Cuff of the Day for April 7

This is the Cuff of the Day stream.  Please post a picture of one of your favorite cuffs.    Don't be shy.
This group likes everything.

Since Brad is now a Darby fan, my Cuff of the Day is the oldest Darby in my collection.  It is a really beautiful Griffin & Nichols.
The cuffs themselves are very much like the many Darbys to come, but they are bit heavier, have a longer chain and shorter key.

The cuffs are embossed Aston Cantlow, which is a village in Warwickshire.  The Griffin & Nichols partnership marked a transition
between Griffin's original business and the Nichols business that followed.  That allows us to date these cuffs as two hundred years old, give or take a year or two.

Joe

The cuff of April 5

It seems like Darby cuffs might be the topic of the day.

My cuff of today is set of Swedish Darby leg irons. Unlike British Darby, these have four lock positions. As the bow could be fragile, there is a “fin” attached to the lock house. The swivel is odd and I actually have a set of handcuffs with a similar swivel which makes me believe it’s the same maker. -The same unknown maker!
 
Lars

Ahhh, I am back with my proper log in name
I have a box full of Darby cuffs but not many are noteworthy.
I am not sure if this entry qualifies as a legitimate Darby but it we called it a German Darby when in negotiations to acquire it.
It takes a screw key, has a tubular lock housing, a swivel and smells like a Darby...so it must be one!

I also have a offshoot in my cuff collection.  I like the toys very much.  When I was a kid, my friends and I would play Cops and Robbers endlessly.
This may have sparked my interest in handcuffs and led me to volunteer for 2 Sheriff Departments in my later years.

Here is my Darby entry

Mark
At one time you had an early Hiatt Darby that looked very much like the Griffin & Nichols that I posted.
Do you still have it?  If so I would very much appreciate a picture. thanks
Joe

Allow me to add another Darby, this time a Hiatt. These are covered with a nice leather but I can't tell if this was made at the Hiatt factory or here in Sweden.
They are still unusual.

An antique cuff from France, maybe 1800s?

Maybe Joe could suggest a concret motto for the day, that way it becomes a little more focused (also for future research (different thread for motto suggestions?). How about oldest cuff / toy handcuff  / collar / weirdest combination / most modern cuff / unknown cuff ...?

WOW some really nice cuffs guys'..... in going with the theme of Darby's  The Home Office Model  

Nice Cuffs Nils!

I like your idea of a Topic themed blog.

In a year from now, if someone wishes to go back to see a cuff they liked, it would involve going thru a month or more of pages to find it.
If it was "Darby Cuff of the Day", it would be much quicker to track it down.
In either event, it is nice seeing these awesome cuffs this week.
It reminds me of the good ol' days when there was lots of activity and great conversations.
This virus does seem to have some benefit!

Oh my god, where do you guys find this stuff? Okay, I’ll go back to my junk pile and see if I can find something worthy of a picture.

I do like weird stuff though. Lars yours are great!


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I don't mind doing a theme, but most days we have had quite a mix of postings. 
Does anyone have a suggestion for a theme or two or three?
Joe

In the theme of things, here are two same, but different darbys in my collection. They are made by Hiatt. One is plated and one is not. Or the unplated one may have just lost most of its plating through the years? It has a bit of a shiny look to it, because i try to keep a thin coating of oil on them at all times. Seems to be a factory long chain of sorts made using a twisted chain. Both still work great! Both were acquired through a friend i have in the U.K.
-Richard Knip-

djhalfdead wrote: ↑

Apr 07, 2020

In the theme of things, here are two same, but different darbys in my collection. They are made by Hiatt. One is plated and one is not. Or the unplated one may have just lost most of its plating through the years? It has a bit of a shiny look to it, because i try to keep a thin coating of oil on them at all times. Seems to be a factory long chain of sorts made using a twisted chain. Both still work great! Both were acquired through a friend i have in the U.K.
-Richard Knip-DARBY TWISTED LINK LONG CHAIN HANDCUFFS PLATED #698 (70150) BACK.JPGDARBY TWISTED LINK HANDCUFFS #666 (60150) FRONT.JPG

