Handcuff Safety?

[Mooshy]

I've been checking some double locking cuffs out, and was just wondering how safe cuffs without a safety latch are for self bondage? I was planning on doing the whole key in ice scenario, so the key would come available at some point. I'm more concerned about the cuffs malfunctioning and me being stuck!

[bobbi]

handcuff locks are easy to pick, and each cuff has a lock on it, so if one failed you have another one to try to at least get mostly free. double lock is a necessity so that you cannot accidentally lean against them locking them tighter.

the hard part is getting the tiny key in the tiny hole after you are exhausted. but i have only had problems when its behind my back where i cannot see.

[VeliciaL]

Always get a double lock, last thing you need is for them to tighten too far and cut off circulation. Also don't set up any situation where your weight will be pulling on them, they're too narrow for that.

Also be sure to take a trial run first, you don't want to find out in the middle of a scenario that the cuffs are faulty.

I've personally never had problems with the cuffs tightening after being double locked, although I did get a pair of legirons that could be pulled open once.

Ditto Solostill's comment about getting the key in the lock, but that'll be an issue no matter what you use. Practice a bit beforehand, so you're at least familiar with the hand motions required.

[ruru67]

No police style cuffs are really safe for any kind of bondage; thy have very small contact areas that can do amazing amounts of damage to nerves et c. without actually struggling very hard. Basically, police cuffs are intended for use in arrest and transport, and are not intended for use in situations where the prisoner is going to be left unsupervised.

That said, the main purpose of the double lock is to stop the cuff from tightening up once applied. If you don't have a double lock, and you roll onto the cuffed wrist, or bump it against a wall, or do any number of things to it, it will irretrievably tighten up. If the cuff is too tight, even if by itself it isn't doing damage, pulling the cuff parallel to the wrist can put large stresses on bones and nerves, increasing the risk of injury.

And "safety latches" on cheap cuffs are, IME, worse than useless, because they swap between states too easily, leaving the safety latch engaged when you need to get out, and disengaged when you roll on the cuff. A proper double lock, once engaged, stays engaged. Cheap cuffs also have mechanisms that aren't too robust, usually a toothed wheel and pawl. I've busted my way out of these, although I wouldn't use that as an escape plan! But they can also break in ways that jam the toothed wheel.

(In fact, I've seen those kinds of cuffs break in an unbelievable number of different ways -- mostly they'd let you out rather than keep you trapped, but they really are rubbish.)

Personally, I find that even good police style cuffs leave nasty, hard to explain marks after even the mildest SB session, when other options don't. So seriously, if you're going to get handcuffs, get good one, but seriously consider getting something else entirely.

[lj]

Bear in mind that if you use the hinged cuffs, you need to be sure you put them on with the keyhole towards your hands unless you are very good with using your teeth to hold a key!

I'd also agree with the others, get a decent pair with a double lock, the ones I bought cost about £15, not a lot of money, via EBay, and they are very strong and reliable. Mine were bought from what I thought was a UK supplier but they actually arrived from Thailand, complete with a lot of very pretty stamps and a customs label stating contents "HANDCUFFS" which I had to sign for. The post-lady didn't show any interest but I bet she read the label so that's me "outed" to her

If you are using them for SB (or partnered bondage for that matter), make sure there is no load on them, that your wrists are not supporting any weight including your arms, as they soon get very uncomfortable and may well cause damage. Lockable leather cuffs are much better for long-term use

[bobbi]

these fuzzy wrist bands from the local sport shop tennis section make metal cuffs more comfortable for longer term use.

[VeliciaL]

That's very clever, solostill! I bought some fuzzy liners for mine, but that would work nicely. And is probably cheaper.

[ponylady]

That's very clever, solostill! I bought some fuzzy liners for mine, but that would work nicely. And is probably cheaper.

and also more fashionable.

if you watch the previews on houseofgord closely you'll notice that they almost allways use leatherstraps as a buffer in conjunction with metal cuffs.

[VeliciaL]

That's very clever, solostill! I bought some fuzzy liners for mine, but that would work nicely. And is probably cheaper.

and also more fashionable.

if you watch the previews on houseofgord closely you'll notice that they almost allways use leatherstraps as a buffer in conjunction with metal cuffs.

