The Forum at Handcuffs.Org

McKenzie Mitts

44 visible archived posts · 44 preserved total · topic ID 3021

Stan Willis 02 May 2009

A few years ago I put together a list of McKenzie Mitts and who owns them. That list has changed and I am trying to make it current. I would like to hear from Owners of Mitts or information on a pair I might not know about. You can post it here or email directly to me. What I would like to know is:
Owner's name and country of owner.
Black or Nickle finish.
Does this pair have "Patented March 10 - 25" stamped on them.
Is there a belly chain ?

A picture would also be great, but my main interest is coming up with a good count of how many are known, without duplicating numbers.

Thanks very much.
Stan
www.handcuffs.us.com

jbushey 02 May 2009

Stan,
I remember selling you an old photo of a model in Mitts from 1925 inventors fair. I've seen other old photos of people and articles advertising the mitts.
Anyone else have any old PR material/photos of them???

I am hopefully completing my transaction on my second pair of mitts today. I'll post photos later if the deal goes through. Who else out there is "in the Mitts club"?? This pair has no belly chain, and is dated with patent date. They're nickel plated. Having people like Stan document this helps future collectors and us current collectors with providance and who has owned owned them, and where they are now. I remember Mark Lyons emailing me after I bought my first set (now sold, and in another's collection) telling me I'd be getting my membership card in the mail. I never did get it, but great idea. hahaha. Bets Wishes to all, John Bushey

Steve Santini 02 May 2009

Don't ask...

Tower leg irons to boot.

The young lady is going nowhere fast.

Steve

Lindsay 02 May 2009

I am most impressed with the fact that she has an air conditioner!
L

jbushey 03 May 2009

Unresolved image reference ↗

Michael Busch 04 May 2009

Hi,

the Mitts in my collection are complete with the chain, both halves have the patent date at the typical place.

My set can easily be recognized by the fact that the left mitt is missing a rivet. I bought this pair on ebay from a person who does not collect. What I would like to know: has this pair ever been in the posession of one of the readers of the forum?

best wishes,

Michael

Stan Willis 04 May 2009

Thanks very much Michael. Now I have to ask all those who replied directly to me another question. Most of the Mitts I have seen or have pictures of show the Patent date on only one cuff. Now I would like to know if patent dates are on one or both cuffs and which cuff, right or left hand ?
Thanks.

Damon Shields 04 May 2009

Mine is on the left mitt only.

Damon

Paul Reardon 04 May 2009

Ditto

Paul Reardon 05 May 2009

#10

Re: McKenzie Mitts

Paul Reardon 05 May 2009

#11

Atlanta*Casting 05 May 2009

#12

Looks like you did it ..

Atlanta*Casting 05 May 2009

#13

is that the ghost of McKenzie in the background?

Stan Willis 05 May 2009

#14

I can't find my pictures of the handcuffs at the CHIPs museum. Does anyone have the picture of the Mitts so I can add them to the list. I think they are Nickle.
Stan

Lindsay 05 May 2009

#15

Hi Stan,
Am I premature in asking about your report?
I am very curious as to how many Mitts you are aware of.
Also, Would you conclude that pretty much every Mitt that was made is still around somewhere?
L.

Stan Willis 05 May 2009

#16

You are correct. You are premature. I will post the results here as soon as I hear from a few more people in the UK. I will also send details to people who participated. I have no way of telling if there are other Mitts that we don't know about, but I would assume there are some. A few may have been destroyed, and a few of the ones on my list are rust buckets and ready to fall apart.
Stan

RestraintsBlog 05 May 2009

#17

Don't forget the one recently put up on eBay:

http://restraintsblog.blogspot.com/2009 ... cuffs.html

-----------------------------------
http://restraintsblog.blogspot.com/

Stan Willis 05 May 2009

#18

Here are the results. There has to be some other Mitts that we don't know about. I've verified the results on 26 of the Mitts, and I don't think anything will change if I hear from the few who have not responded to my email.
McKenzie Mitts survey of May, 2009:
33 TOTAL
17 Black
16 Nickle
26 are verified correct
9 belly chains (4 or 5 are not original)
28 are marked on the left cuff with pat. date "PATENTED MARCH 10 -'25"
2 are marked on both cuffs.
5 are unmarked or it is not known.

Stan

Damon Shields 05 May 2009

#19

Nice job Stan.

