Handcuff questions

I apologize for this being my first post.
I am not a collector but rather an enthusiast of old mechanical things so forgive me if my wording or nomenclature is incorrect. I purchased a lot of old handcuffs at a yard sale. I have two questions. One regarding date/manufacturer and other regarding a non-functioning mechanism.
1. I was messing with the set of Tower handcuffs and pushed one side to its smallest setting. I now cannot get that side to unlock. I can move the wrist portion freely against the detent, so I know its not binding. They key seems to stop before the detent is retracted. Did I ruin this set? Is it possible to feed wire or shim stock down the movable portion of the cuff and depress the detent? Soaking it in solvent?
2. Identification. Mostly, this was pretty easy. With two exceptions. The more weathered set had a tag that said Adams. It looks like an Adams, except it says patent pending instead of a patent date. Am I on the right track? The other set had a tag marked 'France/Germany' the only other markings are worn off.

Thanks in advance for your time and knowledge.

Hi

The top set is an adams. The bottom set is german clejuso 1960

Best. Patrick

I apologize for this being my first post.
I am not a collector but rather an enthusiast of old mechanical things so forgive me if my wording or nomenclature is incorrect. I purchased a lot of old handcuffs at a yard sale. I have two questions. One regarding date/manufacturer and other regarding a non-functioning mechanism.
1. I was messing with the set of Tower handcuffs and pushed one side to its smallest setting. I now cannot get that side to unlock. I can move the wrist portion freely against the detent, so I know its not binding. They key seems to stop before the detent is retracted. Did I ruin this set? Is it possible to feed wire or shim stock down the movable portion of the cuff and depress the detent? Soaking it in solvent?
2. Identification. Mostly, this was pretty easy. With two exceptions. The more weathered set had a tag that said Adams. It looks like an Adams, except it says patent pending instead of a patent date. Am I on the right track? The other set had a tag marked 'France/Germany' the only other markings are worn off.

Thanks in advance for your time and knowledge.

Click to expand...

Thanks! Is there a way to date the Adams cuffs? I kinda figured they were all from the same era. And now tofix the Towers. Or just have a unique paper weight.

I apologize for this being my first post.
I am not a collector but rather an enthusiast of old mechanical things so forgive me if my wording or nomenclature is incorrect. I purchased a lot of old handcuffs at a yard sale. I have two questions. One regarding date/manufacturer and other regarding a non-functioning mechanism.
1. I was messing with the set of Tower handcuffs and pushed one side to its smallest setting. I now cannot get that side to unlock. I can move the wrist portion freely against the detent, so I know its not binding. They key seems to stop before the detent is retracted. Did I ruin this set? Is it possible to feed wire or shim stock down the movable portion of the cuff and depress the detent? Soaking it in solvent?
2. Identification. Mostly, this was pretty easy. With two exceptions. The more weathered set had a tag that said Adams. It looks like an Adams, except it says patent pending instead of a patent date. Am I on the right track? The other set had a tag marked 'France/Germany' the only other markings are worn off.

Thanks in advance for your time and knowledge.

Click to expand...

Wayne,
The Adams cuffs were patented on June 17, 1862 Pat #35576 and reissued as an improvement on April 1864 Pat #1650. They were the first adjustable cuff. Since you cuff is pre patent that should place the prior to the 1862 patent date.

Later patents have the date of submittal for the patent. These patents for the Adams do not have this information.

Ron

I apologize for this being my first post.
I am not a collector but rather an enthusiast of old mechanical things so forgive me if my wording or nomenclature is incorrect. I purchased a lot of old handcuffs at a yard sale. I have two questions. One regarding date/manufacturer and other regarding a non-functioning mechanism.
1. I was messing with the set of Tower handcuffs and pushed one side to its smallest setting. I now cannot get that side to unlock. I can move the wrist portion freely against the detent, so I know its not binding. They key seems to stop before the detent is retracted. Did I ruin this set? Is it possible to feed wire or shim stock down the movable portion of the cuff and depress the detent? Soaking it in solvent?
2. Identification. Mostly, this was pretty easy. With two exceptions. The more weathered set had a tag that said Adams. It looks like an Adams, except it says patent pending instead of a patent date. Am I on the right track? The other set had a tag marked 'France/Germany' the only other markings are worn off.

Thanks in advance for your time and knowledge.

Click to expand...

Hi W.C. the bow (with notches) is jammed. hold the lock body and tap the end of the bow with a block of wood, it should slide back until it reaches the for notch in the bow and then you will need to use the key.

