male cuff & female cuffs?

Hi, I recently picked up a pair of plug eight handcuffs from Tasmanian. While describing them to my wife, Lisa, I told her they were cuffs for females. She asked why? I said because they have a left hand thread on the plug and the right hand thread were for men. She said, "What the heck are you talking about" and "What proof do you have?" Good question I thought, I must have been told this years ago and really wonder if it's right.

Any thoughts please.

Ian

Ian

I think I agree with your wife. I don't think any 19th century cuffs were made as "women's" handcuffs, nor for that matter were there any "child's cuffs."

However, I know that there were small cuffs and big cuffs. And I would think one would choose a cuff to match the customer. At the first Indianapolis convention, escape artist Eric Hall was there. Eric is not particularly small, but he has small hands. He could slip his hands out of a standard size Darby. I had just bought a very small pair of T&A Longmore cuffs (5.4 x 4.1 cm) from Joe Tanner. The closed cuff will fit through the opening of a closed standard size Darby. But they fit Eric's wrists just fine.

In my collection I have three left handed plug 8's. Two of them are full size, one slightly smaller. The smallest cuffs are all right handed.

I always assumed that the left handed plug 8's were simply a security matter. There are fewer of them and more importantly fewer left handed keys.

Of course that gives you another out. If you subscribed to the theory that women are smarter than men, then you would want to use your more secure left handed cuff on a female prisoner.

Joe

Ian

I do have a question about left handed plug 8's.

The left handed plug requires a different key since the key must thread its way through the same path as the plug. With a right handed thread you turn the plug to the left to remove it. You then turn the key to the right to pass through the threads that hold the plug. Then to open the cuff you reverse direction again and turn the bottom bolt to the left to open it.

But in all cases that I have seen the bolt at the bottom that actually opens the cuff has right handed threads. This means that if you are opening a left handed cuff you turn the key to the right to remove the plug, the turn the key to the left to pass through the threads, but then continue to turn to the left to open the cuff. You don't reverse direction.

So here is my question.

Has anyone ever seen a cuff with a left handed thread plug and also a left handed bolt at the bottom? Or more simply, are the bottom bolts always right handed?

Joe

My left hand thread plug cuffs all have a right hand locking system. I've never seen any plug cuff that has a left hand locking system.
Large GRIFFIN single plug.
Small FROGGATT single plug
HIATT Plug 8

Stan

Hi Joe, I would have to agree with you and my wife (of course)
I think I read the LH female cuff thing in either a John Novak book or Dick Norman book years ago when I was young and naive and the thought stuck.

This left hand plug cuff is full size(?) so I really think it's a security issue or a rank issue ( just a theory of mine ) that higher ranker officer might had something a little better than the common PC.

Form those cuff I have seen or wroked on, only the plug thread is can be different but the locking bolt is always right hand.

This cuff is marked number "4" and "HARD" nothing else. I was hoping it might have a broad arrow but no. 7 TPI plug thread.

Ian

HI ! ALL::: it is good to be on this site... THANK YOU !!!! JOE..... i am just guessing, but maybe right & left hand threading for the plug itself was developed simply for right hand people vs. left hand people.... simple as that, to make it easier to do the plug....maybe, they did try to do the BOTTOM locking threading on plug cuffs, but found that it was a nightmare problem..... i doubt it thou..... joe

Hi Joe. That can't be it. If a left hand cuff was used to make it easier for a left hand person in applying the cuffs, he would experience difficulty in removing them. Same applies to a right hand scenario.
One possibility was that it was done geographically. Handcuffs and keys from one town could be right handed, and their neighbors could be left handed. In a larger area like London, this concept would not work very well but out in the sticks it might be feasible.

mark
"Kuffs"
O--O