HIATT back strap with quite a different key design.

I have done a quick video which shows a quick recap over my previous HIATT back strap and then shows these ones I acquired today. Physically they are identical to each other except on this new acquisition, the stamping of the number is on the tongue of the backstrap and there is what looks like a V or L stamped on the middle of the lock tube plugs.

The key for my previous ones was clearly a repair job so I have not included it here but the key for this new pair I got today is different than any other picture I could find. I was told by the seller the cuffs had no branding (which after some clean-up they are clearly HIATT) so I searched both galleries on handcuffs.org, Mr Handcuff, Lars, Blacksteel and cuffman. Every Darby pictured that had a key did not match this design of key.

My previous pair were dated as an early HIATT back strap from about 1850 or a tad earlier. So if you feel like any of these little differences provide any clues as to if they are a tad older or younger than my previous ones, I would be interested in your thoughts. Oh and this key does not work on my existing ones, as seen in the video.

As you can see, there are many different key heads for English cuffs. I have mentioned the following on here before, but it is worth mentioning again, that, Thomas Hiatt and James Nichols were co-owners of a foundry in Birmingham. Therefore it is reasonable to assume that they were both casting key heads and lock tubes and anything else they required at will. Other handcuff makers were probably buying their key heads etc as well. But despite the variety of key heads I show here, in reality there were only half a dozen styles used more commonly over a 200 year period.

Here is another Hiatt variation 

Mark Lyons O--O Cuffs wrote: ↑

May 20, 2024

Here is another Hiatt variation 

That's one nice looking key. I think I have possibly figured out that perhaps the keys themselves were made differently in some cases? I have noticed some keys have a small split down the vertical edge of the key tube where it's brazed I think is the term. Shows brass. And on the inside the threading looks more spring-like or corkscrew with traces of brass on the inside around where the screw meets the external tube part. Some of my keys look like they are straight steel with a thread cut into it whereas others look more like this coiled spring look to them. Does this sound accurate?

If this is the case, is one key manufacturing type indicative of being older than the other type of construction?

silentbd wrote: ↑

May 20, 2024

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Yes, Early keys were made by rolling sheet into a tube and brazing the seam, The thread was a coil and sweated into the tube. The tube was brazed to a cast key head.  Later keys were solid cast keys, drilled and tapped with a thread. Around the 1970's, Hiatt produced keys made with a circular head welded to a lathe turn shaft with tapped thread. Then Die cast alloy were produced by Hiatt.

Here is a key that I have never seen before.

Astonishing how many variations of key visual designs there are, even on the same one brand. I think the most common ones I see on eBay with cuffs look like these: