RyanVaene
#1Hello again, fellow collectors,
Today I am bringing you the fourth part of my series "Modern Vintage", an illustration of (mostly) darby style restraints, using my personal collection. My collection is intended to showcase a short timeline of modern vintage handcuffs and leg irons, starting with the steel Hiatts, through the cast alloy made by Hiatt at a later time, and then to the modern Pakistani items made today.
Briefly, I would like to share how I began collecting in the first place.
The first pair of handcuffs I bought was a police style swing through pair by Valor. I would place these below S&W or Peerless, but above the cheapest varieties. These use a normal key with a *slightly* smaller key flag, which inadvertently makes them higher security than standard modern handcuffs. Not that they are any harder to pick or shim, but the ubiquitous standard handcuff key does not open them.
I learned of the KUB products sold on DHW and thought I would like to have a few items. I was traveling through North Carolina at the time, and I decided that the 6.5 hour drive to the Discount Handcuff Warehouse location in Virginia was a 'reasonable' detour! I purchased my first darby leg irons from their brick and mortar location, sold as the Chicago 1580, which are based on the larger version of the Hiatt 104L.
These high quality Pakistani made restraints display excellent workmanship. They are typically made of nickel plated brass, although some designs also come in stainless steel. They are available as Chicago Handcuffs through DHW, and with the KUB name through a couple adult-oriented online sellers as well. The KUBind website has a large range of styles and variations, some of which I have never seen for sale online.
While these modern Pakistani made restraints are not always historically accurate reproductions, they are impressive in their own right, and I would recommend them to any collector. As I became more interested in collecting, I have expanded my collection to include the cast alloy and steel Hiatt darbys, and that led me to the idea of showcasing the evolution of these restraints from Hiatt steel, to Hiatt cast alloy, to KUB brass.
As always, I welcome any comments, questions, corrections, clarifications, or conversations.
Above, the three sizes of darby style collars, sold as Chicago 1600. These are available in nickel plated steel, or stainless steel. They snap shut with a strong spring, and are high quality. The sizes are as follows: 18.75", 16.5", and 15". The large collar is numbered 99, while the small is numbered 46. The medium, which I purchased much more recently, is unmarked. My theory is that KUB numbered the first 99 of each item, and then stopped numbering. Below is another photo of the three sizes of collars, which stack nicely for display.Next, we see the matching Irish 8 handcuffs and leg irons. These are the double cylinder models, with two snap shut darby style locks. They are both also available with single lock cylinders, which appears to have been more common among other makers of the Irish 8 style restraints, although I have seen Hiatt solid state Irish 8's with two lock cylinders, albeit with one cuff inverted, which makes sense, as this would make it easier to remove regardless of which orientation they were put on. The handcuffs are numbered 8 and the leg irons are numbered 7. These are both large, which is 8 inches for the handcuffs and 10.75 inches for the leg irons. Both were available in smaller sizes as well. Below is a photo of the Irish 8 model with a single locking cylinder, in size small, which is about 6.25" circumference. These are marked 63.
Here we have a set of hand and leg restraints with Hamburg style locks, which utilize a simple fluted push key. While this is not a very secure locking system, these are well made cuffs. The leg irons have an 18 inch chain, a 10.5 inch circumference, and a stainless steel swivel. They were also available in stainless steel with a 9.5 inch circumference. The handcuffs are 7.5 inches, and were also available in stainless. Finally, we have three more darby style KUB shackles. The topmost is a rigid variation of the same shackle as the 1580, based on the larger Hiatt 104L. They are joined by a stout 4cm bar, with KUB printed on one side. Next is a pair of heavy adjustable leg irons, sold as Chicago 1599. These are imposing, heavy duty shackles, and while they do not double lock, the required force to close to the next locking position is great enough that they would not tend to over tighten. These are the medium, and a larger size was also available.
On the bottom, the same adjustable shackles are connected by a 18.5" stainless steel bar, with an O ring at either side. These are sized the same as the set above.
Thank you for this interesting and information forum for our relatively uncommon collections. I will be bringing a few more parts of my series to the forum over the following months, and while I have covered most of the darby restraints, there are a few other unique and interesting items I look forward to sharing.
