HIATT BEST 104 Darby Large Size Handcuffs Late 1800's - very early 1900's

These are amazingly nice! They are a pair of 104 Hiatt best darby handcuffs of the large size. They are most likely the oldest handcuffs I own. Though I have no hard date, they are from between the late 1800's up to pre 1920.

These have a bulge where the clevis (connector which connects the chain links to the bow) being inserted in the bow causes the bulge. In later years they minimised this bulge.

They are marked with WARRANTED WROUGHT, though there's a lot of wear on the engraving. However you can see a comparison on the video which shows a later pair which has the stamping intact vs these. They are also marked HARD signifying that they are made from hardened steel.

They are pretty comfortable and are the heaviest darby cuffs I own at this point in time. They weigh 496 grams.

They came with no key, but luckily I have 2 keys which I was able to forcefully work into the mechanism to make them function nicely. Apparently HIATT were not very uniform with the bolt threading, so there were little variances between pairs of handcuffs.

I love these, the shape is really nice. Most Darby handcuffs I see have the slightly more rectangular shape, whereas the bows on these are a nice smoothly curved " c " shape.

Enjoy!

American Handcuff Co (Fond Du Lac Wis) L600 Oversized over-boot 'World's Largest' leg irons

These are the world's largest leg irons! Made by the late company American Handcuff Co (Fond Du Lac, Wis). They are the model L600 or L-600.

Here's some info from the manufacturer:
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Constructed of half hard carbon steel
Lock parts case hardened and rust proofed
Features 16 lock stops with single and double lock
14 inch nickel/chrome plated chain (23 links in length)
Inner perimeter expands from 12 1/2 to 16 1/4 inches
Serial and model numbered
Equipped with 2 standard keys
Overall length is 23.75 inches
Weighs 19.84 ounces
Lifetime warranty to registered users
World's biggest Legiron
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The weight they state is incorrect. My pair I weighed comes to 27.2 oz (772 grams)

These are fit for giants! They fit over work boots, tactical boots, leg casts, snow boots, cowboy boots, making them very versatile. I wear a UK size 10 boot (US size 11, EU 44) and they still have lots of clicks to get them tight enough to be secure. This means there's plenty of room for chunky footware or clothing layers in the case that they're being used in extremely cold climates where they're likely to be wearing very warm footwear and thicker layer trousers etc.

In certain circles, they have been used as neck cuffs, such as in the bedroom or for photo/video shoots of an adult nature. Though someone would have to have a somewhat thin neck to use in that fashion and may not be the safest thing you could use them for..... So beware if you go clamping any sort of cuff on anyone's neck.... You've been warned.

All said, they are really cool and I got them for a good price. It would cost me about £110 to get the modern version of this size leg iron, now made by Chicago but I got theses for under £90 and these are the original real deal AHC brand leg irons. So I am very happy!

Today is Escapology Day, making it a fitting day to upload a video on restraints that people could use to perform escapes.

They have 1 pawl, double locking, have the ditch and peg system which keeps the bow in place in case someone very strong tries to pull outwards to dislodge the bow's teeth from the pawl's teeth. This is something I expect to see on all modern handcuffs (with few exceptions if the metal is chunky and innately less likely to bend by default).

The chain feels the same as my elongated TCH handcuffs. It's a very silent chain with minimal clinking sound at all. I LOVE this kind of chain. In comparison  my Chicago transport chains have a very LOUD connecting chain between the leg irons and handcuffs.

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Enjoy 😁

Chicago Model 1400 oversized Handcuffs For VERY Large Or Muscular People (basically a leg iron)

These are handcuffs by Chicago, model 1400 which are designed for very obese or very strong and muscular people who have sufficient wrist girth and/or strength that normal handcuffs would not fit or be suitable.  Inner perimeter measures 8 inches to 10.75 inches. In comparison, Peerless actual leg irons measure an inner perimeter of 7.5 inches to 10 inches.

Essentially, these are their leg iron bracelets with a strong but short 6 inch chain for using them as handcuffs. However, they can clearly be used as leg irons also, just that they have a much shorter chain, so walking would be not as easy or safe. The 6 inch chain is longer than usually used with handcuffs, to help someone who is very large who might not be able to get their hands close enough behind their back. This helps prevent injury to the person in them.

Unlike normal Chicago handcuffs, these have 1 pawl, which makes them slightly less secure. However, they do retain the split double locking bar. This double locking bar (a usual for all Chicago cuffs I have ever seen) means someone using a small tool like a paper clip, might move one bar but not realise there is another one either above or below it which also needs moving before the pawl can move. So the security level is decent, though could have been made a bit better if they had used a twin pawl.

These handcuffs are not going to be generally useful in most situations, unless you are arresting Hercules. It's been said that these end up at the bottoms of people's beds! I guess couples might buy 2 of them for certain bedroom activities. If you're into that, go for it! Else aside from collecting or lock picking, these are not likely to be all that useful. They truly are OVERSIZE as handcuffs! I dare say they would be more useful, used as a leg iron for vehicle transport situations where a shorter chain would be suitable due to walking not being needed.

Over all quality and finish is stunning as usual.

Enjoy!