Rare cuff on German eBay

This cuff just sold for 1810 euros on German eBay. item #260719322840
Perhaps someone can tell us all about it.
Joe

Made in Finland.

It is a variation of the Kakola cuffs, works the same way, and takes the same sort of key with a long spike-like bit (ala Mattatucks).

S.S.

This cuff just sold for 1810 euros on German eBay. item #260719322840
Perhaps someone can tell us all about it.
Joe

Hello everyone,

the handcuff on ebay is the second complete set of these handcuffs I know about. The other complete set is on exhibition in the "Deutsches Museum für Polizeigeschichte" (German Museum for Police History) in Berlin. Please see picture here:



About one and a half years ago I was the winner of a lot on German ebay that was all about a German patent that was issued in the 1930s. That patent was about how a brief-case/bag can be secured/fastened to the carrying person. This lot consisted of a lot of paper work, a leather briefcase and several single handcuffs that were either fixed to a length of chain or to some "apparatus". Most of these cuffs were cheaply made of tin, one of them, however, is a half of the style of handcuff that is in question here.
The inventor was member of the German police.

Please have a look at the pictures below. The first one shows the cuff attached to the apparatus. The round pouch was supposed to contain some blank cartridge which was supposed to be fired when the chain was pulled. The next pictures show the cuff in detail. It was wrapped with leather obviously to make it use more comfortable.

As Steve already said these cuffs are technically close to the Kakola, especially the ratchet teeth show that.









I am absolutely sure that the cuffs in question were used in Germany (they otherwise surely would not have been used for the briefcase patent and most certainly would not have ended up in the Berlin museum) and I am as sure that they are related to the Kakola cuffs. So, did Germany import cuffs from Finland? Or is one style of cuffs only inspired by the other (like H&R / Konepaia Voima) ?


Sorry for the quality of the pics, I just wanted to get them out fast. I will write more, when I have the cuffs in my hands.

Best,

Michael

This cuff just sold for 1810 euros on German eBay. item #260719322840
Perhaps someone can tell us all about it.
Joe

Somewhere in my collection photo copies of photos sent to me by the late Finnish collector and escape artist Timo Timmovera that show the identical cuff in his collection.

Timo was of the opinion that all "Kakola" cuffs were in fact German and he always called such cuffs "Swartiger" cuffs.

Of course we now know that the basic design is indeed from Finland.

I find it rather hard to accept that a cuff which so closely resembles the Finland cuffs was in fact made in Germany.

I tend to be more of the belief that the cuffs in the German museum and attached to the leather case are in fact Finland made cuffs.

The mechanism and overall shape and form are too close.

Were the design to be in fact German, I think we would have seen many more of these cuffs show up in Germany by now.

S.S.

This cuff just sold for 1810 euros on German eBay. item #260719322840
Perhaps someone can tell us all about it.
Joe

Hi,

I agree to Michael, these cuffs are probably German.

I have compared the pictures to my Kakola and they differ in several details.

1. The position of the key hole is turned 90 degrees compared to the Kakola.



2. These cuffs take a normal bit key, not a one with protruding bit on the top as for the Kakola.
3. The bows and hinges are different from the Kakola.
4. The lock house is totally squared on these but not on the Kakola.

It's obvoius that these models are connected to each other in one way or another.
-How, is much more difficult to say.

The name "Scwertiger" (which is misspelled German) was probably given to them by Timo
Toumivaara in Finland as he, like Steve says, thought of them as German. Below is a chamois leather
tag that came with one pair I bought from Timo's former collection made by him.





Not a single Kakola, as far as I know, is ever found in Germany. The second pair to the one
Michael just acquired is in a museum in Berlin...


Best wishes,

Lars

This cuff just sold for 1810 euros on German eBay. item #260719322840
Perhaps someone can tell us all about it.
Joe

Meanwhile I received the cuff. It is slightly larger than the single cuff I already had, and I had to make a key to open it, as the key of the single cuff does not fit.

I am happy to say that the cuff is mechanically perfect, the springs are strong, so there was no bad surprise.

For whatever reason the link on one side of the cuff is attached to the bow that carries the lockcase, on the other side to the bow with the ratchet teeth. The rings are not welded to the bows, they are made to swivel.

In the meantime another German reader of the forum provided me with information about sources regarding the common history of Finland and Germany, thank you very much again for this!

Following are some pictures.

Best,

Michael

This cuff just sold for 1810 euros on German eBay. item #260719322840
Perhaps someone can tell us all about it.
Joe

Well, I was sad to lose the auction but happy to see it end up it a great collection. Truly awesome cuff congrats Michael. If it's not too much to ask can you show a photo of the key that you made to fit it?

This cuff just sold for 1810 euros on German eBay. item #260719322840
Perhaps someone can tell us all about it.
Joe

Hi Joshua,

thank you very much for your kind words! Yes, I am very happy I won the cuff. Actually I do not search on German ebay as often and thoroughly as I should, so I am happy I did not miss it.

As a key blank I used a cabinet key that had been modified to open GDR cuffs (thanks for the hint, Lars!). Making the bit thinner and shorter was easy to do with a dremel. The problem was that the wall of the key's barrel was too thick and the hollow part was also too short, so what I did was drill it out. As I only have a hand-drill I had the key in one hand and the drill in the other. On first attempt I spoiled the key with making the wall too thin so that the bit broke out, the second attempt was OK.

