Clejuso model 8 leg irons from Germany

These are German leg irons from Clejuso, model 8.

These are made from Zamak material rather than steel, similarly to their model 13 and 15 beefy handcuffs. It's a strong zinc alloy, but requires more bulk of the material to off-set it's lack of inherent strength that steel would have. This produces a strong restraint that is not as heavy as a solid steel one would be.

They have a steel chain and the internal mechanism, except the spring, are also Zamak alloy. The springs are presumably steel.

They are not swing-through, but they have a double lock, as you would expect for safety and security reasons. It's basically like a HIATT 115 Scotland Yard handcuff, made larger for legs, with a double lock added.

The chain is short (just slightly less than 30cm long, which means your walking stride has to be significantly shorter than normal a normal walking pace. Also, the design of them is not super comfortable and if you try to walk faster, the rotating of the shackles can cause discomfort. So walking in these is much slower than normal. British Darby leg irons are more comfortable because of the more rounded shape means they can turn naturally around your ankle without causing pinch points, whereas these German ones do cause discomfort IF you try to walk faster.

The cheek plate has a lip on the inside, acting as a ward that protects the double lock. You cannot use a Clejuso model 13 or 15 key to disengage the double lock because the lip blocks you. The double lock could be picked open with a long, strong and bent tool, but I have not experimented much, because I cannot simply replace these leg irons in the UK if I were to break them. The single lock is easy to pick using a parker jotter pen clip or similar strong bit of thin metal.

It is not apparent at first glance but there is a right and wrong way to apply these. The clasp that connects the chain to the shackle has a tilt. They need to be worn with the clasp on the front-facing side with the angle pointing inwards. If you try any other method, the chain is further shortened and trivially creates much more discomfort and awkwardness while walking.

The small length of the chain, like the British Darby leg irons, means than standing with your legs together does not drag the chain all over the floor or make loud clacking noises as you walk, since the chain does not touch the floor while walking. This helps protect the floor from having steel chains scraping across it as the person walks.

All in all, this is a high quality and effective leg iron walking restraint.

Enjoy!

Clejuso 9 High Security Chain-link Handcuffs German Police Latest Issue

These are the latest (manufactured in March 2021) Clejuso model 9 German Police Handcuffs. These are the most up-to-date handcuffs used in Germany and are a restricted item in Germany. Fortunately, you can buy them from certain vendors outside of Germany.

These are high security handcuffs, in that they use a very and completely unique double-sided key.

These are built VERY well and have 3 separated pawls. They can be "picked" by using a hook pick to disengage the double lock and then they can be shimmed open. Although someone trying to "escape" if handcuffed properly like a police officer would, it would be very difficult to escape without outside help. But it is possible for a locksporter or hobby picker to help a cuff collector or escapologist get out of the cuffs if they mess something up with their escape attempt, without having to have the key.

Very high quality item and very good level of security. You can even turn the little spinny ward thing in the keyway to make it more difficult for someone to escape even if they have the key in their hand!

Enjoy!

#handcuffs

Clejuso Model 13 HEAVY DUTY Handcuffs (view behind back also)

These are the Clejuso Model 13 handcuffs. They are HEAVY... about 1KG! They take a larger non-standard key. Normal cuff keys will NOT operate in these handcuffs.

For their bulk, they are pretty comfortable, actually. However only if you use them the right way around. They are not centrally linked completely parallel with each other. They are connected in the middle in such a way that the cuffs turn outwards or inwards in a resting state. One way is comfortable and natural, another is less so.

Normally I press handcuffs down onto the wrist, but this is so far the only model I have to press upwards from under my wrist to apply them.Because the keyway is huge, I felt confident enough to experiment to see if with my larger body type, if I could easily locate the keyway and orient the key inside from behind my back. After enough attempts (with only 1 wrist) I decided this is about the only pair I currently have that I could demonstrate how they look from behind my back.

All in all they are pretty comfortable, but bulky and heavy. I am not sure how they fit into the handcuff grand scheme of things. They are by a known police handcuff manufacturer, they are too heavy for police officers to carry, could be used as a blunt force weapon by the wearer if cuffed in the front. So I am not quite sure where they fit in. Their weight does make them more muscle tiring if you are raising your arms trying to do things, while being more comfortable when your arms are in a normal lower resting position.

