The mystery is finally revealed!
After spending about 13 years in handcuffs, with Chrissy and Zara, I still had no idea how they actually work. But now… the mystery has been solved! We received this training tool, and it has clear plastic on one side so you CAN SEE how it works inside! Even the double lock! It is so clever, I never expected this. Who came up with this!?? This really awesome tool will go into our lock pick training kit!
These demonstration cuffs have been around for a while, presumably for police training, and they do help you practice picking and shimming. But they invariably show only one basic design. You’ve probably already noticed that some cuffs (e.g., Smith & Wesson) have the keyholes near the edge while others (e.g., Peerless) have them in the center. The double locks all work the same way but some are engaged differently (e.g., the slots on some Smith & Wesson cuffs). Some higher security cuffs thwart shimming with split teeth and double-bit keys. And so on.
By the way, you can greatly increase the security of the basic Smith & Wesson cuff with slot double lock by drilling the slot into a hole and putting a small padlock through the hole after double locking. This keeps the double-lock from being disengaged with the key. You must first remove the padlock before you can use the regular key to release the double lock and then open the cuff.