?Russian ?Indian

Picked up this rather unusual handcuff several months ago. It appears to be a very secure cuff with an extra plate attached to the main body and what appears to be a quite high security key. On closer inspection, the key is not high security. The raised part of the lock case acts as a simple ward. My original thoughts looking at the swivel is that it is Indian (it is stamped with PN 617 & 42 the key is also stamped 42). However, when Joe visited me with Alex we thought it may be Russian in origin. I know that a similar set was sold on ebay about 6 months ago but not too sure who won it??
Certainly it is not a modern cuff and I am sure it has seen service with the Police or Prison service. Any thoughts??
Chris

Hi. I was the lucky winner of that cuff. The seller lived in your neck of the woods and in his description, he thought of it as being Russian or Polish in origin. It is possible that it could be Polish, but my gut feeling is that it is Russian. I have only known the Darly style cuff to be manufactured in Poland and have never heard of any other cuffs from that country. Russia on the other hand, made numerous variations and I believe this to be one of them.
Chris, your cuff looks identicle to mine except for the key. The bow is a bit larger on mine and it is stamped HL1. It is a very cool cuff.
I believe that I have seen ths cuff on the Russian collection web-site. A link to that site may be posted on this web-site or if not, there will be a link on Yossi's site. It is written in Russian, but even I could navagate through it.
This cuff and other Russians will be featured in an article that I wrote for a new book that is about to be released soon. Details about the book will be announced on this web-site very soon.
mark

Picked up this rather unusual handcuff several months ago. It appears to be a very secure cuff with an extra plate attached to the main body and what appears to be a quite high security key. On closer inspection, the key is not high security. The raised part of the lock case acts as a simple ward. My original thoughts looking at the swivel is that it is Indian (it is stamped with PN 617 & 42 the key is also stamped 42). However, when Joe visited me with Alex we thought it may be Russian in origin. I know that a similar set was sold on ebay about 6 months ago but not too sure who won it??
Certainly it is not a modern cuff and I am sure it has seen service with the Police or Prison service. Any thoughts??
Chris

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Hi Chris, I also have a pair of these handcuffs. About 20 years ago, an importer of Indian products was going door to door to different locksmtihs shops in Melbounre trying to sell off the remaining stock of reproduction handcuff darby handcuff that antique stores hadn't purchase. The antique stores seemed to buy the ones in the best working order and this person would sell those which didn't work the best to locksmiths.

In short, among the darbies on offer was a pair of the swing thru cuffs as per your picture.

Ian

Picked up this rather unusual handcuff several months ago. It appears to be a very secure cuff with an extra plate attached to the main body and what appears to be a quite high security key. On closer inspection, the key is not high security. The raised part of the lock case acts as a simple ward. My original thoughts looking at the swivel is that it is Indian (it is stamped with PN 617 & 42 the key is also stamped 42). However, when Joe visited me with Alex we thought it may be Russian in origin. I know that a similar set was sold on ebay about 6 months ago but not too sure who won it??
Certainly it is not a modern cuff and I am sure it has seen service with the Police or Prison service. Any thoughts??
Chris

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Ian, I sure hope that the door to door salesman was a retired cop from Moscow!

Picked up this rather unusual handcuff several months ago. It appears to be a very secure cuff with an extra plate attached to the main body and what appears to be a quite high security key. On closer inspection, the key is not high security. The raised part of the lock case acts as a simple ward. My original thoughts looking at the swivel is that it is Indian (it is stamped with PN 617 & 42 the key is also stamped 42). However, when Joe visited me with Alex we thought it may be Russian in origin. I know that a similar set was sold on ebay about 6 months ago but not too sure who won it??
Certainly it is not a modern cuff and I am sure it has seen service with the Police or Prison service. Any thoughts??
Chris

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I haven´t ever seen these cuffs before, but I guss if they come from Russia they would be stamped in Cyrrilics - in Russian language they don´t use lLatin alphabet and it´s letters at all...

Josef

Picked up this rather unusual handcuff several months ago. It appears to be a very secure cuff with an extra plate attached to the main body and what appears to be a quite high security key. On closer inspection, the key is not high security. The raised part of the lock case acts as a simple ward. My original thoughts looking at the swivel is that it is Indian (it is stamped with PN 617 & 42 the key is also stamped 42). However, when Joe visited me with Alex we thought it may be Russian in origin. I know that a similar set was sold on ebay about 6 months ago but not too sure who won it??
Certainly it is not a modern cuff and I am sure it has seen service with the Police or Prison service. Any thoughts??
Chris

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Thanks for your responses, yes Mark it would be nice to think that the pair Ian got was from a Russian cop, but I am sadly coming to the opinion they are Indian. Certainly as Josef says it is doubtful if cuffs made in Russia would have the numbers and letters stamped on them. Of course it is always possible they were made in Russia, taken by the KGB to the Russian Embassy in India, then when this was disbanded most were destroyed but a few found their way into Indian Police Officers posessions who then stamped numbers and letters on them!!!
Certainly the quality and linkage is poor (in fact only one of my cuffs work).
Chris
PS Ian, its a pity that Handcuffs can not be burnt - I would have liked to send you some ashes to help towards the ones that Australia have just lost!

