The Forum at Handcuffs.Org

Another Civil War Item?

34 visible archived posts · 34 preserved total · topic ID 2379

J. W. Davis 03 Jan 2008

This one seems a little different from what you usually see. Is it possibly real?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... :IT&ih=005

Joseph Fox 03 Jan 2008

Mmm, if it's a fake Bilbo...then it's a darn good one...but I'll leave the decision to our "metalologists" here.

Atame.Muc 03 Jan 2008

I agree. If it is a fake, it is excellently made. The iron oxide mixture is great - red-brown hematite and dark grey magnetite. The later one takes many, many years to be built in nature.

Best regards,
Guenter

joe tanner 04 Jan 2008

buy a bunch of um... then bury them in the ground for several months, but be sure you water them every week & wa la... you now have a 200 year old looking item & can make big bucks on EBAY... joe

Dorson 04 Jan 2008

Without more detailed pictures it is hard to tell at the moment. The lack of other details as to the construction might provide details. it's around 50/50 at this point. And the mention it was found in a dig, but not much more than that makes me wonder too....

Dorson 04 Jan 2008

This is only partly relevant but hope this will give you an idea of the sort of things that go on out there. I knew of this guy in the Richmond, VA area that was some sort of expert on civil war relics and often sold and certified items of that period. It was discovered that not everything he sold and certified was the real article and he did what Joe has mentioned. He would take like a pistol, modern reproduction with all the correct makings and age it enough to remove the tell tales signs for the most part that it is modern to the point experts in the area of metalurgy was required to do an analysis. So yes, items can be faked that will fool alot of people...

Franklin 04 Jan 2008

Well, if they are indeed authentic, they're not a very good example of a bilboe.

Here's a known, authentic bilboe leg iron from the 17th/18th century:

This one, along with many others, was recovered from the wreck of the Henrietta Marie, a slave ship that sunk off the coast of Florida in 1700.

Here's a set of 18th century bilboe handcuffs; same design, just smaller:

Compared to the item in question, there's some problems with its design:

Today, many folks believe that for something to be an authentic blacksmith made item, it has to be crudely manufactured. The simple truth is that blacksmiths were highly skilled artisans with a wide variety of punches, chisels and other specialty tools that enabled them to rapidly and easily make items with smooth lines and finishes. This thing is a piece of junk; no blacksmith with any skill or pride would bang out such a thing.

First, the end of the bolt is smashed flat, rather than finished off using a riveting tool. Since bilboes were often used to shackle two persons together, like this:

having that flat, knifelike edge could easily result in damage to the opposing ankle. With a riveting punch, making a conical or round end button is simple.

Second, the locking hole in the bolt is round and is flared out. For a real bilboe, the locking hole is rectangular since it was secured in place by using a tapered wedge that was hammered into place; also, the end does not flare out. For an artisan with the proper tools, cutting such a rectangular hole is fast and easy.

Third, the shackles are of an irregular thickness. Trying to heat such a piece of stock up in a forge would result in an uneven temperature throughout the piece that would make shaping it much more difficult. Also, the inside of shackle is flat, which virtually guarantees chafing on the wrist or ankle. On the real ones, the blacksmith rounded off the edges of the hot iron with a chamfering tool (like a small rolling pin) before bending into final shape.

The color of the iron is a problem since the photo may not accurately depict the true color of the oxidation or whatever crud may be on the surface. For wrought iron, the typical patina is very dark blue, approaching black, or dark brown. The yellow color on these suggests modern iron or mild steel. However, you usually can't ever tell for sure about this without actually seeing and handling the article.

So, it seems that if these are 19th century or earlier, it was a beginner's first attempt at making a bilboe. And it seems there were quite a few beginners out there. Here's a set from an auction I attended a while back, purportedly from colonial America:

Look familiar? After the auction house did a little investigating, they determined they were not the real thing. It seems that certain 20th century merchants in Africa churned these things out from World War I scrap iron for sale to tourists.

So, while these things are not new, it doesn't seem they're authentic.

Unresolved image reference ↗

Kevin Connolly 04 Jan 2008

Franklin,

That was a GREAT piece. I,for one, am thankful for all the work you put into that piece. Again, a very nice job.

Kevin

Edgeplay_Cgo 04 Jan 2008

Thanks, Franklin, for an excellent piece.