I've noticed that! I always thought it was curious, although I can think of several advantages to it. Not the least of which is it's easier to release a handcuff quickly than a buckle on a leather cuff.

[bound2escape]

I have very slim wrists so that if handcuffs are closed around the narrowest part of the wrist (further up the arm than the wrist bone) they hit uncomfortably against the wrist bone, but if they are open enough to pass over the wrist bone they are so slack as to feel unsatisfyingly restrictive, even though I still can't get my hands out.

To solve this problem I use a combination of a neoprene wrist protector and spiked leather wristband on each wrist that keeps the handcuffs snug on the wrists and prevents the cuffs from moving up and down.

I chose wrist protectors with thumb holes in order to stop them from sliding up or down the arm. Ones with just holes for the thumbs are quite commonly available (e.g. on eBay). The ones shown here, with thumb extensions, were advertised for soccer goalies.

The idea with the leather wristbands is that the dual row of spikes forms a channel that keeps the handcuff centered on the band. These wristbands can be found on eBay for US$7 if you search for 'Gothic Men Studs Leather Bracelet Wristband'. The leather wristbands also provide some degree of protection against over-tightening the handcuffs if the double-lock is not engaged, since they form a fairly incompressible ring for the cuff to close around.

The result of this combination of wrist-wear is a delicious sense of restriction while protecting against pressure points or abrasion as you struggle to free yourself.

Neoprene wrist guards and spiked leather wristbands

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Spiked leather wristbands over wrist guards

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Leather wristband with handcuff

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Handcuff closed around spiked leather wristband

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Handcuff protection combination on wrist

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Edit Note: A couple of the original pictures illustrating this wrist protection scheme with hinged handcuffs have been replaced in order to avoid encouraging inadequately considered use of such cuffs in a self-bondage scenario.

[Jadit]

Aren't bending cuffs quite difficult to open? Also if you accidentally put them on so that lock hole points away from fingers, it can't be opened at all. I like that in handcuffs that i can hold them closer to my fingers, that setup forces them far on the wrist which is difficult.

[RADER]

Now that is a real nice set up with the leather spike band and the hindge cuffs.
If you put them on, even by your self, and with the key hole facing you, You
would be in it until some one let you out. Now that is real one way self
Bondage.
Rader

[bound2escape]

You're right that the originally pictured hinged cuffs are all to easy to put on in ways that can't be unlocked by hand by the wearer, even with the key. I wouldn't recommend them for SB. Unfortunately, my chain-linked handcuffs were destroyed as part of a kinky DIY project some time ago, so I used these hinged ones for the photos.

I've replaced the hinged-cuff photos in the original post, but for those trying to follow the thread, these are the pictures which generated the previous comments -

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hcs05.jpg (15.27 KiB) Viewed 4302 times

I have used the hinged cuffs solo with the hands in front and keyholes towards the hands and even then they can be quite tricky - holding the key in the mouth is the easiest way to unlock them. Using them in other orientations - behind the back and/or with keyholes away from the hands - is too challenging to risk without a partner being available for release. (These other orientations need you to be able to use some other object to hold and/or manipulate the key, which isn't reliable enough for removal of the cuffs in the event of an emergency.)

I originally devised the wrist protectors for use with my lockable leather waist/crotch harness with attached swivel-style handcuffs. The cuffs on the harness keep my hands to the sides and back of my waist but with the ability to wriggle them around enough to unlock one cuff with the opposite hand (once I find the keyhole behind my back). The wrist protectors have cured the problem I previously had of ending up with red marks all over my wrists from the exertion of escape.

[RADER]

Try cuffing your self with the leather cuffs using a chain around your waist,
with the cuffs at your side, It is very difficult to get out of also.
If you use a combo lock, you can at least see the numbers to get free.
Rader

[sjqlzbyu]

I've had a few double-locking wrist cuffs and legirons slip or get jammed at times, and threw them out. But have a few Taiwan-marked ones that feel really solid and have never done this.

To be safe, probably best to go with NIJ-approved ones (Peerless, S&W, etc.) - if the prisons use them?