I apologize for this being my first post.
I am not a collector but rather an enthusiast of old mechanical things so forgive me if my wording or nomenclature is incorrect. I purchased a lot of old handcuffs at a yard sale. I have two questions. One regarding date/manufacturer and other regarding a non-functioning mechanism.
1. I was messing with the set of Tower handcuffs and pushed one side to its smallest setting. I now cannot get that side to unlock. I can move the wrist portion freely against the detent, so I know its not binding. They key seems to stop before the detent is retracted. Did I ruin this set? Is it possible to feed wire or shim stock down the movable portion of the cuff and depress the detent? Soaking it in solvent?
2. Identification. Mostly, this was pretty easy. With two exceptions. The more weathered set had a tag that said Adams. It looks like an Adams, except it says patent pending instead of a patent date. Am I on the right track? The other set had a tag marked 'France/Germany' the only other markings are worn off.

Thanks in advance for your time and knowledge.

Click to expand...

yes by all means oil it

it might also have the double lock stuck

it is possible to run a shim from the back side to the front if it is not double locked, try using alum soda or beer can an cut narrow shim

LK D~D

I apologize for this being my first post.
I am not a collector but rather an enthusiast of old mechanical things so forgive me if my wording or nomenclature is incorrect. I purchased a lot of old handcuffs at a yard sale. I have two questions. One regarding date/manufacturer and other regarding a non-functioning mechanism.
1. I was messing with the set of Tower handcuffs and pushed one side to its smallest setting. I now cannot get that side to unlock. I can move the wrist portion freely against the detent, so I know its not binding. They key seems to stop before the detent is retracted. Did I ruin this set? Is it possible to feed wire or shim stock down the movable portion of the cuff and depress the detent? Soaking it in solvent?
2. Identification. Mostly, this was pretty easy. With two exceptions. The more weathered set had a tag that said Adams. It looks like an Adams, except it says patent pending instead of a patent date. Am I on the right track? The other set had a tag marked 'France/Germany' the only other markings are worn off.

Thanks in advance for your time and knowledge.

Click to expand...

If the double lock is stuck, how do I unstick it?

I apologize for this being my first post.
I am not a collector but rather an enthusiast of old mechanical things so forgive me if my wording or nomenclature is incorrect. I purchased a lot of old handcuffs at a yard sale. I have two questions. One regarding date/manufacturer and other regarding a non-functioning mechanism.
1. I was messing with the set of Tower handcuffs and pushed one side to its smallest setting. I now cannot get that side to unlock. I can move the wrist portion freely against the detent, so I know its not binding. They key seems to stop before the detent is retracted. Did I ruin this set? Is it possible to feed wire or shim stock down the movable portion of the cuff and depress the detent? Soaking it in solvent?
2. Identification. Mostly, this was pretty easy. With two exceptions. The more weathered set had a tag that said Adams. It looks like an Adams, except it says patent pending instead of a patent date. Am I on the right track? The other set had a tag marked 'France/Germany' the only other markings are worn off.

Thanks in advance for your time and knowledge.

Click to expand...

In the past when I have encountered a Towers in a condition like this I have turned the key as far as it will go in a counter clockwise fashion, (assuming it reaches a jamming or sticking point), and with the key like this, (and while GENTLY applying very slight counter clockwise turning tension to the key, (not too much or you will break it), I rap the hinge area of the cuff down hard on a 2 by 4 of soft wood like pine.

What this sometimes does is it "raps" the double lock into a position where it no longer binds the bit of the key and the key will function as normal.

This does not always work and when it has not it is usually due to broken bit fragments of other keys that are moving around inside the cuff.

But it is worth a try.

Cheers, Steve Santini

I apologize for this being my first post.
I am not a collector but rather an enthusiast of old mechanical things so forgive me if my wording or nomenclature is incorrect. I purchased a lot of old handcuffs at a yard sale. I have two questions. One regarding date/manufacturer and other regarding a non-functioning mechanism.
1. I was messing with the set of Tower handcuffs and pushed one side to its smallest setting. I now cannot get that side to unlock. I can move the wrist portion freely against the detent, so I know its not binding. They key seems to stop before the detent is retracted. Did I ruin this set? Is it possible to feed wire or shim stock down the movable portion of the cuff and depress the detent? Soaking it in solvent?
2. Identification. Mostly, this was pretty easy. With two exceptions. The more weathered set had a tag that said Adams. It looks like an Adams, except it says patent pending instead of a patent date. Am I on the right track? The other set had a tag marked 'France/Germany' the only other markings are worn off.