You will see that this key is far from being a beauty, but it works.

Best wishes,

Michael

This cuff just sold for 1810 euros on German eBay. item #260719322840
Perhaps someone can tell us all about it.
Joe

HI all,
Here is another photo of another version of a swertiger handcuff,
courtesy of the Gordon Gluff. Enjoy!

This cuff just sold for 1810 euros on German eBay. item #260719322840
Perhaps someone can tell us all about it.
Joe

John, was the chain and swivel on the cuff you posted added afterward? It doesn't look like it is original.

Michael, great cuffs, thanks for all the photos and info.

Joshua, how could I have guessed you were after this fine looking cuff?!! LOL! You have turned into quite the cuffhound! If you keep this up, your collection will soon rival Stan's. LOL!!!

As to the claim that cuffs from Finland were exported to Germany is a little far fetched. Germany has consistently produced some of the best, coolest, cutting edge, and highest security cuffs in the world since.....well, since the Iron Age......why the hell would they need to shop elsewhere? LOL!

Cheers, Mike D~C/

This cuff just sold for 1810 euros on German eBay. item #260719322840
Perhaps someone can tell us all about it.
Joe

Hi Michael, it appears to me that MB's pair is a different model to the GG's model that John posts the photo of.Both the swivel and the tappering frame from the hinge is different to Micheal B's.
Same maker, two different models.

Ian

This cuff just sold for 1810 euros on German eBay. item #260719322840
Perhaps someone can tell us all about it.
Joe

Thanks for sharing the pictures, also thanks to John and Gordon for the contribution.

@Ian; its interesting you pointed out the differences between them as I didnt notice!

These cuffs are among the nicest I know about, a true piece of art. The German quality of antique cuffs
and construction is, according to my opinion, superior to most other cuffs. I will also include cuffs of
Finnish and Finnish/Russian origin as I think they represent the same level of craftsmanship as German
cuffs. When I mention Russian, I dont refer to the communist era but the Russian Empire (1721 1917).

As I have a few very rare cuffs in my collection to compare, I have come to the following conclusion.
No antique cuffs can compare to German and Finnish/Russian quality. In the definition of quality I include:

1. Quality of construction, technical reliability.
2. Quality of springs and their lasting hardness
3. Quality of material (iron/steel)
4. How they are made; forged, riveted, casted, brazed etc.

I even can't remember that I ever heard of any broken antique handcuffs like Mühlenfeld, Berliner, Kakola or any
other cuffs like them. They last!

Compare them to contemporary US Rankins, which often can be pull open due to broken springs or the Wisner with
its inferior construction and tiny springs. I think its a great difference. The best antique US cuff must be
the E.R. as it's forged, having a simple and reliable construction with strong springs.

Others may have other opinions and I'm very interested to listen to them.

Best, Lars

This cuff just sold for 1810 euros on German eBay. item #260719322840
Perhaps someone can tell us all about it.
Joe

If one is looking for quality made cuffs from the 19th century it is hard to beat a early Towers double lock. They had very fine tolerances and were and remain very secure. I have never seen anyone open one without a key. Of course their success had made them common and less desirable to collectors. That is why you pay $100 for a Towers and thousands for a Wisner or ER.

I do have a question for Michael and Lars and the other European experts. Can you date these German and Finnish/Russian cuffs more precisely? In what decade of the the 19th or early 20th century do you think they were made?

Joe

This cuff just sold for 1810 euros on German eBay. item #260719322840
Perhaps someone can tell us all about it.
Joe

Joe,

The question about age is very interesting but unfortunately extremely hard to answer as
there is almost no documentation on them. At least, I don't have it.

If we look at the manufacturing methods and try to compare them to other mechanical iron
products I would guess they are manufactured in late 1800's, maybe 1880 - 1900.

The leather tag that came with one of my Kakola says they were used in Finland from 1800s
1930s. The decades in 1800 are unfortunately not specific.

Hopefully someone else might have some more information on these.

I agree with you on the early Towers. They were made with small tolerances and used to last very long.


Lars

This cuff just sold for 1810 euros on German eBay. item #260719322840
Perhaps someone can tell us all about it.
Joe

Congrats Michael on a great aquisition. They are marvelous!

I am reminded by how the link/clevis is in a different place than the hinge. It reminds me of the Rankin/Delastatious patent model that (lucky) Mr. G.G. got a while back. Old ebay pic below, I hope

The emphasis on putting the hinge apart from the link may be part of the patent language, preventing them from becoming part of the patent itself.

This cuff just sold for 1810 euros on German eBay. item #260719322840
Perhaps someone can tell us all about it.
Joe

Hello everyone,

of course the question, when the cuff was made, is of great interest, but as Lars already said, without any accessible documentation a precise answer is hardly possible. I also would estimate them to be made in the late 1800s, and I can only hope that one day some written documentation will turn up on these cuffs.

Thanks to John and Gordon for providing the picture of the variation, that is a great piece! And thanks to everyone who congratulated me to my acquisition!

Best,

Michael

This cuff just sold for 1810 euros on German eBay. item #260719322840
Perhaps someone can tell us all about it.
Joe

Today I received a message from the ebay seller of these handcuffs. As I was told the seller had bought these cuffs on an antique market in Berlin, a long time ago. Additional information were not available.

Michael