Age/circular design of a Darby.

Further pictures are on this reply: Age circular design of a darby



This pair of Darby has nice smooth rounded bows. The 3 in my collection (1 RCS, 2 Hiatt) all have a slightly flatter part by the chain, sort of a D shape. Is this nice rounded C shape a design thing or is it perhaps an indicator of a difference in size of the handcuffs?

Is there any way of discerning from this image roughly how old these might be? They look similar to ones I saw in an old video entitled something like "Handcuffs and how to get rid of them" in which, in black and white, someone uses a hair pin to escape from Darby handcuffs. Those looked nice and round C shape like these. So I would be curious as to the age and this shape thing.

It is hard to say from the photo how old they are but I'd guess later part of 1800s or not long after 1900. The clevis is attached to the bow and the process makes to bow 'swell' slightly where the hole is punched through. It is not cast into it like RCS or JG etc. The swivel is hand made by a blacksmith, as are the bows. If it is not stamped HARD, then it is probably a softer steel and needs to be a little thicker in design. My favourite darby is one that is HARD and highly polished, rather than plated, with the bows having a nice flowing arc that runs through the keyway and ends in a thinner elegant finish. 
PᗑUL

PaulJDavies wrote: ↑

Oct 02, 2022

It is hard to say from the photo how old they are but I'd guess later part of 1800s or not long after 1900. The clevis is attached to the bow and the process makes to bow 'swell' slightly where the hole is punched through. It is not cast into it like RCS or JG etc. The swivel is hand made by a blacksmith, as are the bows. If it is not stamped HARD, then it is probably a softer steel and needs to be a little thicker in design. My favourite darby is one that is HARD and highly polished, rather than plated, with the bows having a nice flowing arc that runs through the keyway and ends in a thinner elegant finish. 
PᗑUL

Very nice. Thank you. I do not have them yet, all being well they will be shipped on Monday and should get them a couple days after. Unfortunately this was the only image, no key and no info as to whether they are functional. So I have my fingers crossed because it'll be the only ones I'd have with that nice smooth C shape bows. I will provide better images here for people's curiosity and perhaps if it sparks any other incites in people like yourself.

Here are the pictures I promised for either curiosity or if you know how old they might be. So far I think they may be 1900-1920 but if you have any further info or accuracy I'd love to know.

There is a pronounced bulge where the connectors are inserted into the bow. It says HIATT BEST and worn and hard to read is the familiar WARRANTED WROUGHT. It is stamped HARD and has a number 5 stamped on it. These are larger than any of my 3 other darbies. A nice smooth C shape bow compared to the pseudo-rectangle shape I am used to seeing. The locking bolt which interacts with the key is shorter than my other darbies but my existing keys (with some working them in) finally work, but I bet the original key would have had a slightly longer stem to make it easier to thread on the bolt.

Visibly they are mostly black, to the eye and after some basic cleaning them there are a sections which have a brown patina. Any info would be appreciated. I paid £25 for them, hopefully that is a good price.

Are there any tell-tail signs which might date a cuff like this to being before 1900? I sort of doubt these are but I am not sure. They have quite a bit of little pitting/wear, to where the WARRANTED WROUGHT is very hard to  read but you can make out that's what it says.