Thanks,

Damon

Chris Gower 06 May 2009

#20

Sorry for delay in responding, but just writing to confirm that I do have two sets of Mitts in my collection:

Nickel Plated set - BOTH mitts are marked 'PATENTED MARCH 10-25'
Black Finish set with original black belly chain left hand cuff only marked 'PATENTED MARCH 10-25'

Again sorry for the delay.

Chris Gower

Stan Willis 06 May 2009

#21

Thanks Chris:
This information does not change the total, but I will update some of the other numbers. Does anyone know how to contact "Shackled Maidens" ? The Mitts on their web site is not on my list, but I want to be sure they still have it and the details. It looks black, but it is listed on the web site as Nickle.

Mikeintightpants 06 May 2009

#22

Heh Chris, I was wondering when you were going to respond to this one!

I've been privileged to see and to wear both of Chris's McKenzie Mitts and of course they're exactly as he's described them. I did post a pic on here of the two of us wearing one pair each, but it seemed to disappear into the ether!

For the benefit of those who haven't had the "pleasure" of wearing these beauties, I would just add that after less than half an hour of wearing them, there's a surprising amount of perspiration that collects inside.

Mike Riccard
a.k.a. Mikeintightpants
Birmingham, England

chris gower 06 May 2009

#23

From what I can recall 'Shackled Maidens' did have a set of nickel plated mitts (Matt did bring them down to show me).
He has since sold them and I think Gunter bought them about 18 months ago.
Chris Gower

Michael Busch 06 May 2009

#24

Hi Stan,

thank you very much for your work in this matter! When I received my mitts a couple of years back it was the 21st or 22nd known set. Obviously quite a number has surfaced since then.

Best wishes,

Michael

holstcollection 06 May 2009

#25

Hi Michael,

You are right; there are a lot of them around! You folks should concentrate in collecting rarer cuffs like Mühlenfeld, E.R., Kakola, Berliners, Wisner, Guiteau and Lorey.
Ok, Im only envious not being a member of the Mitts club.

Best, Lars

Michael Busch 06 May 2009

#26

Hi Lars,

sooner or later you surely will be a member in the mitts-club, to join the Wisner or the Giteau-club will be much harder...

Best wishes,

Michael
Lifetime Member of the S&W M100 club

Stan Willis 13 May 2009

#27

Hers is the count and some added information as of May 12, 2009:

36 TOTAL
19 Black
17 Nickle
32 are verified correct
10 belly chains (Some are not original)
28 are marked on the left cuff with pat. date "PATENTED MARCH 10 -'25"
6 are marked on both cuffs. All are Nickle finish.
4 collectors have BOTH a Nickle and a Black pair.
1 Nickle and 1 Black pair are verified with no patent dates. One is my Nickle pair, which I believe is pre-patent.
It is possible that my unmarked Nickle pair came from the McKenzie family. They came from Denver, which is were Oliver Mckenzie is buried.

3 are in the UK
3 are in Germany
1 is in Canada (not verified)
1 is in Switzerland (not verified)

edri 14 May 2009

#28

There are at least 4 sets in canada then. There's the Silver set in Brockville Ontario I'm currently negoiating on.I wont say more on these until they are in my posession. No chains unfortunately but in descent shape overall. There's a second black set with original chains in the posession of Jack Keddy of Holland College in PEI ( my ex - stepfather and retied from corrections canada to teach at the college)Unless he's sold them in the last 15 years or so, which I highly doubt. There's a third set lost by myself ( along with many other pairs of restraints) when they travelled Via Rail some 18 years ago and are presumably still in the country. And the one you accounted for, unless it's one of those three.

Edri

Stan Willis 14 May 2009

#29

Hi Edri:
Thanks for the information, but I won't put them on my list unless I know they still exist and are not one of the ones already on the list. The only one I show is the one that was recently mentioned on the Forum, and I am unable to verify it. Let me know if you get the one you are negotiating on and I will add it to the list. The one that was lost 18 years ago and the one you last saw 15 years ago could be anywhere. I have been able to verify the current owner of all the Mitts on my list except for 4 of them.
Stan

edri 14 May 2009

#30

Oh...thought I'd mention the lost set had a significant dent in the top left thumb about an inch from the end . They had original chains and patent mark. The dent had a slight crease to it . I've no idea what caused it but if anyone has that set in their posession I wouldnt mind knowing where they came from, if only to find out what may have happened to the rest that were lost. I'd say the dent makes them unique enough to differentiate from any others.

