Garbage Darbys vs Legitimate Darbys

Although I have mentioned, illustrated, and explained the difference between genuine antique and vintage Darby restraints in several posts, I want to dedicate another post to this because I recently saw a pair of these garbage Darbys which was supposed to be from the Civil War. 

I will illustrate each major key point which makes it very easy to tell the difference. I will mention however that on my most recent investigation, the majority of these are now listed as "new" condition or said to be replicas or "antique style" somewhere in the text description. That doesn't prevent them from fooling new collectors or being misrepresented or mistaken for legitimate antiques. The format below will alternate garbage and legit for comparison purposes. 

Above, (replica) an example of replica cuffs in the non adjustable Darby style. Note the key; crooked, crude. Note the flat ends where the keyway is. The crude and poorly made hinge. 

Below, a legitimate Darby handcuff. Note the keyway entering an angled detail on the lock tube, as well as the decoration on the key, the smoothness of the hinge and the heft of the swivel.

Above, (replica) adjustable Darby handcuffs. Note the general poor finish and poor condition.

Below, a legitimate Hiatt model 115 adjustable Darby handcuff. See how the hinges are well formed, the swivel is solid, and the key is ornate. 

UPDATE: these sold for $167.50 after 3 bids. Very nice Hiatt 115 with original key.

Below, replica, a less common flexible Darby style which was actually produced by at least one historical restraint maker, and I have to say these links don't look too bad. The hinge, however, still looks like a caveman made it. 

Below, the flexible Darby replicas again. You can see the hinge is made of a folder piece of metal wrapped over the end part of the cuff.

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Above, (replica) they did a decent job on the hinge, but look at those 90° edges on the cuffs themselves. This would be very uncomfortable to the point of unnecessary injury to the wearer. Hiatt Darby Handcuffs have an almost concurve interior surface.

Below, (legitimate) you can see how the inner and outer surfaces curve to meet in a softer edge. This is very ergonomically safe and prevents common handcuff injuries which are prevalent even today with modern handcuffs. 

Above, (replicas) a close up detail of the low quality swivels.

Below, (legitimate) a close up detail of the high quality swivel. 

Above, (replica) a unique replica design with short, stout lock cases, tall end caps, and a strange "glued on" looking part which becomes the O ring attachment point.

Below, the closest legitimate thing I could imagine to the above design,  a back strap darby design. Again note the quality of the metalworking fit and finish especially the swivel.

Lastly, below (replica) is a new design I have only seen once recently. This is I suppose some sort of variation of an Irish 8. Props for creativity, although it looks like they couldn't decide if they wanted it to be adjustable or not. The non symmetrical location of the O ring also bothers me. It would be better on the lock tube end or side surface. 

Above, the "garbage 8" replica. Just an ugly and crude thing. 

Below, a real pair of Irish 8 handcuffs from Hiatt. These are actually one of their latter production runs and you can see they began to cut some corners; the cuffs here have the 90° sharp edges, and the key is fairly plain, but the quality is still evident in the hinge and lock tube. The inner parts (between the cuffs) don't touch, which they should. The pair below sold for $93 after 20 bids. 

Below, an older legitimate SFco Irish 8. Note the ornate key, and how the inner portions touch. The pair below sold for £83.02 or $111.35 after 6 bids.