Long short on Berliners

Hi, I was recently going thru old photos of handcuff images I have collected and some of those I look at at varisous website.

It is probably a long shot mainaly duwe the machining and overall quality but as these two different cuffs appear to have the same key, could they be made by the same company?

Thanks to Attame for the use of his Dollar sign cuff photo.

Ian
?t=1282693527

This should be a larger photo.

Ian

Hi, I was recently going thru old photos of handcuff images I have collected and some of those I look at at varisous website.

It is probably a long shot mainaly duwe the machining and overall quality but as these two different cuffs appear to have the same key, could they be made by the same company?

Thanks to Attame for the use of his Dollar sign cuff photo.

Ian
?t=1282693527

Click to expand...

Not being the lock expert, but I think you have a point here. They look almost identical.

It's amazing that the $-cuff's manufacturer is still basically unknown. Or am I wrong here? Most people suspect Austria.

Nils

Hi, I was recently going thru old photos of handcuff images I have collected and some of those I look at at varisous website.

It is probably a long shot mainaly duwe the machining and overall quality but as these two different cuffs appear to have the same key, could they be made by the same company?

Thanks to Attame for the use of his Dollar sign cuff photo.

Ian
?t=1282693527

Click to expand...

Hi everyone,

I am quite sure that the key that is shown with the Berliner is not the one that originally came with the cuff from the manufacturer. Almost all the Berliners I have handled so far could be opened with almost any barrel key, as long as it fit down the keyway and the bits/flags were long enough, so I think there is no need for the key configuration as shown. The Mühlenfeld 113 aka Dortmunder cuff is constructed in such way that even a single bit key will open both bows at the same time.

Best wishes,

Michael

Hi, I was recently going thru old photos of handcuff images I have collected and some of those I look at at varisous website.

It is probably a long shot mainaly duwe the machining and overall quality but as these two different cuffs appear to have the same key, could they be made by the same company?

Thanks to Attame for the use of his Dollar sign cuff photo.

Ian
?t=1282693527

Click to expand...

Hi, thanks for the input. Michael, I understand what you mean with the BM 115. Is is not the same then with Berliner handcuffs. i am guessing that in most Berliners there is a central cam which when turned pushes the pawls outward? Does anyone have any photos of a Berliner the top removed?
Chris Gower sent me a damaged Berliner and I had to make up the internal mechanism but it was all guess work until I got something to work. I would really like to know what the mechanism is.

Ian

Hi, I was recently going thru old photos of handcuff images I have collected and some of those I look at at varisous website.

It is probably a long shot mainaly duwe the machining and overall quality but as these two different cuffs appear to have the same key, could they be made by the same company?

Thanks to Attame for the use of his Dollar sign cuff photo.

Ian
?t=1282693527

Click to expand...

Hi Ian,

I hope the picture below can help a little, it shows one of my Berliners which has a removeable cap.

best,

Michael

Hi, I was recently going thru old photos of handcuff images I have collected and some of those I look at at varisous website.

It is probably a long shot mainaly duwe the machining and overall quality but as these two different cuffs appear to have the same key, could they be made by the same company?

Thanks to Attame for the use of his Dollar sign cuff photo.

Ian
?t=1282693527

Click to expand...

Hi Ian,

just some additional information. The "double-hinge" Berliner I have (having a key-hole for a double-bit key) came with a single-bit (non-original) key, turning the key will open only one bow at a time. Also the Berliners that are attached to leather belts (came from the GDR) work the same way, I have no key for them and open them with a bend piece of wire, one bow at a time.

Best,

Michael

Hi, I was recently going thru old photos of handcuff images I have collected and some of those I look at at varisous website.

It is probably a long shot mainaly duwe the machining and overall quality but as these two different cuffs appear to have the same key, could they be made by the same company?

Thanks to Attame for the use of his Dollar sign cuff photo.

Ian
?t=1282693527

Click to expand...

Hi Michael, thank you for posting this photo of the inside of your circular top Berliner, I was unaware that you could get inside any of them. (Are there others you can work on like this?)
It is really something special for me to see inside. In recreating these, I only had my memory of firstly handling one at Joe Tanners (thanks Joe) in 1983 and it was late in the 1990s that I started to make my own version based on the real thing.
As the design has some constraints as to what can or would be the best possible mechanism for the area within, I had to try and work all that out for myself. Working blind as it was I came close and the only major difference is the location and attachment of my springs. Here is one of my workshop drawings here.

Thank you for taking the time to take the cuff top off and take a photo.

Hi, I was recently going thru old photos of handcuff images I have collected and some of those I look at at varisous website.

It is probably a long shot mainaly duwe the machining and overall quality but as these two different cuffs appear to have the same key, could they be made by the same company?

Thanks to Attame for the use of his Dollar sign cuff photo.

Ian
?t=1282693527

Click to expand...

Hello,
the key for the dollar cuffs seems to be original. The shape is definitely made for dollar cuff (it is possible that other locks will be also opened by the key). I have a dollar cuff that had no key and the lock was not working. So i have opened the lock and fixed it, then i have made a Key for it. This is documented athttp://www.andys-handschellensammlung.d ... _01_en.htm with some pictures. You can see how lock is working and what parts are in the lock. It was not possible to restore the lock in totally original condition, i had to change the part at bottom (with the handle to outside for manually closing), it have now a flat sheet of metal with a hole in the middle, otherwhise it will not rotate easily. So my kay is about 1mm shorter than a original key, a original key will not open it. But my key opens other dollar cuffs.

I think, it is not the original key for the berliner, most doble bitted keys of the right size will open it. I cannot see the reason for a double bitted key with zwo bits on one side and one bit on the other side. But the dollar cuff needs this key, two opposite bits releases the internal levers and on bit rotate the bottom part to open position.

Best regards

Hi, I was recently going thru old photos of handcuff images I have collected and some of those I look at at varisous website.

It is probably a long shot mainaly duwe the machining and overall quality but as these two different cuffs appear to have the same key, could they be made by the same company?

Thanks to Attame for the use of his Dollar sign cuff photo.

Ian
?t=1282693527

Click to expand...

Fantastic photo's, Thanks for posting them, great to see the inner workings of the $ cuff.

Hi, I was recently going thru old photos of handcuff images I have collected and some of those I look at at varisous website.

It is probably a long shot mainaly duwe the machining and overall quality but as these two different cuffs appear to have the same key, could they be made by the same company?

Thanks to Attame for the use of his Dollar sign cuff photo.

Ian
?t=1282693527

Click to expand...

Hi Ian,

I am happy I could help with the pics, I already had made them some time ago, so had no problem to show them here right away. Unluckily the round-top Berliners are the only ones that sometimes can be opened, when the screws are not completely ground flush.
Perhaps I should give it a try and x-ray some of my Berliners, possibly this might give some insight.
Thank you very much, Andy, for the great pictures of the repair-process of your $-cuff, very good!

Best,

Michael