Cuff Of The Day for June 1, 2020 Belly Chains

I wanted to take a minute to sincerely thank Joe Lauher for bring us together over the cuff of the day topic! Well done, my friend! It was so good to see as many people posting on here as we had. I hope this lights a fire that continues to burn for a long time to come! Breathing life back into this great forum! I will take the reigns for today. Looking back on the topics, i dont see where we did "Belly Chains", so i will kick things off with:

A set of H&R Belly Chains. I do not know for sure if this was factory made or if there was an item made at a prison, for use at that prison? As you can see, this uses the early model Super cuffs. The bows of the cuffs are not ditched.

From there, i will roll into a set of
Gen 1, Smith & Wesson Model 94 Belly Chains. These are a set that was made and used in the Raiford Prison in Florida, otherwise known as The Florida State Prison. This uses a standard "N" key.

Alright everyone. There you have it! Add on to this topic by sharing some of the belly chains in your collection. We arent looking for pristine or best of the best here. We accept any and all submissions to the topic! It doesnt matter if you have a $1000 set of Chubbs belly chains or a $60 set of Peerless. Any and all Belly Chains count! Join in and share!
-Richard Knip-

I have a couple of everyday Peerless Belly Chairs put away somewhere, but I don't have any pictures of them.
What I can offer is the Hyatt & Tankersley belt patented in 1888.    It has a pair of Bean patrolman cuffs attached.
It was posted earlier under the Cuff of the Day Belt day, but it could just as easily be considered a Belly Chain since its security is due to a chain.

I got this belly chain from Stan Willis, when his collection was broken up and sold off. This is an ASP belly chain that I believe came through Handcuff Warehouse as a special order. Not a factory made piece. It uses the orange Model 100 ASP handcuffs.
-Richard Knip-

lauher wrote: ↑

Jun 01, 2020

I have a couple of everyday Peerless Belly Chairs put away somewhere, but I don't have any pictures of them.
What I can offer is the Hyatt & Tankersley belt patented in 1888.    It has a pair of Bean patrolman cuffs attached.
It was posted earlier under the Cuff of the Day Belt day, but it could just as easily be considered a Belly Chain since its security is due to a chain.

Joe, your belt is an amazing piece! You have a treasure, there!
-Richard Knip-

This is one of the American Handcuff Co.'s Speed Master Belly Chains with its original box.
This one is technically more of a transport restraint, than just a belly chain. But, it includes a belly chain, so i will share it! The American Handcuff Co. L-200 Transport Restraint. -Richard Knip-

Smith & Wesson Catalogued Belly Chains.
Model 800
Model 810
Model 1800
Model 1800-1
Dave

For the standard Peerless Belly chains, we have the Model 3002, the Model 5002 and the Model 7002. All of these have the cuffs separated at the hips. They use stock Peerless handcuffs of the same series.
For the cuffs linked together in the front, Peerless also made the Model 3003, Model 5003 and the model 7003. I am missing a Model 3003, so it is not shown in a picture. Here are the other two Models, tho.


The Model 7705. Uses the 700 series cuffs, separated at the hips and connects down to a Model 703 set of Leg Irons. Technically, it is a transport restraint, but it includes a waist chain, so here it is!

The Last Peerless Belly Chain I have uses a set of Peerless cuffs with the Boa High Security Locks and cases on them.
The is BOA/Peerless Model 710 Handcuffs with the cuffs separated at the hips.
-Richard Knip-

Does anyone have any information on belly chains for Mitts. ie whether they were standard, an option sold separately, or have any original images when advertised. How many are out there?
Paul

Paul

I have one set, but no belly chains. I have also never seen belly chain ads with these mitts.

Matt

I have also never seen a belly chain for Mitts advertised or in  use. You have an absolutely gorgeous set of Mitts, Paul!
-Richard Knip-

Paul, you must've hopped into a time machine and picked these up right from the factory! 

In the research  that John Bushey made and published (2011) in the book "The Story of the McKinzie Mitts", there are several references to original belly chains.

This book and other books by John are available, free, in another section of the Forum.  Also the research on the Lilly irons is available on the same page.

Ron

Here is the John Bushey page.  You can download copies of his books there.

http://handcuffs.org/bushey/

A few years back we did try to collate how many Mitts are known.  Can not remember the number we listed but think it was about 27?
Not many with original belly chain.  Here are my two sets, Black set with black chain.

Just to be complete about these things. Here are some pics of the mitts on ebay right now With the belly chain. No bids at 6K. It is at https://www.ebay.com/itm/McKenzie-Mitts ... SwRkNgEz6a

The chain is supposed to match the chain on the mitts. Chris's is original.

Is there something amiss originality wise with the eBay set? I’ve asked questions of the seller and they are not friendly to say the least.

Philcheck wrote: ↑

Apr 06, 2021

Is there something amiss originality wise with the eBay set? I’ve asked questions of the seller and they are not friendly to say the least.

I bought a different pair of cuffs from them a while ago, and felt the same thing. I wouldn't say they were rude or anything, but yes, very short responses, not 'friendly', but also not nasty... was almost like I was inconveniencing them by buying.

james.slips wrote: ↑

Apr 08, 2021

Philcheck wrote: ↑

Apr 06, 2021

Is there something amiss originality wise with the eBay set? I’ve asked questions of the seller and they are not friendly to say the least.

I bought a different pair of cuffs from them a while ago, and felt the same thing. I wouldn't say they were rude or anything, but yes, very short responses, not 'friendly', but also not nasty... was almost like I was inconveniencing them by buying.

That’s exactly how I felt about it too

There was some discussion about original chain above.
The top photo shows another example of what it looks like 
The bottom pic is a rarely seen one.