Picked up this rather unusual handcuff several months ago. It appears to be a very secure cuff with an extra plate attached to the main body and what appears to be a quite high security key. On closer inspection, the key is not high security. The raised part of the lock case acts as a simple ward. My original thoughts looking at the swivel is that it is Indian (it is stamped with PN 617 & 42 the key is also stamped 42). However, when Joe visited me with Alex we thought it may be Russian in origin. I know that a similar set was sold on ebay about 6 months ago but not too sure who won it??
Certainly it is not a modern cuff and I am sure it has seen service with the Police or Prison service. Any thoughts??
Chris

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I have several handcuffs that were made in Russia and have a letter and number stamped into them. The markings are not Russian. I don't think the markings tell us anything.
Stan

Picked up this rather unusual handcuff several months ago. It appears to be a very secure cuff with an extra plate attached to the main body and what appears to be a quite high security key. On closer inspection, the key is not high security. The raised part of the lock case acts as a simple ward. My original thoughts looking at the swivel is that it is Indian (it is stamped with PN 617 & 42 the key is also stamped 42). However, when Joe visited me with Alex we thought it may be Russian in origin. I know that a similar set was sold on ebay about 6 months ago but not too sure who won it??
Certainly it is not a modern cuff and I am sure it has seen service with the Police or Prison service. Any thoughts??
Chris

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Hi Chris, I am sure they are Inian cuffs, I will see what markings if any are on my cuffs.

As to the cricket which you alude to ( and I don't follow) the ashes cup is claimed to have been tipped over by a cleaner and refilled by the cleaner with what they could pick up and any other dirt and ash tray stuff they could find. So England has won a bowl of grit and it took them 16 years (LOL)

Ian

Picked up this rather unusual handcuff several months ago. It appears to be a very secure cuff with an extra plate attached to the main body and what appears to be a quite high security key. On closer inspection, the key is not high security. The raised part of the lock case acts as a simple ward. My original thoughts looking at the swivel is that it is Indian (it is stamped with PN 617 & 42 the key is also stamped 42). However, when Joe visited me with Alex we thought it may be Russian in origin. I know that a similar set was sold on ebay about 6 months ago but not too sure who won it??
Certainly it is not a modern cuff and I am sure it has seen service with the Police or Prison service. Any thoughts??
Chris

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come on people, we all know or should know that the cuffs are NOT indian made...... for one thing, they are made to well to have been made in INDIA or THE WEST INDIES..... RUSSIAN---FINNISH--POLISH-- or even GERMAN origin would be highly more likely.... just because the salesman had INDIAN darbies doesn't mean didley..... i am sure that many of you have purchased a restraint or other items for that matter that were in with a bunch of other items....IE::: handcuff in a bunch of railroad locks or date nails.... does that mean the handcuff was used on the railroad ???? back to the cuffs.... as they KINDA resemble the AMERICAN -- BOCKIN --cuff, i believe that they could well be GERMAN..... but then again, because they resemble the BOCKIN they must be american..... NAH !! keep guessing..... joe

Picked up this rather unusual handcuff several months ago. It appears to be a very secure cuff with an extra plate attached to the main body and what appears to be a quite high security key. On closer inspection, the key is not high security. The raised part of the lock case acts as a simple ward. My original thoughts looking at the swivel is that it is Indian (it is stamped with PN 617 & 42 the key is also stamped 42). However, when Joe visited me with Alex we thought it may be Russian in origin. I know that a similar set was sold on ebay about 6 months ago but not too sure who won it??
Certainly it is not a modern cuff and I am sure it has seen service with the Police or Prison service. Any thoughts??
Chris

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These cuffs are fairly well made. Not precision made but much nicer than anything that I have seen from India or Pakistan. The exception would be the new items from Kub Industries. As I have not seen any of their products yet, they do look nice. I am not aware of any Indian made cuffs that are not Darby style. Is there an Indian cuff that has a swing bow with ratchet teeth that I am not aware of? I agree with Stan on the point he made about India cuffs not being the only ones to have numbers and letters stamped on the keys and lock body. Lots of English darbys have numbers too. I am aware of India being under English rule for a while and the possibility exists that this is the origin of India cuffs being numbered as well. I don't think this point makes it proof positive that all numbered cuffs are Indian.
Joe, I never noticed this before, but they do look like Bockins in the picture. The swing bow does not swing directly behind the smaller plate that has the keyhole in it. These are a true swing-through cuff and the bow swings behind the small plate AND the full size plate that is behind it. They do appear to be a swing beside cuff like a Bokin or a DP cuff.
Lets take a vote to officially designate them as Russian.