Today I am bringing you the fourth part of my series "Modern Vintage", an illustration of (mostly) darby style restraints, using my personal collection. My collection is intended to showcase a short timeline of modern vintage handcuffs and leg irons, starting with the steel Hiatts, through the cast alloy made by Hiatt at a later time, and then to the modern Pakistani items made today.
Briefly, I would like to share how I began collecting in the first place.
The first pair of handcuffs I bought was a police style swing through pair by Valor. I would place these below S&W or Peerless, but above the cheapest varieties. These use a normal key with a *slightly* smaller key flag, which inadvertently makes them higher security than standard modern handcuffs. Not that they are any harder to pick or shim, but the ubiquitous standard handcuff key does not open them.
I learned of the KUB products sold on DHW and thought I would like to have a few items. I was traveling through North Carolina at the time, and I decided that the 6.5 hour drive to the Discount Handcuff Warehouse location in Virginia was a 'reasonable' detour! I purchased my first darby leg irons from their brick and mortar location, sold as the Chicago 1580, which are based on the larger version of the Hiatt 104L.
These high quality Pakistani made restraints display excellent workmanship. They are typically made of nickel plated brass, although some designs also come in stainless steel. They are available as Chicago Handcuffs through DHW, and with the KUB name through a couple adult-oriented online sellers as well. The KUBind website has a large range of styles and variations, some of which I have never seen for sale online.
While these modern Pakistani made restraints are not always historically accurate reproductions, they are impressive in their own right, and I would recommend them to any collector. As I became more interested in collecting, I have expanded my collection to include the cast alloy and steel Hiatt darbys, and that led me to the idea of showcasing the evolution of these restraints from Hiatt steel, to Hiatt cast alloy, to KUB brass.
As always, I welcome any comments, questions, corrections, clarifications, or conversations.
Above, the three sizes of darby style collars, sold as Chicago 1600. These are available in nickel plated steel, or stainless steel. They snap shut with a strong spring, and are high quality. The sizes are as follows: 18.75", 16.5", and 15". The large collar is numbered 99, while the small is numbered 46. The medium, which I purchased much more recently, is unmarked. My theory is that KUB numbered the first 99 of each item, and then stopped numbering. Below is another photo of the three sizes of collars, which stack nicely for display.Next, we see the matching Irish 8 handcuffs and leg irons. These are the double cylinder models, with two snap shut darby style locks. They are both also available with single lock cylinders, which appears to have been more common among other makers of the Irish 8 style restraints, although I have seen Hiatt solid state Irish 8's with two lock cylinders, albeit with one cuff inverted, which makes sense, as this would make it easier to remove regardless of which orientation they were put on. The handcuffs are numbered 8 and the leg irons are numbered 7. These are both large, which is 8 inches for the handcuffs and 10.75 inches for the leg irons. Both were available in smaller sizes as well. Below is a photo of the Irish 8 model with a single locking cylinder, in size small, which is about 6.25" circumference. These are marked 63.
Here we have a set of hand and leg restraints with Hamburg style locks, which utilize a simple fluted push key. While this is not a very secure locking system, these are well made cuffs. The leg irons have an 18 inch chain, a 10.5 inch circumference, and a stainless steel swivel. They were also available in stainless steel with a 9.5 inch circumference. The handcuffs are 7.5 inches, and were also available in stainless. Finally, we have three more darby style KUB shackles. The topmost is a rigid variation of the same shackle as the 1580, based on the larger Hiatt 104L. They are joined by a stout 4cm bar, with KUB printed on one side. Next is a pair of heavy adjustable leg irons, sold as Chicago 1599. These are imposing, heavy duty shackles, and while they do not double lock, the required force to close to the next locking position is great enough that they would not tend to over tighten. These are the medium, and a larger size was also available.
On the bottom, the same adjustable shackles are connected by a 18.5" stainless steel bar, with an O ring at either side. These are sized the same as the set above.
Thank you for this interesting and information forum for our relatively uncommon collections. I will be bringing a few more parts of my series to the forum over the following months, and while I have covered most of the darby restraints, there are a few other unique and interesting items I look forward to sharing.