Strauss Leg Irons

Ok. Judgement call. I dont believe that the Strauss leg Iron, which matches the Model 2 Handcuffs, was made in the 1920s? I have a friend who has one that has provenance to claim a 1926 manufacture date and a very prestigious previous owner. I believe this leg iron was made towards the middle to late 1930s? I read that in some book or papers, somewhere? Does anyone whave or know the production dates for that type of leg iron from Strauss?
-Richard Knip-

Richard, I always heard they were WW II stuff.

Will look through my i fo and see if I find anything.

Brad


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I’m on board with Brad on this in that Strauss were made during WW2 for a few reasons the first being that Gross states in his book that these were made under contract for the U.S. Army and secondly they resemble the Harvard irons very closely. Machinists were desperately needed to make plane, ship and tank parts so these irons are stamped and require very little in the way of precise machining and it’s why you see Tower leg irons being used by the military when they need a real secure restraint. My Strauss irons simply say pat. pending with no date on them.

Spencer

Dear Spencer,
I am confused about the "security" of Tower restraints. I have read a bunch of conflicting things. When you say the military used them, do you mean the US military during WW2? Were these Towers the same in security as the first double lock Towers? Were they basically the same original double lock Towers but just manufactured latter? 
If the Towers of WW2 were state of the art, how long did they hold on to this distinction?
Mike

Thought the same thing, someone's be had.

OHWELLSAD wrote: ↑

Oct 04, 2020

Thought the same thing, someone's be had.

forgot image

Any "Houdini" items from either Dunninger or Hardeen are always suspect.

Hardeen was known to buy surplus handcuffs...and sell them as "Houdini handcuffs".

Mike

I do indeed mean that during WW2 some branches of the armed services used standard issued Tower leg irons and while I don’t own any there are examples stamped U.S.N. and U.S.M.C. out there. Exactly what year they ceased using them I’m not sure but probably late 1940’s?

Spencer

djhalfdead wrote:Ok. Judgement call. I dont believe that the Strauss leg Iron, which matches the Model 2 Handcuffs, was made in the 1920s? I have a friend who has one that has provenance to claim a 1926 manufacture date and a very prestigious120622524_10164257021935707_1318173765733764106_o.jpg previous owner. I believe this leg iron was made towards the middle to late 1930s? I read that in some book or papers, somewhere? Does anyone whave or know the production dates for that type of leg iron from Strauss?
-Richard Knip-

I always thought if they were built in the 1930s. It seems to me that they might’ve inspired the Harvard’s since they are a bit cruder


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I hate seeing people get taken advantage of, especially if its a friend or even someone i just know through social media, like FaceBook. I try to correct false information when I can. I just talked to a guy from Ebay who listed a Peerless Model 3 handcuff with the original box as a "Rare Lightweight Peerless handcuff." I showed pics and explained why his wasnt one. He agreed, apologized and changed his auction title. I was a young collector once and have been taken a handful of times. I try to keep others from falling into the same traps that I did.

I have talked with my buddy who purchased these and it seems i had misread his original post. He says the person who sold these to him claims they were Hardeen's and not Houdini's. But they still claim a 1926 manufacturer date. Which, of course, is not accurate. It is possible that these were Hardeen's, though it would be hard to prove. Hardeen passed away after these would have been made. Hardeen passed in 1945. But, with all of the cuffs that Hardeen had sold claiming them to be Houdini's and other untrue things, its hard to say. I did tell my buddy that he does have a piece of history tho and depending on what was paid for them, he may still have a treasure. He has these cuffs and the letters that go with them, claiming them to be from Hardeen. Which, these very well could be one of the "fakes" that Hardeen was known for passing around, when he needed some money. Which, in my eyes, would still make them a collectible, worth something.
-Richard Knip-

Sid Radner once said "Everything that passes thru my hands was owned by Houdini"  Sid bothered Hardeen so much, it is alleged that Hardeen just bought any old cuff he saw and sold it to Sid and said is came from the Houdini Collection. Sid built a 'reputation' on that but all was not as it seemed, Several item were pulled from the auction on the viewing days as knowledgeable collectors for NY and MN saw incorrectly labeled items.  People are just happy to believe any old stuff is it gives them a good feeling.

I certainly agree to that! I remember the Sid Radner auction in Las Vegas back in 2004 and I still have the auction catalogue. I was also amazed by the very high sales prices on standard production cuffs. With all of them came certificates of authenticity – signed by Radner himself. It’s like printing your own banknotes without questions.
 
Some of the listed Houdini cuffs were even patented after his death. The French “La Massenotte" is one example as it’s patented in late 1920’s, after Houdini's death in 1926.
I would never pay an extra cent for a standard production cuff sold with provenance if I can’t get 100% proof of it. Then the item either need to be a one off cuff (like the Mirror cuff ) or a standard cuff photographed back in time. That cuff need to be recognized due to any kind of characteristics that clearly can be identified. Otherwise it’s just production cuff to me – with no proven provenance and it should be priced for what it is.

I too agree with the above statements.  At the auction, John Bushey and I sat down with Sid and went over the catalog listings with him.  That's when he decided to pull several items.  It was a great auction and many collectors got some good pieces.

Ron

I believe there was a Harvard cuff being auctioned that day and everyone in the room went silent once the bidding started but some poor internet bidder was unaware of the rip off and got a handcuff that Houdini owned at least 20 years AFTER he was buried.
Maybe Hardeen visited Houdini's grave, placed a Harvard on the bench, told the below ground Houdini that this is his property now, picked it up and sold it as belonging to Houdini.

Mark Lyons O--O Cuffs wrote: ↑

Oct 05, 2020

Maybe Hardeen visited Houdini's grave, placed a Harvard on the bench, told the below ground Houdini that this is his property now, picked it up and sold it as belonging to Houdini.

nah, probably not. Duh.