In addition to what he said, I'm coming to believe there are some modern smithies, probably in India or Pakistan, making reproduction restraints. I've seen some puzzle lock leg irons, Indeed I have a couple of pair, that are hand forged, but went too cheap to be real. I suspect a test would reveal them to be mild steel.

Steve Santini 04 Jan 2008

#10

The finer points of hand forged restraints, i.e. if the end of the bar is pounded into a flat flange or nicely worked into a rivet head type stopper is really no determination of date or period of manufacture.

All it shows is one worker's style and/or skill over anothers.

A good case in point are numerous examples of Lilly irons.

While they all retain the same basic appearance as one another there are differences in hinge sizes, flat stock lengths, and how well the area where the lock shroud is overlaps.

Many times when in Europe I have seen a variety of similiar restraints in German museums all of which, unless made by the same person, having differences like these bilboes.

Steve Santini

Steve Santini 04 Jan 2008

#11

Such restraints being European made or made in the USA also seems to have a bearing on the quality of workmanship.

Generally speaking, many of the European made hand forged shackles I have seen in person or have owned are of far better quality and craftmanship than similiar slave or primitive irons made in the USA circa 1800's and even earlier.

The same goes for hand forged European padlocks and door locks.

Steve Santini

holstcollection 04 Jan 2008

#12

Steve,
Youre right! Many of the really old European restraints are really nicely made. On the picture below there is a set of Swedish leg irons from the late 18: th century. The old German irons were even better manufactured.
As Franklin stated, the end holes on old irons like these are rectangular and not round. Padlocks were very expensive at this time and both ends were secured by a tapered wedges hammered down to lock. They prisoner was not supposed be released the day after if I say so.

Lars

www.holstcollection.com

Unresolved image reference ↗

Steve Santini 04 Jan 2008

#13

Dear Lars,

Contrary to what has been written in at least one previously published book on restraints where the author states that padlocks were costly to make and thus were not used to lock ancient irons there are bonafide examples where there are round locking holes to take padlocks and not merely wedges of iron pounded over.

I would urge anyone here who really wants to see authentic examples of such irons to view the collection of the Medieval Kriminal Justice Museum in Rottenburg on der Tauber in Germany.

There ARE ancient bilboes there that both padlock and have round holes to take padlocks.

Cheers, Steve Santini

Steve Santini 04 Jan 2008

#14

We must bear in mind that the seller of these items says they were found at a dig in America.

Thus, the manufacturing methods would be more crude and would differ perhaps from European examples where a square or rectangular wedge was used to secure them.

A round hole does not merely mean a padlock either.

It could mean they were meant to be secured with a rod, nail, or bolt hammered into place or bent over not to mention a hot rivet like was done on some American "Chain gang" leg irons.

Basically all I have been trying to say is that certain differences in construction does not point proof positive to a fake or a modern replica.

To assume so is to limit one's accurate appraisal of the item in question.

Especially to make such a statement based on photographs alone.

All such oddities may mean is a different maker with a different way of making the irons.

They do not accurately denote period of manufacture.

To imply "all things must look one way or they are not authentic" is not a good way to go about authenticating practically any historical item.

In many areas of collecting, especially restraint collecting, we have seen time and time again that just when we think we know all about a type of device and all the variations of same a different previously unseen variation will pop up.

Further "hands on" study would be required to state with any authority that the irons are not of old manufacture.

Cheers to you Lars, Steve

holstcollection 05 Jan 2008

#15

Thanks Steve,

This is a very interesting field and I wish I had much more knowledge about it. I agree with you, since there is no real knowledge about such old restraints we can only make estimates about age, origin and guess why padlocks were used on some restraints and not on others. The few very old restraints I have in my collection are most likely manufactured in Sweden or in the closest countries to Sweden. The limited knowledge I have about these restraints comes from people Ive talked to at national museums here in Sweden. They have compared manufacturing methods and iron quality to other iron items from different times. Still, we cant be really sure. As we use to say; "if only they could talk". This is also a good reason to why restraint collecting is so fascinating.

Best, Lars

Anonymous 05 Jan 2008

#16

Are either one of you bidding on this item?

If not, shut up.