Thanks in advance for your time and knowledge.

Click to expand...

I doubly agree with Steve when he says GENTLY ........ Too much force gets you nowhere!

I apologize for this being my first post.
I am not a collector but rather an enthusiast of old mechanical things so forgive me if my wording or nomenclature is incorrect. I purchased a lot of old handcuffs at a yard sale. I have two questions. One regarding date/manufacturer and other regarding a non-functioning mechanism.
1. I was messing with the set of Tower handcuffs and pushed one side to its smallest setting. I now cannot get that side to unlock. I can move the wrist portion freely against the detent, so I know its not binding. They key seems to stop before the detent is retracted. Did I ruin this set? Is it possible to feed wire or shim stock down the movable portion of the cuff and depress the detent? Soaking it in solvent?
2. Identification. Mostly, this was pretty easy. With two exceptions. The more weathered set had a tag that said Adams. It looks like an Adams, except it says patent pending instead of a patent date. Am I on the right track? The other set had a tag marked 'France/Germany' the only other markings are worn off.

Thanks in advance for your time and knowledge.

Click to expand...

If the cuff was on double lock, you wouldn't have been able to close the bow in the first place, don't me mislead by those who have no clue

I apologize for this being my first post.
I am not a collector but rather an enthusiast of old mechanical things so forgive me if my wording or nomenclature is incorrect. I purchased a lot of old handcuffs at a yard sale. I have two questions. One regarding date/manufacturer and other regarding a non-functioning mechanism.
1. I was messing with the set of Tower handcuffs and pushed one side to its smallest setting. I now cannot get that side to unlock. I can move the wrist portion freely against the detent, so I know its not binding. They key seems to stop before the detent is retracted. Did I ruin this set? Is it possible to feed wire or shim stock down the movable portion of the cuff and depress the detent? Soaking it in solvent?
2. Identification. Mostly, this was pretty easy. With two exceptions. The more weathered set had a tag that said Adams. It looks like an Adams, except it says patent pending instead of a patent date. Am I on the right track? The other set had a tag marked 'France/Germany' the only other markings are worn off.

Thanks in advance for your time and knowledge.

Click to expand...

I have also encountered many broken bit pieces in a lot of cuffs and have had good success removing them by holding cuff above my head keyhole down and shacking and tilting till u see the bit piece in the keyhole then use a pick or a magnet to remove some have even just fell out

LK D~D

I apologize for this being my first post.
I am not a collector but rather an enthusiast of old mechanical things so forgive me if my wording or nomenclature is incorrect. I purchased a lot of old handcuffs at a yard sale. I have two questions. One regarding date/manufacturer and other regarding a non-functioning mechanism.
1. I was messing with the set of Tower handcuffs and pushed one side to its smallest setting. I now cannot get that side to unlock. I can move the wrist portion freely against the detent, so I know its not binding. They key seems to stop before the detent is retracted. Did I ruin this set? Is it possible to feed wire or shim stock down the movable portion of the cuff and depress the detent? Soaking it in solvent?
2. Identification. Mostly, this was pretty easy. With two exceptions. The more weathered set had a tag that said Adams. It looks like an Adams, except it says patent pending instead of a patent date. Am I on the right track? The other set had a tag marked 'France/Germany' the only other markings are worn off.

Thanks in advance for your time and knowledge.

Click to expand...

TO Tower above did u not read the part "I was messing with a set of tower" so whom really has no clue !

LK D~D

I apologize for this being my first post.
I am not a collector but rather an enthusiast of old mechanical things so forgive me if my wording or nomenclature is incorrect. I purchased a lot of old handcuffs at a yard sale. I have two questions. One regarding date/manufacturer and other regarding a non-functioning mechanism.
1. I was messing with the set of Tower handcuffs and pushed one side to its smallest setting. I now cannot get that side to unlock. I can move the wrist portion freely against the detent, so I know its not binding. They key seems to stop before the detent is retracted. Did I ruin this set? Is it possible to feed wire or shim stock down the movable portion of the cuff and depress the detent? Soaking it in solvent?
2. Identification. Mostly, this was pretty easy. With two exceptions. The more weathered set had a tag that said Adams. It looks like an Adams, except it says patent pending instead of a patent date. Am I on the right track? The other set had a tag marked 'France/Germany' the only other markings are worn off.

Thanks in advance for your time and knowledge.

Click to expand...

the original post says.
"1. I was messing with the set of Tower handcuffs and pushed one side to its smallest setting."

so the CLUE is, the tower cuffs were on latch. NOT double locked or they would not have moved.

to suggest other wise is CLUELESS.


