Gun Show Find - Old Hand Cuff Keys?

[OldK22]

Local Gun Show vendor this weekend had the remainder of an old Gunsmiths estate (I had purchased a ton of old S&W parts from the same folks 6 months ago). I bought the rest of his parts and these old keys were in the box. I am guessing handcuff keys? Two long version and two short version. I had never seen keys like this before. 1950s?

 

[VM]

Member "db" is pretty good w/ ID of these.......
He'll be along shortly

 

[Gunhacker]

Those look to be the dreaded internal lock keys.... IL Keys

 

[pharmer]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Joe

 

[delta-419]

Keys

They kind of look like the adjustment (slow/fast) key on a small pendulum clock. Just a guess, my 2 cents.

 

[Skeetr57]

Most hand cuff keys have a hollow tube that fits over a guide pin in the lock. However some have a reduced diameter portion on the front that goes into a hole in the back side of the lock body, and look like these, but both types have a small "flag" that actually operates the lock. If they have no flag and the nose has a small square hole, I think they are clock adjustment keys.

 

[Buford57]

This was the key for a prototype internal lock. S&W experimented with this idea after the tragic accident that led eventually to the development of the lemon squeezer grip safety. It was a push-on, push off affair that was inserted in the sideplate to depress or release a spring-loaded pin which locked the internal hammer in the forward position. When the prototype was shown to D.B. Wesson he sent the designer back to the drawing board with the comment that the only way that concept would ever see production was if the company was sold to the British.


I had the prototype revolver in my collection at one time, but traded it and Registered Magnum #1 for the Brooklyn Bridge.

 

[OldK22]

The end of the shaft is hollow and there are 5 flats that extend 1/32 up the shaft.

 

[Club Gun Fan]

They are all too modern to be 1950's handcuff keys.

 

[Mike McLellan]

Handcuffs are my life. Those are not handcuff keys.

 

[CALREB]

They look like different issues of the dreaded IL lock key to me , Ive always just tossed them in a drawer , but I have never looked at the length of the tube hole.
I know they are not handcuff keys , Never saw the Smith and Wesson name on any of those keys in 40 years.

 

[dltvette]

Here are the keys to S&W handcuffs.
From left going clockwise:
1st: Early Universal (Standard) key, not marked.
2nd:Later Universal (Standard) key marked Smith Wesson.
3rd: Model 94 Maximum Security (there are 16 cut variations for this key).
4th: Model 104 Maximum Security Non-Standard Key.
5th: I just threw in a key blank that didn't get completely stamped out.
Photo's 3 & 4 are of the 16 cut possibilities for the Model 94 keys.
Dave