Goodish Hiatt Copy????

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Hiatt-Hancu ... 2566602a7d

Is this the first half decent copy of a Hiatt Darby? It has all the right shapes and angles etc BUT you can see the seam in the lock tube and the seam where the key goes in. The swivel is not constructed like any Hiatts I've seen, it is more like the Repro swivels and some old Indian cuffs, the key has been turned on a lathe to get the correct ribs on the shaft. The number stamps have a modern feel to the character shapes and they do not say Hiatt on them. At first glance they looked correct.

Any other thoughts?

Wow, these are rather good copies. The seam and swivel give it away. The shim blocker on the bow is usually the tip off on a fake and this cuff can easily fool a collector.
They key is passable as an authentic too.
Give it about 10 years and they will get it dead on.
Very troubling!


mark
O--O

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Hiatt-Hancu ... 2566602a7d

Is this the first half decent copy of a Hiatt Darby? It has all the right shapes and angles etc BUT you can see the seam in the lock tube and the seam where the key goes in. The swivel is not constructed like any Hiatts I've seen, it is more like the Repro swivels and some old Indian cuffs, the key has been turned on a lathe to get the correct ribs on the shaft. The number stamps have a modern feel to the character shapes and they do not say Hiatt on them. At first glance they looked correct.

Any other thoughts?

The key looks very authentic. The hinges, and chain swivel, don't look quite right for western make. And the overall shape isn't quite right. But it also doesn't look like a modern piece of junk either. It might be a 19th century product from the British Empire colonies, which produced Darbies with simplified methods. Or, maybe it's a modern reproduction that;s closing in on perfect.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Hiatt-Hancu ... 2566602a7d

Is this the first half decent copy of a Hiatt Darby? It has all the right shapes and angles etc BUT you can see the seam in the lock tube and the seam where the key goes in. The swivel is not constructed like any Hiatts I've seen, it is more like the Repro swivels and some old Indian cuffs, the key has been turned on a lathe to get the correct ribs on the shaft. The number stamps have a modern feel to the character shapes and they do not say Hiatt on them. At first glance they looked correct.

Any other thoughts?

Maybe the key is from a Hiatt Darby. The cuff looks like newer reproduction. Some of the earlier Indian Darbys are very well made - not quite to the British standard but much better than the modern repo's.

Damon

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Hiatt-Hancu ... 2566602a7d

Is this the first half decent copy of a Hiatt Darby? It has all the right shapes and angles etc BUT you can see the seam in the lock tube and the seam where the key goes in. The swivel is not constructed like any Hiatts I've seen, it is more like the Repro swivels and some old Indian cuffs, the key has been turned on a lathe to get the correct ribs on the shaft. The number stamps have a modern feel to the character shapes and they do not say Hiatt on them. At first glance they looked correct.

Any other thoughts?

Damon, that is a nice Indian cuff of yours. The swivel on yours is the style I would expect from there, with the flat ring, but is much higher quality. That is where the comparison ends though. Your looks like all the parts are cast metal, a bit like the Reuben Craddock false back strap cuffs.
The key of the cuffs in question does lack the quality of a Hiatt key and would be similar to the modern repros without the ribs. You can clearly see the lathe turning marks where the ribs meet the head. I have no problem with repros as long as they are not marketed as Hiatts. I think Hiatt is becoming another generic word for what we call a Darby.
I doubt they will ever spend enough time on the repros to get them right and still be able to sell them for $20. If they get them right, they will be worth a lot more than a real antique!
Paul

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Hiatt-Hancu ... 2566602a7d

Is this the first half decent copy of a Hiatt Darby? It has all the right shapes and angles etc BUT you can see the seam in the lock tube and the seam where the key goes in. The swivel is not constructed like any Hiatts I've seen, it is more like the Repro swivels and some old Indian cuffs, the key has been turned on a lathe to get the correct ribs on the shaft. The number stamps have a modern feel to the character shapes and they do not say Hiatt on them. At first glance they looked correct.

Any other thoughts?

I should have looked closer at the key. Paul is right about the key. The seller claims it is a Hiatt I wonder if there is a Hiatt name some where.

Damon

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Hiatt-Hancu ... 2566602a7d

Is this the first half decent copy of a Hiatt Darby? It has all the right shapes and angles etc BUT you can see the seam in the lock tube and the seam where the key goes in. The swivel is not constructed like any Hiatts I've seen, it is more like the Repro swivels and some old Indian cuffs, the key has been turned on a lathe to get the correct ribs on the shaft. The number stamps have a modern feel to the character shapes and they do not say Hiatt on them. At first glance they looked correct.

Any other thoughts?

Paul, your cuffs look like a plated pair I bought at Indy this year. I think there were produced for law enforcement use, not the tourist trade and are, in a sense, the prototype for those nasty copies that proliferate. I thing they are a genuine item, but not a Hiatt.