How to turn fake handcuffs into real ones?

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scrumbie
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How to turn fake handcuffs into real ones?

Unread post by scrumbie »

I recently received a pair of fake handcuffs. I'm sure you know the type. They are made of metal and look exactly like the real thing, can even be double locked, but they have a safety lever on the side which can open them at anytime whether locked or not.
The safety lever ruins the fantasy for me and I like DIY projects, so how do I turn these into real ones? Has anyone on here tried something like this? Should I file off the lever? Any suggestions?

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ruru67
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Re: How to turn fake handcuffs into real ones?

Unread post by ruru67 »

You can't. Even if you disable the quick-release, they'll still be garbage, likely to injure you or fail in some potentially embarrassing way. Get a proper pair.

scrumbie
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Re: How to turn fake handcuffs into real ones?

Unread post by scrumbie »

The ones I've got are actually surprisingly high quality. I think I can do this.

Can anyone provide ideas?

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boundBinder
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Re: How to turn fake handcuffs into real ones?

Unread post by boundBinder »

I second ruru67's assessment. It's a recipe for disaster. PLEASE don't take the chance.

Stahlketten
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Re: How to turn fake handcuffs into real ones?

Unread post by Stahlketten »

Conventional wisdom is that the lever lock handcuffs with "STOP" stamped on the side are entirely worthless.
I believe that in general, these days, that is correct, but the quality of manufacture used to be much better.
The modern stuff that is made in China is very thin steel and deforms easily and the keys are simple pot metal.
SOME of the older ones, especially those made in Taiwan or Japan were actually of medium quality and about as good as some of the lower end "police style" handcuffs that can be found on the Internet today.
The keys were also "pot metal", but they were cast a bit more consistently and are reasonably strong.
There are all kinds of failure points on these handcuffs such as the star acts as a locking mechanism, the swivels, internal ratchet parts and of course the keys.

Without being able to see the actual handcuffs being discussed, quality is hard to determine: They could be either mediocre or really bad. Assuming they are just mediocre, filing off the safety release tab or grinding it off with a rotary tool would probably work. Getting the tab cleaned up is tough without opening up the mechanism though.
I don't recommend opening up the mechanism, but it can be done if one really wants to inspect the internals and clean up the safety release tab. I have done it before. The rivets can be drilled out and then replaced with nails or nuts and bolts.
The repair work probably won't look nearly as nice as the original though.

Scrumbie, if you find that you are interested in handcuffs, getting a good set isn't difficult. A brand new name brand set can be had from eBay for about $20 with a little shopping and a new but mediocre set or a good used set can be had for about $15 and that includes the shipping. Things only get expensive if you don't know where to shop or go for rare or antique stuff.

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