Edgeplay_Cgo 05 Jan 2008

#17

To make things more confusing, the presence of a padlock in a round hole in a museum example doesn't prove the padlock is properly associated with that item, or with that item at any particular time. Stuff gets shifted around, and even within a single organization, consistency is not to be assumed.

Relying on stylistic evidence in the case of hand made artifacts is not reliable, as styles can change dramatically between individual craftsmen, individual customers, and different days of the week. It is, as best, a guide.

The best objective reference points are metalurgical and surface patina. Both can be faked, too. The only thing I'd say for sure, is that detecting a modern alloy or manufacturing technique (e.g. electric welding) pretty much guarantees it is modern work.

Atame.Muc 05 Jan 2008

#18

Hello Joe T.,

believe me, it's not so easy to make a dark grey magnetite oxidation. Your burry & water method would create hematite oxide (the common rust).

Another hobby of mine is going "treasure hunting" with an metal detector and so I know dug out iron objects, which were buried for only about 30 to 60 years as well as Napoleonic or medieval objects. Also object, which can be easily compared, like horseshoes. And they do look different.

Well, it's really difficult to judge the oxidation just from these auction pictures, but IMHO it looks older than e.g. the one on the last picture of Franklin's excellent reply.

Best regards,
Guenter

Anonymous 06 Jan 2008

#19

So, Scamtini pipes up again. Don't forget to view this site:

http://www.stevescamtini.i8.com/

Brad Darling 06 Jan 2008

#20

Ohhh no, is this jerk back again with the anonymous posts and Santini assassination.

Give us a break and go back to www.dingdong.com and post your drivel there.

Thanks,
Brad

joe tabnner 06 Jan 2008

#21

ATAME ::: for an experiment try salt water or bury the item shallow & water with salt water every few days...... the in 6 months let us know what you get.... take care... joe

drmatty 06 Jan 2008

#22

I sometimes "age" my pieces, but for photographic purposes.

Currently i have a hanging gibbet cage buried out in the field, give it a year out there and perfecto.

Salt water or water with bleach in can give a simular effect but would fool no one.

Matthew
http://www.shackledmaidens.com

Anonymous 06 Jan 2008

#23

OK sheckled FREEmembership to the shackled maidens and WE don't tell anyone ok

Nils 08 Jan 2008

#24

somebody with a garden should make that experiment for us. Take a couple of irons, bury them, and then dig them up four weeks apart, photograph and post here. Voilà, there's your scientific piece.

I have to say I have a Bilbo like that, and the WWI scrap theory makes a lot of sense to me. They somehow don't feel real, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

atlanta*casting 08 Jan 2008

#25

Wow, just like CSI

ShackleMan 05 Feb 2008

#26

Here's an article on the iron bilboes from the Henrietta Marie.

http://www.melfisher.org/research%20pdf ... rticle.pdf

Franklin 05 Feb 2008

#27

Hmmm.

I am a mere novice.

Any comments upon these?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... :IT&ih=019

Edgeplay_Cgo 05 Feb 2008

#28

It's difficult to discuss strict authenticity, as the seller admits to not being able to demonstrate provenance.

The cuffs definitely look like corroded wrought iron. The "wood grain" appearance of the metal is characteristic of wrought iron. They appear to be old and corroded.

My judgement is that they are real in the sense that they are probably 19C or 18C Bilboes, but I can't comment on where they came from.

Mark Lyons 05 Feb 2008

#29

Shackleman,
Good job on finding this article. I will print this and keep it in my library.

Great article ans I am surprised that I have not seen it before.

Thanks for sharing it!

mark
O--O

Franklin 06 Feb 2008

#30

Mark:

You might be interested in this one also:
http://www.melfisher.org/atochashackles.pdf

Mark Lyons 06 Feb 2008

#31

Thanks Franklin,

I appreciate this article as well.

I have 3 pieces of eight from the Atocha and would just love to buy one of these bilboes with them.

Thanks again,

mark
O--O

Franklin 06 Feb 2008

#32

Mark:

I'm not sure what the current exchange rate for a piece of eight is, but it might take more than three. Take a look at eBay 290203416583; $2,500.00 for a set of bilboes purportedly from the Henrietta Marie.

Franklin

Mark Lyons 07 Feb 2008

#33

Here is a pic of one of my Bilboes

mark
O--O

Franklin 07 Feb 2008

#34

Mark:

If you wish to share, where did you find those?