Yet ANOTHER keyless Darby! +Rant

I just purchased these unknown adjustable long chain Darby cuffs on eBay for $50. My first hunch would be Clejuso, based primarily on the high number of locking positions, (looks like seven) as well as the swivel, which has two equally sized lobes. The chain looks to be at least 12" or more. 

 

Nice swivel, it looks like both sides are the same size, which is less common. The only item I have with a similar swivel is my Clejuso Darby Transport Restraints.

A close up of the cuff. The hinge pin is interesting, as is the cuff to chain embossment, which looks less like a tang and more like a sloping protrusion. 

These have no key. I just keep buying these keyless Darby cuffs. The Providence Tool Company shackles haven't arrived yet and this makes keyless Darby #3. 

Soon I'm just going to take one of these sets apart; open up the lock tube and try to make a key by making a mold of the existing locking post, or to re-key the lock by cutting the threaded portion of the post and welding a new thread on. The key could then be made from a matching internally threaded rod, possibly having to turn it down on a lathe. It shouldn't be too hard to re-peen the end cap afterwards. If I have to, I could use some steel epoxy around the edges. 

Another idea was to drill and tap a small hole in the center of the locking post and use a bolt to create in effect a "Sheffield" style key which screws into the center of the locking post and is subsequently pulled back to unlock. 

With my Clejuso Adjustable Darby handcuffs and leg irons (Transport Restraint) when the cuffs are only on the first or second locking position, I am able to shim the lock open where the shackle exits the lock tube Further tightening causes this gap between the shackle and the exterior hole of the lock case to close.

The seller of these adjustable Darby handcuffs featured actually claims they can be opened with a needle nose plier. Soon to find out. But again, these are vintage and antique restraints made by hand. The fact that some examples have tolerances which allows them to be bypassed after some effort is not a failure. The truth is that when a prisoner is meant to be kept in one spot, a secure cell is what is called for. When a prisoner is being transported to and from that secure cell, they are handcuffed and shackled to convince them not to try to escape, to hinder any escape attempt, and to prevent violence, defiance, or unruliness. The prisoner would thusly be under guard, and even if they *may* be able to shim, pick, slip or rap their restraints open, as soon as the first cuff came unlocked, the guards would be upon them. Handcuffs and shackles aren't meant for long term unsupervised imprisonment; they are for short to medium term secure restraint. Even though most metal restraints would serve well for long term restraint with or without supervision of the prisoner, I would argue that some models/pairs of Darby cuffs being shimmable under certain circumstances is not an overly damning flaw. 

Halfway through writing this I realize I'm just upset that my Froggatt Darby leg iron(which I am able to shim one cuff, the other is gaffed) was likely modified, part of the lock cap was ground down in order to allow access to the locking mechanism to shim it. 😢 

The whole point of steel restraints is that they are inescapable when applied correctly. The prisoner should not be in possession of any type of object that could be used to shim a pair of cuffs. The adjustable Darby's should be used on people who can wear them on the third notch or tighter. Others should be placed in standard non adjustable Darby designs. 

UPDATE:

I got these last night. I'm really not sure what these are. I've never seen anything like them online. The steel looks like it may have been cast, and has a rough sand casting like texture. The chain and swivel are very fine and fairly musical. The cuffs lock smoothly. 

I'm now 3/3 for buying keyless Darby restraints and trying them on that same day. It turns out all my ideas were over engineering, because the definitive tool to open keyless Darbys is definitely a plastic/rubber hose with an inner diameter just smaller than the maximal diameter of the threaded post. You can screw the hose on like a key and pull back to unlock all but the stiffest Darby cuffs, or Sheffield designs. 

I still think these are Clejuso but I will have to do some more research.