I should have added that the first one has an original key, but the second one uses a key blank that was threaded to fit the cuff, since it was lacking a key, when I got it.
-RK-

Thanks Joe for considering.
Discussions might be based upon country of origin, Thumb cuffs, hi security, odd Hiatts, odd S&W/Peerless, Nippers, Cuffs stamped USMC...Wells Fargo...etc., Mint condition antiques, (ie every cuff that is in Lars collection) , Berliners, 3 handed cuffs, Bar cuffs, Protoypes, First model versions or one of a kinds and others along this line.  Just my 2 cents worth.

                                                                                                    BRASS  DARBY

  The only known Darby that has a patent number which is N?561166. Research did not find patent papers but the date was 1944-1945.
The key is marked ROVAC. There are many companies with that name. The theory is that a non handcuff company was contracted
during WWII to make these handcuffs.

                                                                                                  BRASS  DARBY LEG-IRON

 Brass locks with a steel chain. Made by Frogget ?

Richard - I like your long chain Darbies.

Gordon - I also like your brass cuffs. I have often heard the argument that brass handcuffs were ordered by the Navy so they would not rust. But who knows. Why do you suggest that the leg iron is from Froggatt. Is it marked?

Joe

Darbies are my favorite type of cuffs, modern and antique both, so imagine my excitement when I saw the informal topic being shared today! 
Gordon, the brass darby handcuffs and leg irons are impressive and incredible.  I especially appreciate how, being non ferrous, they won't ever rust.  I love the patina and the smoothness of the brass.  I would imagine they were cast?

My KUB darby cuffs are made of nickel plated brass, and where the plating has worn out I see a glimpse of the beauty of this golden metal.  Yeah, I like brass, can you tell?

Below is a pair of unknown (to me) adjustable darby leg irons.  These were purchased on eBay years ago. They came with a key marked "Chicago"  but they are unlike anything sold by Chicago Handcuff Company, which resells KUB replicas.  These might be a prototype or earlier version, or maybe from the other darby replica maker Victorworks. The hinges are slightly crude,  pinned and folded over, a method favored by the crappy copies sold on ebay.  The bows are round, and the cuffs are slightly smaller than usual. They are of stainless steel, have no swivel, and a plain straight link chain. There are 4 locking positions. A KUB key does work to open them, and they snap shut. I do like them, and have wondered about the maker.

Any guesses or information?

Gordon,

I have a similar set but both the cuffs and key are unmarked.

Lars

 Joe The leg-irons are not marked. I made the opinion about them years ago when I got them. Looking at them now I would
say that they are newer then that.  Do you have an opinion or guess ?

 Ryan  I went thru a phase where I went nuts for brass handcuffs. I salivated on Marks collection of Chinese cuffs.
Sort of went crazy collecting Chinese brass handcuffs when they hit the market. 
                                                                   Shen Yang

Gordon
I think both your brass handcuffs and the leg irons are 20th century WWII era cuffs. 
The false backstrap design of the handcuffs is certainly a design of that era.  And the chain on the legirons looks more 20th century to me.
But I am just guessing.
Joe

Gordon, I just noticed where you salivated on my Chinese cuffs.  
I just sent them over to the Center of Disease Control.
Thankfully, they tested negative!

I don't have anything as rare as some of the Darbies posted, but here are my Hiatt Backstrap Darbies. They are marked M&C 1901 Hiatt Birmm.


Backstraps



Markings

The brass leg irons might be South African copies of Hiatt. I have seen one for sale there and the keys had a brand name on them - Orbit, or something like that. They were too modern for my collection. During the period when UK was not supposed to export such items to South Africa, I believe they made their own copies of Hiatt. I have a few examples of Sth African copies of Hiatt handcuffs which I have shown on here in the past. They were marked with the Broad Arrow and a U for Union of Sth Africa. 

The Darby with the 1901 date was probably made for the South African Boer War. It falls within that period and was made for Military & Civilian use -M&C.

