The Forum at Handcuffs.Org

S&W 90s vs. S&W 91s

21 visible archived posts · 21 preserved total · topic ID 554

Pastor Clyde 11 May 2005

Greetings!

How can you tell the difference between a set of S&W 90s and S&W 91s?

thanks!

Clyde

Pastor Clyde 12 May 2005

Why I am asking is that I cannot see any difference and since no model number is printed on the cuff, how do you know if you really received S&W91s and not S&W90s? Also, does anyone know if S&W91s were ever blued?

Thank you for your help,

Clyde

stan willis 12 May 2005

I think the only difference is the finish. The model 90 is Nickel finish, not polished. The Model 91 is also nickel, but with a polished finish. You can see a reflection in it. The model 90 was also made blued.
Stan

Pastor Clyde 12 May 2005

Stan,

Thank you for your response. I purchased a set of cuffs from a dealer who was clearing his shelves. What arrived was a S&W box with the words, "POLISHED" and "MODEL 91" on the front. The word "NICKEL" was blacked out. Inside was a pristine, highly polished but blued cuff. You can see yourself in the mirror finish! Is this possibly a BLUE model 91 as the box implies?

Thanks for your insights and thoughts,

Clyde

stan willis 12 May 2005

I went to the source, and found a few old catalogs. Here is what I found:
1970-71 F. Morton Pitt showed S&W cuffs (no model numbers) in regular and polished nickel and blue finish.

1970 Darley showed Regular finish Nickel or blued and Polished blue or nickel.

1972 - National Police supply showed model 90 in nickel and blue, but model 91 in polished nickel only.

1974 Edelman Supply showed same as National. No polished blue finish.

So it looks like they quit making the polished finish in blue before 1972.

I hope this helps.
Stan

Pastor Clyde 12 May 2005

Thank you for your efforts, that was a big help! So if they are polished blues from about 1970, what model do you estimate them to be? For example, when did the 91s first come around? Was the polished verion of the Smith & Wesssons in 1970 still referred to as a 91? Sorry to have so many questions, I'm just trying to solve this mystery. I don't even know how to classify them (model) and I felt this would be the place to find out. Again, thanks for your help! I'll upload a picture to Joe to see if he'll add it to this discussion so that the model can be identified.

Thanks!

Clyde

Pastor Clyde 12 May 2005

I have emailed Joe and asked him to kindly upload the picture here. The picture has four sections.
Section A. shows the reflective quality of this highly polished finish. Its gorgeous! You can see the metal reflection of my watch band near the S&W symbol.
Section B. shows the box as I received it. Though I realize boxes can be inadvertantly switched, this one seems to match the cuffs that came within it.
Section C. shows that the blued cuffs are the same thickness as the S&W 90s.
Section D. shows the mystery cuffs next to the S&W 90s.

I'm inclined to think based on the info you gave, Stan, that these were produced in 1970-1972, as a blued and polished version of the S&W 90s. Wouldn't that make them a blued S&W 91?

I'll be anxious to hear what you and/or others think.

Thanks so much,

Clyde

stan willis 12 May 2005

Your're making me work for this one. I finally found an S&W catalog sheet from July, 1971, and one from April, 1974. They both show model 90 in Nickel or Blue, and Model 91 in Polished Nickel. Neither one shows a polished black. I would call the black polished cuff a model 91 black, since it can't be a model 90 black.
Maybe someone has a an S&W catalog that shows the black polished cuff.

Stan

#90s vs. 91 14 May 2005

fyi: As per my S&W price flyers/catalog sheets: 1958-59 S&W introduced their #925,926,and 91 nickel & blue.
Later S&W flyers I have from the 1960s only list the #91 polished Nickel (not Blue). But as per Stan - sounds like the #91 polished Blue stopped around 1971.

Pastor Clyde 14 May 2005

#10

Thanks everyone for your help! I knew you'd solve the mystery. BTW, I emailed S&W about them.... never heard back.

THANK YOU!

Clyde

TCCason 15 May 2005

#11

Hi, new to the forum.

Lately, through my interest in Smith & Wesson firearms, I've become interested in other S&W products, including handcuffs. That's how I came to be here. I have to say that the past few days of reading through this forum have been both interesting and highly informative!

