Japanese Brass Thumbcuff

These solid brass thumbcuffs are the latest addition to my collection. They are a single-lock, flat key designed cuff, and appear to be identical to the pair in the handcuffs.org's Thumbcuff Gallery , captioned "Japanese Brass Thumbcuff of unknown origin," "1930s Japan".



The springs are stronger than those of my contemporary thumbcuffs, and they are very well made, however, as with most of my vintage cuffs, they were a bit dirty when I received them. The first thing I did was fashion a crude key for them, then gave them a few thorough soakings with the time tested WD-40. Unlike most of my nickel plated antique cuffs, I have opted not to polish them with Metal-Glo, as I don't wish to remove the patina that developed over the decades.

If anyone has any additional information on these thumbcuffs, please let us know.
I'm curious as to whether these thumbcuffs could have been deployed in the Japanese invasion of Manchuria.

Happy Holidays!

Jason

I noticed 2 identical pairs for sale on e-bay last week but forgot to track them.
Did anyone here win one of these auctions?

These solid brass thumbcuffs are the latest addition to my collection. They are a single-lock, flat key designed cuff, and appear to be identical to the pair in the handcuffs.org's Thumbcuff Gallery , captioned "Japanese Brass Thumbcuff of unknown origin," "1930s Japan".



The springs are stronger than those of my contemporary thumbcuffs, and they are very well made, however, as with most of my vintage cuffs, they were a bit dirty when I received them. The first thing I did was fashion a crude key for them, then gave them a few thorough soakings with the time tested WD-40. Unlike most of my nickel plated antique cuffs, I have opted not to polish them with Metal-Glo, as I don't wish to remove the patina that developed over the decades.

If anyone has any additional information on these thumbcuffs, please let us know.
I'm curious as to whether these thumbcuffs could have been deployed in the Japanese invasion of Manchuria.

Happy Holidays!

Jason

Click to expand...

I believe these to be from China and not of Japanese manufacture.
I did not notice their prices realized, but they typically sell for about $50. I think I got mine for $15 at one of the lock shows.
There are a few variation of these. Some have squared notiches on the inside of the swing bows and the key holes are in various positions around the lock case. I had some pictures of all the different examples known to exist, but am having trouble locating it. If memory serves me right, there were about 8 different styles. All the keys that I have seen with these cuffs are flat and all of them seem to be hand cut from larger brass door lock keys. I don't believe I have ever seen original keys. Most of these have been sold by eBay sellers in China that find them in Swap meets or open markets.

mark
O--O

These solid brass thumbcuffs are the latest addition to my collection. They are a single-lock, flat key designed cuff, and appear to be identical to the pair in the handcuffs.org's Thumbcuff Gallery , captioned "Japanese Brass Thumbcuff of unknown origin," "1930s Japan".



The springs are stronger than those of my contemporary thumbcuffs, and they are very well made, however, as with most of my vintage cuffs, they were a bit dirty when I received them. The first thing I did was fashion a crude key for them, then gave them a few thorough soakings with the time tested WD-40. Unlike most of my nickel plated antique cuffs, I have opted not to polish them with Metal-Glo, as I don't wish to remove the patina that developed over the decades.

If anyone has any additional information on these thumbcuffs, please let us know.
I'm curious as to whether these thumbcuffs could have been deployed in the Japanese invasion of Manchuria.

Happy Holidays!

Jason

Click to expand...

Jason--I believe Mark is correct. Chinese. I think I have four different ones all slightly different--round tooth, square tooth, fine tooth and so on. I believe they are a bit more recent than 1930's. Working cuffs from China, with keys, have become hard to find.

Damon

These solid brass thumbcuffs are the latest addition to my collection. They are a single-lock, flat key designed cuff, and appear to be identical to the pair in the handcuffs.org's Thumbcuff Gallery , captioned "Japanese Brass Thumbcuff of unknown origin," "1930s Japan".



The springs are stronger than those of my contemporary thumbcuffs, and they are very well made, however, as with most of my vintage cuffs, they were a bit dirty when I received them. The first thing I did was fashion a crude key for them, then gave them a few thorough soakings with the time tested WD-40. Unlike most of my nickel plated antique cuffs, I have opted not to polish them with Metal-Glo, as I don't wish to remove the patina that developed over the decades.

If anyone has any additional information on these thumbcuffs, please let us know.
I'm curious as to whether these thumbcuffs could have been deployed in the Japanese invasion of Manchuria.

Happy Holidays!

Jason

Click to expand...

Thanks for the info, Mark and Damon.

I have seen the model with the square notches that Mark referred to.
My first impression was that they were of Chinese origin as there is an e-bay seller that visits China on buying trips and auctions off various brass and iron ornate locks, brass handcuffs, thumbcuffs and other handmade goods. The brass cuffs feature various degrees of patina, and Im wondering if these date to the Proletarian Cultural Revolution of the '60s/'70s. The aforementioned seller states that they were used by local police, but gives no clue as to their age.

Yossie has a stainless steel or nickel plated version with stampings and protruding pivot rivets here:

http://www.blacksteel.com/hcs/index.cgi ... t=2&mode=1

I thought that the thick, stitched leather belt keeper was especially nice since most come with a cheap vinyl keeper these days.

I won my set on e-bay for something like $10 plus $1.50 postage from a US seller, and am very pleased with the workmanship and very sturdy springs.
I will definitely keep an eye out for other styles to go with them.

Regards,
Jason