Hiatt Flexibles

I have come across a few Hiatt Flexibles and my favourite set is the ones I got from Don Hinz from Wisconsin about 25 years ago. They are in mint condition and almost certainly were bought from T J Ferrick who offered a good range of Hiatt handcuffs in the late 50’s
I am trying to find how rare the model 125 is with the Sheffield Pattern Key. I know of 2 over here but have still not managed to add a set to my collection! How many are known US collections?
Photo attached of my 124 pattern and a Hiatt leaflet from the 1950’s showing both models.

Never seen a model 125. I suspect they were made on demand, and demand was not great. Hiatt were well suited for making bespoke cuffs based on existing cuffs.

I also do not have a Model 125 in my collection. I have a flexible Hiatt and a Sheffield Pattern Hiatt, but not in the same cuff.
-Richard Knip-

I have a couple flexies, one came from the Earl Lockman Collection auction some time ago.
I believe one is nickel plated and one is polished steel
I never knew that they came in the Sheffield key version.
That would really be something!

Chris,

I love the brochure you have and never seen that before.
A shame that it is so aged and tattered.
I took the liberty to clean it up a bit.

Thank Mark for cleaning up the leaflet.

The Flexible 124 and 125 Hiatts

Thanks Fred for photos. Been looking through some paperwork and found a Hiatt advert from 1930 showing their New Pattern Flexible handcuffs. Also found the Patterson Smith #15 catalogue which I think is 1960 adverts to using the standard pattern - no mention of the Sheffield pattern.

The keys for the Hiatt Sheffield would have been the likely reason for there not being many cuffs around. There is not much material between the bore and the minimum diameter of the thread. Keys would have broken easily and when used in an unlubricated cuff would put a fair amount of torque on the key, creating fractures over time. (cleaned up just the handcuff area. Great cat. page Chris)

The wall thickness of a Hiatt #125 key is only 1.1mm

I have had a few Hiatt Dark Lanterns over the years and most if not all of them had the 2nd "T" in "Hiatt" very lightly stamped and appear as non-existent.

A few years back, there were stories about early Hiatt items originally spelled "H-i-a-t "...with just one "t" and the extra "t" appeared later on in their history.
The claim was never substantiated, and Hiatt is believed to have always been spelled with two "t"s.


I thought about the origin of the singular "t" theory and the tag on several dark lanterns may be a reason that the theory came about. 

Does anybody have a lantern with a well stamped tag or a tag on any other items with a weak "t"?

It's highly unlikely that Hiatt would have had an embossed plaque like that made. The type setter would have lost their job for the huge gap between the 'T' and the ampersand. The second 'T' is missing, the '&' is not complete and the 'G' in Birmingham below also looks damaged. I would be highly confident to say it's been hit by something in its life. It's a hand held lamp but never seen duty ?  

Hiatt knew how to spell. Mis-stampings on curved cuffs and damaged plaques were common. End of story.

Here is a picture of my Hiatt Sheffield flexible handcuff.     The Sheffield key is truly a high security handcuff.  Most people do not realize that there is a key post and thus the key can not simply be replaced with a threaded screw or rod.  The key has to be made from a hollow tube.
Joe