East German DDR VOPO Shackles

 

This is a post I made to the Tapatalk handcuffs forum before it was taken over by trolls. 

So here's the thing. I have always wanted a pair of VOPO DDR leg irons, ever since I got the hinged handcuff (swing thru model) but they rarely show up on ebay. In fact, I have found very little trace of info about these leg irons, and that only on collectors websites.

These are unique for the swaged cable linkage with no swivel. While I'm sure this was more cost effective, and plenty secure for prisoners under guard, or at least being monitored, so that if they began twisting and twisting the irons the prisoner would surely be beaten and/or dissuaded from doing so further before the cable broke. 

Above, DDR VOPO Shackles with replacement chain from the authors own collection. 

I do "try on" almost all of the pieces in my collection; to me it's a big part of understanding and appreciating these fascinating restraint designs.

So with the VOPO DDR irons, I couldn't help but wonder how secure the cable really was. If a prisoner was briefly unmonitored, could these be broken?

Turns out, yes. It took about a minute, but by twisting the cable repeatedly it soon kinked and the rubber coating came off, as it was cut by the surprisingly thin stranded cable inside. A few more turns and the cable broke. At the center of the steel cable (which was rust free) there was a piece of twine.

    So, apologies in advance to any fellow collectors who find the purposeful damage to these rare restraints offensive. I personally was actually quite sad, and regretted breaking them, but I had to know if it was possible.

    This brings me to the happy ending of the story. I had a chain from a pair of Hiatt Darby leg irons, which I also purposely destroyed (don't worry, they were the alloy pot metal variety!) And I decided it would be the new chain for the VOPOs.

    This was harder than I had expected, because the brass parallel pin holding the swaged ends of the cable turned out to be flared, yet flush at both ends. This construction is VERY secure, which seems to me to be pointless given the weakness of the cable.
   
    I first used a press to try to drift the pin out but it was exceedingly difficult. Eventually, I broke one side of one cuff, the repair which can be seen in the close up.

    After the damage I realized the pins could not be pressed out. The other cuff, I drilled one end untill the flare was gone, and easily pulled the pin out the other side.

    After installing the chain, I used solder to repair the broken cuff, and then resecured the pins using first solder, then gorilla glue, and finally JB weld.

    It's certainly not a professional repair but the repair is solid. I certainly couldn't break them again.

    So that's the story on my VOPO irons. I have read that they did make a chain leg iron version but have only seen one photo.

    Anyone else want to share anything they know about these cuffs, please chime in! 

Above, close up detail of the broken and repaired chain attachment point. Note the fine line of the crack in the upper portion of the photo and the solder visible on the steel pin which passes through the O ring.

These restraints were made for use by the Volkspolizei of the Deutsche Demokratische Republik, or DDR translateed to German Democratic Republic (GDR) in English. 

Above, this is the most common example seen today. This pair has been relisted again after not meeting the reserve price or some other confusion. It's currently listed with a Buy It Now price of $111 with one non-original key. 

Above, note the thick, well rounded bow and the oversized double strands. 

Below, close up detail of the hinge. The steel pins are tapered to a thinner diameter inside.