Anyway, back to the subject: One of the items I use in identifying and dating the various S&W handguns I encounter is the Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson, Second Edition,, by Supica and Nahas. Although this is primarily a reference for firearms, they do have a section devoted to other products, which includes a basic listing and timeline of the handcuff models. According to this reference, the Model 91 was introduced in 1952 in bright blue or nickel. No mention of the discontinue date for the blue version is given.

Phil Ingram 21 May 2005

#12

Thanks, Terry, for the information about the book. Amazon has it in stock $23.07. I'll probably order it.

As for the nicer S&W model 90 cuffs and the model 91 cuffs, you'll easily see the difference between the two when put side by side. I have both, and my model 90s are beautifully polished, but they still don't compare with the 91s, which have a great mirror finish.

Phil

TCCason 22 May 2005

#13

I did find an error in their listing, the Model 94 is mistakenly listed as a Model 44.

Like I said, it's not really a handcuff book, just a short reference in the back in the section Miscellaneous S&W Products.

But if you have ANY interest at all in Smith & Wesson fireams, especially vintage S&Ws, this book is a must-have for model identification and dating. The photo section alone is worth the price.

FWIW: I just bought a new-in-box Bangor-Punta era nickel Model 90. Should have them in a few days. Since I have absolutely no practical use for these, I guess that makes me a bona fide collector

Atame 25 May 2005

#14

Hello fellow collectors,

I am just wondering...

I always thought that the only difference between a M-90 and M-91 is that the M-90 has satin nickel and the M-91 has bright mirror nickel finish.

Please correct me, if I am wrong: there are also black (blued?) M-90 versions, right? But what would the difference between a black M-90 and a black M-91 be? Satin black vs. black mirror finish???

Regards,
Guenter aka Atame

TCCason 27 May 2005

#15

According to the listing in the SCSW, the M-90 is "dull blue or nickel" and the M-91 is "bright blue or nickel".

I got my NIB nickel Model 90 cuffs a couple of days ago, the "dull nickel" is in fact a beautiful matte finish.

Okay, here's one for the experts:

I also just received another set of S&W handcuffs that I won at auction. Used, no keys, little description and a blurry picture, but I could make out that they were definitely not one of the current production models.

They were advertised as being stainless steel. I was skeptical, most people don't know stainless from squat. But I bought them anyway since at the very worst they were M-91s, and I got them cheap ($16.50).

They were pretty dingy, but a little Mother's Polish and they cleaned up to a mirror finish. There is only one noticeable blemish, looks like they may have been dropped.

Now I'm not so sure what I've got. I've seen nickel on firearms and this does not look like polished nickel. I believe that these are in fact Model 936 stainless steel cuffs.

Are there any telltale signs that would distinguish the Model 936? Markings? Or are the M-91 and M-936 externally identical except for the material/finish?

Oh yeah, magnets. Already thought of that, won't work. Doesn't work on the steels S&W used for firearms and knives, so it isn't going to tell a stainless cuff from a nickel plated one.

cuffman 28 May 2005

#16

This may be a silly question but what do you mean when you say magnets don't work? They do stick to both my sts S&W revolvers and also to the cuffs I tried (I didn't try all off them) so I guess this won't tell you the difference between a sts and a regular nickel plated cuff.

Greetings from Belgium,
Peter
http://users.pandora.be/cuffman/

Terry Cason 28 May 2005

#17

Some stainless steels are non-magnetic. This is often an easy way to separate stainless bolts and nuts from plated carbon steel ones.

But the stainless alloys used in firearms and handcuffs do not have this property. Magnets are attracted to them just the same as nickel plated carbon steel.

Dorson 28 May 2005

#18

Yes some stainless steels have those properties but the attraction is less than if it were regular steel.

James 06 Apr 2007

#19

Jason, this is the one I was talking about

James

James 06 Apr 2007

#20

sorry, there is alot to look thru, find the posting by Joseph Fox, and read down from there

James

grenchat 06 Apr 2007

#21

Got it James, thanks!

It isnt quite clear when they ceased production of the 925, but I am guessing that the run was short-lived -- based on having not even seen a set on auction.

Your NIB set should be quite a rarity and certainly worth a pretty penny by now.
When you have a chance, please post some pictures with a close-up of the stampings.
We have been trying to compile a rough comparison chart by which to approximate date ranges.

Happy collecting and happy holidays to all!

Jason