunately bad since they are scanned from photo copies.

/Lars

http://www.holstcollection.com/




Finnish "Konepaja Voima". This set has rounded bows and appears to be a very early non-swingthrough model.


Probably the German handcuffs "Mühlenfeld"


Berliner handcuffs ??? Maker??


???????????

Click to expand...

Hi Atame: the cuff in question is not the Muhlenfeld 115 as shown in the catalog you just posted. I have the muhlenfeld 115. I believe Santini is correct that the cuff is a shwartizer (spelling) hope this helps
michael