Perhaps you have found an old pair of handcuffs at a garage sale or received one from grandpa when he retired from his police career? This might well be the starting point of a new hobby, the collecting of handcuffs, leg-irons and other restraints! I began to collect restraints when I was about 14 years old. The first items that I came across were those offered in the local gun-stores. Luckily, I soon met a friend at highschool, who collected police hats and other police memorabilia, and we often went to collectors meetings. Today, after 18 years of collecting, I have about 500 different items and consider my collections to be one of the largest, maybe THE largest in Europe. Nevertheless, the hobby never gets boring as there is always something new to learn or to find for the collection.
The problem, especially for the beginner, is not only to find new items for the collection, but also to gather information upon these items. So, if you should have a handcuff and would like to know more about it e.g. the manufacturer, when and by whom it was used and whether it was patented, then feel free to contact me at any time. I look forward to hear from you!
And if you should be looking for a special set of handcuffs, maybe for your collection, as a movie prop or whatever, then just drop me a line!
By the way, I still have one of the cuffs for sale that is shown below. It is a stainless steel bar handcuff (no hinge, no chain connection). The price is US$ 95 plus postage. Please let me know in case you are interested. I will continue to offer items for sale here, so please have a look from time to time!