They have been featured in scifi movies/shows ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=4&v=R... ) because of their unusual futuristic look and bulk. I suppose they could fit well into a bedroom scenario if couples like adding heavy metal accessories into the mix!

They are pickable, including the double lock but it does take a little bit of practise and they are pretty different than even their own other cuffs, let alone "normal" handcuffs so they would have a decent amount of security to them I think.

The double lock is actuated with a press of a button with your finger, which is very quick and convenient. Disengaging the double lock and the single lock is done in one continuous movement, though if only single locked, turning the key the opposite way will temporarily disengage the bow in a normal handcuff style.

Enjoy.

Clejuso Model 11 Police Handcuffs of Germany

These are Clejuso model 11 German police handcuffs. Mixed opinions on these...

They are used by German police forces and according to their site, all over the world. My first thoughts were a nice interesting visual design, which then turned into a feeling that they were cheapo handcuffs. Now I have come to realise there are indeed good as well as bad points on these handcuffs as I will detail.

Before we get to the good and bad sections, here's a fun fact: I have tried several brands of handcuff key in these handcuffs. TCH/Hiatt won't fit, Smith & Wesson won't fit, Peerless won't fit. The only keys that I have which fit and operate the handcuffs (aside from the proper Clejuso keys they come with) are ASP and Alcyon. As well as my own special TOOOL specification modified smith & wesson keys, which their very purpose is to be as compatible with the widest array of handcuffs known to man or beast.

The Good:
• They are comfortable. Not quite as comfortable as Peerless, but they are pretty damn comfortable to wear, of course as long as they are not over-tightened.

• The open design has shown me that if you used a handcuff key from another brand that is not tall enough on the bit (the bit does not poke out from the key far enough) which would normally lead to a dead-locked key that is permanently stuck in the lock, with these handcuffs you could likely continue to turn the key and just go around again or remove the key as nothing seems to block it. I tested this by turning one key in the wrong direction and pressing the pawl down, which caused the key to rotate in the opposite direction towards being pulled out easily.

• There is a button in order to double lock the handcuffs. It is crucial to double lock handcuffs in order to both prevent easy opening of these handcuffs (especially THESE which you can drive a tank up in there to open them) and also ensure the handcuffs cannot accidentally (or on purpose to blame the arresting officer for abuse) tighten and cause injury to the person who is wearing the handcuffs.

• They are made in Germany, so I hope the usual German manufacturing means that they are of sound and strong secure capability. I can only hope, given my findings so far, detailed in the "Bad" section...

The bad:
• There is no ditch on the rotating arm. The purpose of a ditch is that a protrusion in the body of the cuff slides through it as the cuff is placed on the wrist. If someone is really strong and pulls outwards, without the ditch they may be able to pull the teeth of the cuff out of the internal pawl's teeth and free them self from the handcuffs. The ditch ensures that this force will be shared with the protrusion in the cuff which is lodged into a ditch inside the rotating arm. These handcuffs have no ditch. The only "possible" saving grace is they are chunkier laterally, meaning there is more metal horizontally that the person would need to put force against. Maybe this will help in the absence of the ditch.

• There is only 1 pawl bar and it is very thin, meaning they may tolerate less force being put on them, causing the handcuffs to break and allow a strong person to free them self. Maybe.

• The pawl tolerances are pretty high, in that there is SO MUCH ROOM at the base of the cuff when placed on a wrist, that you could drive a tank up in there to unlock them if they are not double locked. I shoved a big heavy duty bobby pin or hair grip in there and shimmed the handcuffs open.

• The outer sandwiches of metal are somewhat thin. Thin enough that I can pinch hard and bow them closer together. This leads me to believe someone could pry the two sandwiches apart and essentially smash open the handcuff to free them self.

• You can tell they are made cheaply because there is a lot of open areas in the handcuff. This lead you see the inside workings (which is interesting) and they only have 1 handcuff mould and use it for both sides. This leads to one key hole facing the front and one facing the back, instead of both holes being on the same side. This is a classic cheap tactic as they do not need to design and separately manufacture a mirrored handcuff bracelet for the other side. Most big name cuffs have a properly mirrored side. These do not.

• They smell like gun metal, like an old west toy cap gun I had as a child. Just horrible. Possibly due to the different kind of metal used in the middle of the handcuffs.

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Enjoy

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