

Print your own handcuff key? - scapegraced
http://blackbag.nl/?p=940

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jacquesm
This brought up some traumatic memories from very long ago.

To make a long story short, such a key would have come in fairly handy at some
point in my life (only we didn't have 3D printers then).

The longer story:

In Amsterdam, in the early 70's they were building a subway. This led to all
kinds of bad feeling between the people and the municipal government
culminating in riots on the 'Nieuwmarkt' where a bunch of houses would have to
be torn down.

My dad was there when it happened and spotted a police issue pair of handcuffs
on the ground after the melee.

He picked them up and took them home as a 'souvenir'. A little while later he
had to go on a trip and an uncle came to look after us.

I found the handcuffs and tried them on my one hand first 'crrrrclick', ok,
that was fun. Then - of course - the other arm. I showed my uncle who thought
it was funny but told me to take them off.

Slight problem, they were on pretty solid, I'd pushed the ratchets as far as
they would go. Now panic set in, causing my wrists to swell. My uncle freaked
out too, searched everywhere for a key (which wasn't there) and finally had to
call the police to get me 'liberated'.

They were definitely not pleased and after releasing me took their handcuffs
with them and issued a fairly stern warning and had my dad report to the
station for another lecture upon his return.

~~~
tetha
In case someone gets into such a situation:

I've seen that many handcuffs can be opened with a strong, thin wire by
pushing the hook, which keeps the ratchets from going back, back and pulling
the ratchet out. Source was some documentation about a certain military
operation where someone explained how he got out of a police station.

~~~
pyre
I'm interested in how getting out of handcuffs would help you out of a police
station. Isn't it like saying that picking the locks on the door to the White
House will get you in to see the President?

~~~
tetha
I'd call it a 'necessary requirement', or even a 'requirement that is good to
have'.

Certainly, if I -- as a pretty untrained computer science student -- pick my
lock in the largest new yorker police station, well... who cares? Similarly,
if you pick the lock of the white house, you probably won't see the president.

On the other hand, if a highly trained marine wants to get out of some police
station, he will probably get out of there, and he can raise his chances a lot
if his hands are not constrained by handcuffs. (And similar, if a highly
trained specialist wants to see the president, he has some chance to do so,
and if he can pick any lock in the white house, his chances rise pretty much)

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tomjen2
It is worth pointing out that the key is made of plastic, which means that
metal detectors won't get it. This is going to be a fun century.

