Peerless Model 400 vs. 700

Hello Fellow Collectors:

I was interested in buying a pair of Model 400 cuffs to add to The Collection, but a fellow collector suggested to go with the newer Model 700 because of quality and stronger design. Something tells me to go with the 400's since they seem to be harder to come by. I don't see them on Ebay much, like the 300's and earlier. Did Peerless not have these in production that long, thus adding value to them like for instance a Model 200 from S&W? Thanks to anyone who shed some light?

Kris

I think I've posted a similar report here before, but I would certainly avoid Peerless model 700. The last pair that I purchased (a few months ago on one of my visits to Atlanta) were - well I put it mildly - totally unacceptabe. The one cuff was jammed solid (straight out of the box!) and when I took them back to the store I got the impression that they'd had other complaints. The guy in the store offered to exchange them - I accepted his offer and changed 'em - for Smiths Model 100! Never had any probs with those!!

Mike
a.k.a. Mikeintightpants
Birmingham, England

Hello Fellow Collectors:

I was interested in buying a pair of Model 400 cuffs to add to The Collection, but a fellow collector suggested to go with the newer Model 700 because of quality and stronger design. Something tells me to go with the 400's since they seem to be harder to come by. I don't see them on Ebay much, like the 300's and earlier. Did Peerless not have these in production that long, thus adding value to them like for instance a Model 200 from S&W? Thanks to anyone who shed some light?

Kris

Sorry, that shouldn't have been 'Anonymous' - it's me writing about my experience with pPeerless Model 700.

Mike
a.k.a. Mikeintightpants
Birmingham, England

Hello Fellow Collectors:

I was interested in buying a pair of Model 400 cuffs to add to The Collection, but a fellow collector suggested to go with the newer Model 700 because of quality and stronger design. Something tells me to go with the 400's since they seem to be harder to come by. I don't see them on Ebay much, like the 300's and earlier. Did Peerless not have these in production that long, thus adding value to them like for instance a Model 200 from S&W? Thanks to anyone who shed some light?

Kris

Hi Kris:

Ohhhh, why not get both? Presuming you're collecting for the fun of it, you can easily get a 700 at a low price since they're still in production. Then, just let your piggy bank grow and pick up a 400 when one becomes available.

While serviceable, the 700 is certainly not the nicest cuff Peerless made. To me, it is inferior to the 300 and 500, and even the older model 2. The locking mechanism is comparativley stiff, and the "improved raised rivet design" is on the ugly side. I'm not so sure whether the raised rivets are really an improvement, or simply a way to cut manufacturing costs over the prior flush rivet design they used for ninety years or so.

The 400 is a rather cool cuff, although it had a serious problem. It seems it was manufactured using the sintering process. In sintering, a powdered compound is heated under pressure at a temperature lower than the melting point of the components of the compound causing them to fuse together. This allowed Peerless, in essence, to cast the cuff pieces (rather than stamp them out of sheet steel) such that the cuff body was made of only two pieces rather than three.

Great idea, but there was a huge problem with quality control. If you don't do the sintering process just right, the metal comes out brittle. Accordingly, many of these cuffs were defective and would break (or even shatter) when subjected to stress. So, after about a year, Peerless went back to the former stamping method of manufacturing and came out with the model 500, which was essentially a revamped model 300.

The 400 has a very smooth action, and the square double lock pin is neat and very easy to activate. Unless the set you have is already broken, you're never really certain if it's a good, reliable set or one of the defective ones. But, so what? It's a nice addition to a collection because of the way it was made. And, in other fields of collecting, a "mistake" is often a more rare and desirable addition to a collection.

Hello Fellow Collectors:

I was interested in buying a pair of Model 400 cuffs to add to The Collection, but a fellow collector suggested to go with the newer Model 700 because of quality and stronger design. Something tells me to go with the 400's since they seem to be harder to come by. I don't see them on Ebay much, like the 300's and earlier. Did Peerless not have these in production that long, thus adding value to them like for instance a Model 200 from S&W? Thanks to anyone who shed some light?

Kris

Franklin,

Part of my relunctance with investing in the Model 700 is percisely the points you discussed. The rivets really bug me...It's because I'm used to how Peerless have been smooth surfaced for decades. Additionally, I don't want to get in the habit of investing in a problematic or "budget" cuff for my collection as one day my cuffs and badges will become an heirloom to my kids(before I get too senile or blind to find the keyway). How can you identify a Model 500 from let's say the model 300?

Kris

Hello Fellow Collectors:

I was interested in buying a pair of Model 400 cuffs to add to The Collection, but a fellow collector suggested to go with the newer Model 700 because of quality and stronger design. Something tells me to go with the 400's since they seem to be harder to come by. I don't see them on Ebay much, like the 300's and earlier. Did Peerless not have these in production that long, thus adding value to them like for instance a Model 200 from S&W? Thanks to anyone who shed some light?

Kris

Hi Kris:

Real easy to spot a model 500. They were all marked "Model 500." There were three versions (well, six if you count nickel and pentrate finishes). The first had stamped markings, with old style sculpted swivels, the second was laser engraved, with old style sculpted swivels, and the third was also laser engraved but with the straight, bullet type swivels as are now on the 700.

The 300 was in production for about sixty years, so most of the Peerless cuffs using what became the standard handcuff key you'll see on eBay are one of these. Originally, it had no model designation, although collectors referred to it as a model 3 (model 1 using a bit key that double locked with the key, model 2 using a bit key but using a push pin to double lock). It wasn't until after the NIJ standards for handcuffs were introduced that Peerless began assigning their products model numbers. Accordingly, only very late production cuffs are marked "model 300."

I've long enjoyed collecting Peerless cuffs, particularly with the boxes since those bear the serial number as well(as far as I know, no other manufacturer did this). With the changes in the stampings over the years, coupled with changes in the boxes and instructions, so far I've come up with 16 variations in the model 300 production. And there's likely more. I know a lot of collectors out there may not think too much about them, since there were over a million of them made, but trying to find "factory fresh" examples is still possible and not unreasonably expensive.

As for the 700; well, they make nice gifts to friends who are not yet into handcuff collecting. Hey, we all had to get started collecting these things somehow.