HIATTS 2103 British Police Handcuffs with Original Smooth Grip Design (Is old design worse? 🤔)

These are the HIATTS 2103 police Speedcuffs. They are British rigid handcuffs. Though this pair is an earlier pair which had the original smoother grip design. By smooth, I mean a nice flowing ergonomic design with no harsh steps.

These have the usual HIATT pin-push double lock, they have backloading capability and mechanically identical to all my British 2103 HIATTS.

I have 4 pairs of these now, though each one has differences. The grips on this early model are fantastic! The thumb naturally slides into the concave sections of the grips very nicely. Whereas the more modern (and even the new American HIATT ones) have the tear-drop shaped protrusions where the thumb goes. There may be some benefits to the tear-drop models but I find them not as comfortable to grip as this old pair with the nice ergonomic design. Very very nice indeed!

These have 3 pawls, though like every other British HIATTS I have tested, there is no split-spring, meaning if you go to lockpick your way out of these, you only need to pick or shim one of the pawl bars and a tiny squeeze on the bow will make all the other pawls drop. Modern TCH have a split spring so that the only way this is possible is if you hit the exact middle pawl, making the TCH slightly more secure.

I have wanted a pair of these with this grip design for a long time and was lucky enough to find a pair being sold by rusthut2020 on eBay. I have bought several cuffs from them now and it's always been a pleasure. Very accommodating and decent people. Very recommended.