Edri

edri 14 May 2009

#31

I'd be tempted to think Jack still has his set. I havent inquired about him in many years, but he was a significant collector and I've never known him to dispose of a set ever, so unless he's dead ( which is admittedly a possibility he'd be in his 80's now) ) he'd still have them. I'll ask my mom if he's still alive and collecting or if she knows if he still has them.He was also the original owner of my set, I painted a whole house in exchange for those way back when.Both were sourced from Kingston Pennitentiary in Kingston Ontario along with a whole lot of other intersting items being disposed of at the time ( a leather blackjack with lead inside, a pair of gloved with what I think was sand sewn into them but may also have been fine lead shot in them, some .762 ammunition , Some ammo boxes, a rifle scope and other assorted items.

Most of the stuff lost to Via was low in value ( some 70's peerless, S&W first model 94's with a "popped" rivet on one arm, some hiatt darby's but nothing that cant really be replaced or hasnt been since. The exceptions were the mitts and a set of Bean Giants and those, I REALLY want back as they were my grandfathers who was a RCMP in the prairies ( John Haddon) . Incidentally there's some Shells on display in the canadian war museum that were found by my grandfather while on duty during WWII the japanese tried to drop from balloons.

Edri

Anonymous 16 May 2009

#32

Re: McKenzie Mitts

LK 29 May 2009

#33

http://www.shackledmaidens.com/toys/

LK 29 May 2009

#34

http://www.shackledmaidens.com/main.html

ALSO PIC ABOVE REMINDED ME OF GUESTION I HAVE ABOUT THE LEG IRON'S AREN'T THOSE BALCO'S /// ? IS DID TOWER MAKE ANY WITH LINK'S LIKE THAT, THE NON PATATO CHIP TYPE

LK D~D

Stan Willis 29 May 2009

#35

I don't know which picture you refer to, but Balco and others made Leg irons with the round links. I don't think Tower ever used the round lonks.
Stan

LK 29 May 2009

#36

THANK YOU FOR UR QUICK RESPONSE,YES THAT ANSWERS MY QUESTION.I OWN ABOUT A DOZEN PAIR'S AND THREE HAVE THE ROUND LINKS,HOWEVER ONLY ONE IS MARKED BALCO,BUT ONLY THE BALCO KEY WILL WORK IN THEM, TOWERS KEYS WON'T. WAS REFERING TO STEVE SANTINI'S PIC OF THE BLACK & WHITE SHOT,THE ONE WITH AIR CONDITIONER,THOSE LOOK LIKE BALCO'S CORRECT.ALSO IF U STILL DIDN'T GET IN TOUCH WITH THE SHACKLED MAIDEN'S U MIGHT TRY THE SECOND URL AND GO IN FORUMS,IF THAT DOESN'T DO IT GET BACK TO ME AND I HAVE A COMMUNICATION SOMEWHERE IN MY EMAIL.

LK D~D

LK 29 May 2009

#37

DW 31 May 2009

#38

Stan I also own a pair of nickel platd mitts. Both are dated, no belly chain or key.

DW in Oregon

Stan Willis 01 Jun 2009

#39

Thanks.
I will add yours to the list.
Stan

Chief 31 Aug 2011

#40

I have a pair of McKenzie Mitts in Nickle finish, "Patented March 10 - 25" stamped on them, belly chain, and key. The mitts are in what I would call near mint condition given their age. These mitts belonged to my great-grandfather, who was a county sheriff in the mid-1920, later became city marshal. I am chief of police in the same county/city as he served. I have his sheriff's badge, city marshal's badge, and his son-in-law's undersheriff badge, along with published county court "term of court" booklets published with his name in them from the same period, and some other historical documents related to his law enforcement days. These items have hung in a secure display case in my office at city hall for 26 years I have been police chief.

I am considering selling the entire collect due to my pending retirement. Any idea of an auction house or a serious collector who will pay fair-market collector's value?

shelby mccarty 22 Jun 2012

#41

I know this is an old post I am responding to, but I have a pair of McKenzie Mitts. My grandfather was a collector of anything and everything that interested him. We are selling most of his items at an auction in July and are planning on selling them. If you know of anyone that might be interested, you can give them my email address if you like so that they may contact me for details.
Also, any suggestions on how to let the collector community know of this opportunity?

Thanks for any help you may be able to give.

Shelby McCarty

LK 22 Jun 2012

#42

by posting here u probably already did let the collectors know!

where is the auction!

LK D~D

Anonymous 22 Jun 2012

#43

Can you post a picture of them, please?

Kevin Connolly 22 Jun 2012

#44

Wow. A blast from the past.