Ok. The Orbit ones are not the same and appear even more modern.

A little Late. I would say this is one of my favorite cuffs. Bonowi Smartlock. The handcuffs are made entirely of stainless steel with well rounded edges. The locks employ 3 independent pawls separated by 2 anti-shim bars and open with a unique triple bit key. There are keyholes on both sides of handcuffs.

These are my Favorite, every day carry Cuffs. ASP Ultra Hinged Handcuffs with Aluminum Swinging Bows. Ultra handcuffs are made with a forged aluminum external frame that is extremely strong and rigid yet lightweight. (no longer made with the plastic frame).

Now if you need a great backup set of Cuffs. Peerless Model 730C Superlite aluminum handcuffs are nearly half the weight of a typical standard chain link handcuff. They are available in colored Cerakote finishes: red, orange, blue, purple, and green.

Okay, fine, here’s a Darby from my treasure vault.


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Joe, I was just chatting with Ryan off Forum.

SPF came up, we wondering is it still thought to mean Singapore Police Force or is there new info.

Thanks,
Brad


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Paul, those Orbitz darby leg irons are very interesting. I saw a similar pair on a South African version of ebay a few years back, but couldn't figure out how to register to bid, unfortunately... I thought they seemed very cool, and noticed at least on the other pair that the brass may have perhaps been sand cast, because it had a rather roughened texture.  I particularly appreciate the different patinas on your irons, with the locks being distinctly different than the body of the cuff. The chain looks like steel? The swivel brass?

Brad, nice bar cuffs!  I know Hiatt made these from the factory, and I have a later pair from after they switched to alloy.  The bar is 12", steel, and frankly I think it should be at least 16" or even 18", because I tried them on and could reach the keyholes to unlock myself no problem. They are actually alloy 115 replicas (adjustables), and if locked on only the first notch, can be "shimmed" by depressing the locking bit from the outside.
Do those have any unusual markings, and how long is the bar?  I hope we hear back from these guys about the "SPF" as well.

Here are my bar cuffs

Brad
We know that the Singapore Police Force has and does call themselves SPF.
There was one batch of Hiatt adjustables, five or six pairs, that one dealer sold from Singapore on eBay perhaps 15 years ago.
So until someone convinces me that SPF stands for something else, I am going with Singapore.
Joe

Thanks, Joe. We were just looking for any updates.

Ryan, the bar is 15”. I’m including additional pics to show the construction and markings,

The links are arc welded which should provide some hint of age and perhaps provenance. The cuffs and key are marked “HIATT” and one cuff is stamped “British Made”.

BradSent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Guess I’ll figure out how to do this eventually. Disregard the first five pics...unless you’re a REAL Darby fan.


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Pad-Lock wrote: ↑

Apr 08, 2020

These are my Favorite, every day carry Cuffs. ASP Ultra Hinged Handcuffs with Aluminum Swinging Bows. Ultra handcuffs are made with a forged aluminum external frame that is extremely strong and rigid yet lightweight. (no longer made with the plastic frame).

Now if you need a great backup set of Cuffs. Peerless Model 730C Superlite aluminum handcuffs are nearly half the weight of a typical standard chain link handcuff. They are available in colored Cerakote finishes: red, orange, blue, purple, and green.

One small point, the image of the ASP is the older model 200 series which is the polymer overmold non-ultra version. I LOVE the ASP Ultra cuffs. Seems like they really listened to people's feedback. I know the polymer versions would crimp together during a scuffle and would not work correctly, which is fixed with the new Forged Aluminum "Ultra" models. The bow can still be bent over but you have to have the cuffs open for this to happen and it can be bent back. I just wish they would re-design the double lock internals to make them harder to pick. At present with their best high security 2 split pawl "blue" lock-sets, you can use a paper clip to push the double lock off and then use a regular old shim or trimmed beer can to get them off. When it comes to shimming, you can drive a bus into the channel of ASP cuffs lol. But that said, I really like them. If I had a need to use handcuffs, I like the idea that there's less chance of injuring someone with ASP.