Most coveted/desirable cuffs/brands

So, I'm still new to all this, but I'm sure opinions will be varied on this, so here it goes:

What would you regard as being the most desirable/coveted handcuffs/leg irons/brands in your opinion? Or indeed as a general community. And why? e.g. style, rarity, quality, etc.

Curious to hear your thoughts! :)

Well, the obvious one is rarity. The more interesting the locking mechanism or the technical solution of the problem, the more interesting the cuffs become for many collectors. Cuffs without complicated locks often fetch lower prices. I'd also argue that quality plays a role, as for Berliner or Kakola / Schwertfeger cuffs: many, many hours went into producing a single cuff ; some Soviet-era Russian cuffs in contrast are of terrible quality. As I collect mostly mainly pre-industrial cuffs and shackles, manufacturers or "brands" are often not really a thing. Some designs are just beautiful.

Only collect what YOU like. The rest are a waste of money and a poor investment. In my opinion.
PᗑUL

PaulJDavies wrote: ↑

Oct 03, 2022

Only collect what YOU like. The rest are a waste of money and a poor investment. In my opinion.
PᗑUL

Couldn't agree more with you on that one :)

KruegerKuffs wrote: ↑

Oct 03, 2022

Well, the obvious one is rarity. The more interesting the locking mechanism or the technical solution of the problem, the more interesting the cuffs become for many collectors. Cuffs without complicated locks often fetch lower prices. I'd also argue that quality plays a role, as for Berliner or Kakola / Schwertfeger cuffs: many, many hours went into producing a single cuff ; some Soviet-era Russian cuffs in contrast are of terrible quality. As I collect mostly mainly pre-industrial cuffs and shackles, manufacturers or "brands" are often not really a thing. Some designs are just beautiful.

Interesting information and perspectives there! I hadn't heard of Berliner, Kakola or Schwertfeger so that's given me something to look into a bit more out of curiosity, thanks! :) 

For me, I have various favorites.

For beauty and simplicity, the French/Belgium Circle Cuffs are up on my list and as they are rare, and most collectors don't have these in their collections.
The locks are simple and are of a modified screw concept with parts that detach and can easily get lost, so finding a cuff with all the pieces intact makes the item even more rare.

The Stotz line of cuffs is also a beautiful design, very well made and rare.
In this case, having the only known leg iron in the U.S. makes this pair unique and as a bonus, original key.
On top of that, it was in the Houdini Hall of Fame for many years.

I am particularly honored to have this in my collection. 

There are so many ways to collect. No way is more right than the other as we all have our own preferences.

I've been collecting for almost 45 years and after time, you get knowledge and learn what there is.  Over time, you will learn what you like.

As Nils pointed out; Schwertfeger, Kakola and Berliner.  These are rare but this is what they look like.

Lars

Quite difficult to choose but my favourites are equally split between The Carberry cuffs and Gill Folding cuffs.
I feel so sorry for Carberry who designed and patented it in 1912 - yes the same year that Carney patented his swinging bow design. Needless to say very few Carberry cuffs were made and the set I have are in mint condition with 2 keys.
My equal favourite is the Gill folding cuffs. These once belonged to Stan Willis and I remember him sending me a photocopy of them - yes photocopy! They are illustrated in Alex Nichols book and I feel very honoured to be the current custodian of them.

chriscuffs6 wrote: ↑

Oct 08, 2022

Quite difficult to choose but my favourites are equally split between The Carberry cuffs and Gill Folding cuffs.
I feel so sorry for Carberry who designed and patented it in 1912 - yes the same year that Carney patented his swinging bow design. Needless to say very few Carberry cuffs were made and the set I have are in mint condition with 2 keys.
My equal favourite is the Gill folding cuffs. These once belonged to Stan Willis and I remember him sending me a photocopy of them  - yes photocopy! They are illustrated in Alex Nichols book and I feel very honoured to be the current custodian of them.

Thank you Chris for posting the pictures as it solve a puzzlement. Mark Lyons and myself previously had discussions about what the original key for the Carberry looks like. Mark's key has the shape of the "patent key". My cuffs has a key that looks exactly as your keys. My guess is that there were two different suppliers of keys. I've had my set for many years and it came from a family of a Sheriff Shelmadine of Alliance, Box Butte County, Nebraska. He served until 1940's and my set came directly from his family. I have no reasons to belive that the key would not not be original. I even got the original pouch with them.

Lars

Some excellent thoughts and artefacts here! What a wonderful celebration of all things cuff! :)

So, I have to ask folks...would anyone perhaps have a list or database or whatever of brands available and their scarcity? That'd be interesting to see!