Japanese Takeda Police Handcuffs - Comparing the REAL police ones to modern toy copy versions

These are Japanese Takeda police handcuffs likely from the 1970s. The design is familiar to many, as a toy handcuff. This design was a genuine police handcuff, long before it was copied by toy manufacturers. There were solid brass ones and steel ones with brass bows. This is the latter.

The design of these handcuffs is very basic and to be honest not that great. It has a nice pin-wheel design that cannot be shimmed, but the double lock is merely a switch which easily and trivially can be switched one way to double lock and the other way to undo the double lock, making them not very safe from police liability.

These have welded chains, no rivets on the back and only 2 rivets or protrusions on the front to prevent the double lock switch going too far.

This design of handcuff is best known as being toy handcuffs and are sold all over the world, using lesser quality parts and lacking security considerations. For example the toy versions are made of more flimsy metal, they have exposed rivets to try and keep the things together and their chains are not welded, which means a strong person could pull or twist on the chains to get out of them. Also often the swivels on the modern toy versions are longer, which makes them more likely to snap.

This pair of actual Takeda handcuffs was used by someone in the Rhodesian BSAP police force. However it is a Japanese handcuff and even has JAPAN stamped on it near the swivels (not sure if I got this on video).

I thought this would be a somewhat interesting video to show you a pair of "toy" handcuffs that are actually not toys and were officially used by police forces and compare them to actual modern day toy versions.

Enjoy!

A quick comparison of Victorian HIATT 1800s Backstrap Darby handcuffs to my previous ones.

Since these handcuffs are essentially identical to my previous ones, except where the number is stamped and the fact that the key doesn't work in my existing ones, I decided to make a comparison video rather than a full video overview.

These handcuffs were scheduled for recycling at a place that deals with metals, but someone spotted them in a pile of junk metal from a house clearance and decided to list them on eBay. I asked the seller what brand they were and he said they had no brand, only having "HARD" stamped on both shackles. Well he was incorrect. They are HIATT. I was kind of hoping they would be a different brand. But I feel like I have helped rescue them from becoming part of a electric vehicle engine block or something lol.

They are nice, though generally speaking not as nice external quality as my existing ones. The stamping is ok but the HIATT is not quite as deeply stamped as the one side on my existing ones. In person they look not too bad after I did some work to get rid of rust. But on camera here they look a bit dreadful. Weird they look so bad on camera but not too bad in person.

Comparing various handcuffs for securely carrying a case / briefcase, inc the new Alfa Proj 9923!

Well, almost all these handcuffs have pros and cons, except the rigid ones which would have nothing but cons. Things you have to think about...

How long is the chain, will it be visible to everyone?

How loud does the chain jingle and will I announce my presence like Jacob Marley walking down a street?

How secure is the handcuff, can normal keys open it?

Over all I prefer the Alfa Proj (Ralkem) 9923 because it connects to the case via a chain rather than the handcuff having to close around the handle, the chain is not too long, the chain is relatively quiet and the handcuff uses a totally non-standard key, meaning a criminal with a handcuff key who's anticipating to quickly bash, grab & run by using their "normal" cuff key will be thwarted.

The one part which does make more sound is the rectangular connection link. But you could attach this cuff to your case and then put some cello-tape, masking tape, duct tape, scapa tape or whatever else around it just to stop it jangling, since the rest of the chain is quite low noise really.

I am over the moon to have this 9923 back in my collection! An excellent handcuff.

Enjoy!

Intro to LATEST Czech Republic Alfa Proj (Ralkem) 9923 compared to Russian BRS 2, difference/quality

These are the Alfa Proj 9923 single handcuff which is used to attach to cases for secure transport as well as can be attached to a fixed object to ensure someone does not leave an area.

I had one of these years ago and eventually sold it, back when I did not have as good storage options to keep buying more and more handcuffs. These are more of a satin/matt finish whereas the old version was SUPER shiny. Also they have changed the branding design of these and I like it better. I will link a video in the top right to the original video of the old version of this cuff.

These Alfa Proj handcuffs are EXTREMELY SMOOTH. My god, I cannot describe to you how smooth they ratchet! Just lovely.

Also, I have not been able to pick this newer version by individually picking at the 2 pawls, so either I got lucky and got a bit more secure/tighter tolerance version or they generally improved the build quality even further.

They even went so far as to put the same satin/matt type of finish on the chain links too, which is a nice touch. The chain is the type which does not massively jangle, because who wants to sound like Jacob Marley when wandering down the street with a case full of important stuff lol.

Really nice handcuff. Hopefully this particular video serves as both an overview of this new model for you, as well as the comparison to the Russian one.

Enjoy

Comparing Quality & Security of The cheapest handcuffs In 3 Quality Brackets

A video comparing quality and security of the cheapest handcuffs I could get in 3 different brackets, ranging from garbage, ok, good.

The first black pair of garbage single locking metal "toy" handcuffs cost about £4.

The second pair, the pink ones, are of medium/ok quality and cost about £9.

The last black pair are GOOD quality, genuine Spanish police handcuffs and cost about £23

The first handcuffs are single locking only, which makes them unsafe, even for children because if someone falls over while wearing them, their wrists could get crushed when the handcuffs get tighter immediately. Plus the metal is thin and would cut into them easier than thicker handcuffs. Also as far as security, the chain link swivels are total trash and the chain links are not welded so could be pulled open with some average adult strength.

The grade that the pink handcuffs came in was, I would say decent. They are double locking, although the double lock is not as definitive when engaging as many other better models of handcuffs. The metal is thicker and I was unable to bend the double strand with my fingers, which is good. Although there are no ditches in the rotating arm. The purpose of ditched "jaws" (as they are referred to) is to ensure that someone who is very strong, cannot pull outwards and pull the teeth of the "jaw" away from the teeth on the pawl bars on the inside of the handcuff. These pink ones lack that feature. So they are an averagely good non-professional model of handcuff that should be safer to use for people. Normal handcuff keys cannot be guaranteed to work with the pink handcuffs because they lack a larger internal space between the two cheek plates, so you need smaller keys. But you get 2 keys with them.

The last pair are a genuine black pair of Spanish Alcyon handcuffs. They are made with thick carbon hardened steel and can make use of normal handcuff keys. They have ditched jaws for higher security from strong people, the swivels are strong, On chain link versions the chain links are welded for strength, while this model I have has a "universal joint" which has a bit more resiliency than a chain link model. These also have 2 pawl bars, that is 2 sets of teeth on the inside of the handcuff for extra security.

So I leave this to you to decide if you buy handcuffs what you want to spend your money on. I recommend you buy as good of a quality as you can afford, for the purposes you need them for. I do not recommend young children use metal handcuffs of any kind and for more mature children, make sure they have a real pair and know how to use the double locking mechanism.