Mark Lyons 14 Nov 2012
#2Hey Jay,
To answer your question, Yes and no.
Hope that helped.
These locks are designed to be a handle for duffel bags....but only one handle per bag.
Kit bags, as they were called, were used by US Navy sailors and maybe the Navy stole the idea from some other navy or possibly originated it. A sailor could secure his belonging (minus a knife attack) and could transport his bag with the handle lock. This dual purpose lock made it popular, even though the duffel bag had a sewn in handle of the side of the bag.
Did anyone ever lock 2 or more bags together to make it hard to run off with them? It is possible. Just like a 3 handed handcuff may have locked 3 bad guys together to restrict movement, it was probably made to lock one prisoner to his leg irons or a stationary object.
These kit bags have been sold as cuffs forever but fortunately, I have never seen one in any one's collection anywhere in the world.
Buyer Beware!
mark
O--O
I concur with Michael. Back in 1994, I was also issued this bag together with the lock. It's fairly handy, because you can safely seal the bag and also add a padlock, if required.
They are by no means handcuffs. The seller knows this, but that does not keep keep from making repeated fraudulent offers claiming they are something they are not.
Those locks were made by the thousands and are maybe worth $1 each.
Nils
Ian is wrong.
The first picture does accuately depict the bag and the lock. I put it there to show the lock and the kind of bag it secures.
The rope needs to be removed to allow the proper application of the lock as the shackle would go through ALL of the brass grommets to secure the bag as in Micheals picture.
Ron Spitz 15 Nov 2012
#11These indeed are not handcuffs. Like Michael and others have stated they were used to close and lock their military issued bags.
This type of locking device goes back many years. World War 1 had an old song that referred to your kit bag which used this type of lock and handle.
I have one that was used by a San Francisco banker in the mid 1800's and is marked with the company name. Many older British examples have the lock built into the handle and some are hallmarked.
Ron