It's the huge amount of misinformation posted here which really is totally disrespectful to Joe lauher's hard work and time.

I apologize for this being my first post.
I am not a collector but rather an enthusiast of old mechanical things so forgive me if my wording or nomenclature is incorrect. I purchased a lot of old handcuffs at a yard sale. I have two questions. One regarding date/manufacturer and other regarding a non-functioning mechanism.
1. I was messing with the set of Tower handcuffs and pushed one side to its smallest setting. I now cannot get that side to unlock. I can move the wrist portion freely against the detent, so I know its not binding. They key seems to stop before the detent is retracted. Did I ruin this set? Is it possible to feed wire or shim stock down the movable portion of the cuff and depress the detent? Soaking it in solvent?
2. Identification. Mostly, this was pretty easy. With two exceptions. The more weathered set had a tag that said Adams. It looks like an Adams, except it says patent pending instead of a patent date. Am I on the right track? The other set had a tag marked 'France/Germany' the only other markings are worn off.

Thanks in advance for your time and knowledge.

Click to expand...

Thinking back a bit, perhaps this older thread may be of some help (or maybe not):


http://www.network54.com/Forum/261154/t ... Irons+Keys

I apologize for this being my first post.
I am not a collector but rather an enthusiast of old mechanical things so forgive me if my wording or nomenclature is incorrect. I purchased a lot of old handcuffs at a yard sale. I have two questions. One regarding date/manufacturer and other regarding a non-functioning mechanism.
1. I was messing with the set of Tower handcuffs and pushed one side to its smallest setting. I now cannot get that side to unlock. I can move the wrist portion freely against the detent, so I know its not binding. They key seems to stop before the detent is retracted. Did I ruin this set? Is it possible to feed wire or shim stock down the movable portion of the cuff and depress the detent? Soaking it in solvent?
2. Identification. Mostly, this was pretty easy. With two exceptions. The more weathered set had a tag that said Adams. It looks like an Adams, except it says patent pending instead of a patent date. Am I on the right track? The other set had a tag marked 'France/Germany' the only other markings are worn off.

Thanks in advance for your time and knowledge.

Click to expand...

I had a similar situation. The key did not open the latch, but turned around enough to turn on / off the double lock. The problem was solved by a small (0.1-mm) key cutting. Warning! You can cut the key only if you know how to do it.
About Tower shimming. This is possible, and I did it once, but it is very difficult because of the round shape of the movable bow

I apologize for this being my first post.
I am not a collector but rather an enthusiast of old mechanical things so forgive me if my wording or nomenclature is incorrect. I purchased a lot of old handcuffs at a yard sale. I have two questions. One regarding date/manufacturer and other regarding a non-functioning mechanism.
1. I was messing with the set of Tower handcuffs and pushed one side to its smallest setting. I now cannot get that side to unlock. I can move the wrist portion freely against the detent, so I know its not binding. They key seems to stop before the detent is retracted. Did I ruin this set? Is it possible to feed wire or shim stock down the movable portion of the cuff and depress the detent? Soaking it in solvent?
2. Identification. Mostly, this was pretty easy. With two exceptions. The more weathered set had a tag that said Adams. It looks like an Adams, except it says patent pending instead of a patent date. Am I on the right track? The other set had a tag marked 'France/Germany' the only other markings are worn off.

Thanks in advance for your time and knowledge.

Click to expand...

I'll try and futz with them this weekend and report back.

I apologize for this being my first post.
I am not a collector but rather an enthusiast of old mechanical things so forgive me if my wording or nomenclature is incorrect. I purchased a lot of old handcuffs at a yard sale. I have two questions. One regarding date/manufacturer and other regarding a non-functioning mechanism.
1. I was messing with the set of Tower handcuffs and pushed one side to its smallest setting. I now cannot get that side to unlock. I can move the wrist portion freely against the detent, so I know its not binding. They key seems to stop before the detent is retracted. Did I ruin this set? Is it possible to feed wire or shim stock down the movable portion of the cuff and depress the detent? Soaking it in solvent?
2. Identification. Mostly, this was pretty easy. With two exceptions. The more weathered set had a tag that said Adams. It looks like an Adams, except it says patent pending instead of a patent date. Am I on the right track? The other set had a tag marked 'France/Germany' the only other markings are worn off.

Thanks in advance for your time and knowledge.

Click to expand...

"futz"? all you like but keep the door closed while you do.

O-O