

Tiny Inconspicuous Handcuff Key - jjhageman
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-tihk-tiny-inconspicuous-handcuff-key-evade-unlawful-handcuff-restraint

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tedunangst
Worth noting that the courts are unlikely to agree with you regarding the
"unlawful" nature of the restraints you find yourself in. In other words, this
is a good way to escalate a bad situation to way, way worse.

~~~
tlrobinson
The project doesn't suggest what types of scenarios are unlawful. Civilians
can buy handcuffs too. What if you're kidnapped?!

I imagine their customer base overlaps significantly with the "prepper" and
"tactical" crowds who also have $100,000 bunkers in their backyards and full
body SWAT gear, etc.

I mean, three of the five sites that covered them have "tactical" in the name.

~~~
Avshalom
I notice they capitalized "everyday carry"

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aray
I wouldn't support this because: the campaign project members are anonymous
(and thus cannot be held accountable), the project is flexibly funded (meaning
they get the money either way), and the key IS NOT A UNIVERSAL HANDCUFF KEY.

There was a presentation on "The Ultimate Handcuff Key" at CarolinaCon 6:
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjfGwRE_DF8&t=29m30s](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjfGwRE_DF8&t=29m30s)
where they demo and give data and measurements for all the handcuffs and keys
they could find. They show a calculated 'universal key', and how to make it.
Notably it has a _notch_ down the center of the blade.

Looking at the TIHK, they are very obviously NOT using this design.

You can, however, watch the talk and learn how to make one of these keys
yourself with a specific handcuff key, a file, and a dremel tool.

Slides:
[http://deviating.net/lockpicking/slides/cuff_stuff.ppt](http://deviating.net/lockpicking/slides/cuff_stuff.ppt)

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anigbrowl
I foresee a lot of people being surprised to realize that correct handcuff
technique has the lock at the back of the hand where itchy fingers won't be
able to reach.

[http://www.policemag.com/_Images/articles/PO1202ties-7-2.jpg](http://www.policemag.com/_Images/articles/PO1202ties-7-2.jpg)

~~~
seszett
I wasn't under the impression that handcuffs prevent rotation of the hands
inside?

But why isn't the lock placed on the up side rather than down?

~~~
fvrghl
To everyone talking about law enforcement: I think that the use of the key is
implied for being arrested, but by 'unlawful restraint' they just mean some
random person restraining you (kiddnapping?). Some random person _probably_
wouldn't use proper handcuffing technique.

~~~
anigbrowl
That's true. But there are already tough ABS plastic keys for this very
purpose which are sold in bulk to military/law enforcement for cheap.

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stevewillows
Why not just have a safe word?

~~~
ozh
Armageddon! Armageddon!

~~~
Cthulhu_
Oklahoma! Oklahoma!

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DanBC
Sounds like a great way to get shot in the head.

Does anyone have reliable stats for the number of people illegally held in
handcuffs?

Or what the best course of action is? I suspect (in the UK) you should stay
calm, and polite, and cooperative up to a point, and say nothing without a
lawyer, and then sort it out afterwards (and collect some money for wrongful
arrest.)

~~~
tedunangst
"Fix it later" is almost certainly the best course of action with the police.
"Fix it now" (via force) is almost certainly among the worst courses of
action.

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lightyrs
To all the sarcastic commenters here, sounds like none of you have ever been
unlawfully cuffed. I'm happy for you. If you or a loved one ever had been, you
would be thankful that products like this exist.

~~~
crystaln
Please share your experience, or at least some hypothetical scenario where
this would be useful.

~~~
lightyrs
Not my experience but rape is the scenario and it's far from hypothetical. Do
a little googling if you can stomach it.

~~~
crystaln
I wonder what this calculation would yield:

% of rapes involving handcuffs * % of rapes standard handcuffs used in such a
way that both the keyhole and key are accessible to the hands * % of rapes
where the victim is left unattended and fully clothed (presumably the key is
in the clothes or keys) long enough to unlock the handcuffs * % chance of
victim remembering to clip the handcuff key to their clothing * % chance
escaping from handcuffs will result in a better outcome for the victim * %
chance victim is not under constant intimidation and control of the
perpetrator

Given that the first number - rapes that involve handcuffs - seems almost
undetectable and the chances of a successful beneficial escape are quite low,
I'm going to say handcuff keys are the equivalent of a tin foil hat as a rape
prevention tool.

~~~
brokenparser
_You_ are the equivalent of a tin foil hat as a rape prevention tool.

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mahyarm
Don't they use large thick plastic zipties nowadays? And why would handcuffs
use the same kind of keys?

~~~
richo
Because if you need to transfer someone who's in cuffs, you don't want to be
pissfarting around exchanging keys. Thus most cuffs have the same key.

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Tichy
Yeah, and along with that I'd like a course in kicking the gun pointed at my
head out of the holder's hand, then using it to shoot the three other guards
watching over me. They do it on TV all the time, can't be that hard.

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s_q_b
This is useful as a novelty for the modern activist, but nothing more. In
practical terms it would make most arrest situations far worse.

This tool only makes sense for hardcore criminals, with little to lose by
running from the police, maybe some law enforcement or military application,
and for activism fashionistas.

As a hacker, such a simple tool defeating handcuffs is rather cool. Are they
all on a single un-keyed unlock tool, like a cheap interior house lock? I'd
expect specific keys matched with specific cuffs.

~~~
vinceguidry
Serious activists are prepared for the possibility of arrest. This involves
having the proper phone numbers memorized, not carrying anything of value
while protesting, and knowing what to say to law enforcement.

This tool would be of negative value to them, as it would only hurt their
position if it was found in a search. Getting arrested, on the other hand, can
prove to be beneficial, as the event can be set inside a narrative of police
excess, driving public sympathy to their cause.

~~~
s_q_b
Yep, that's about right. Especially the memorizing the phone numbers part.

One of my mother's former law partners used to help get Martin Sheen out of
jail whenever he arrested protesting. He actually has a quick cameo in the
first season of the West Wing. He's a state judge now, but still has a bit of
that radical streak in him.

He once described the whole elaborate choreography of activist arrest and
release. You want the media to be present, both at arrest and release. You
want the use of force by the police to be both disproportionate and highly
visible.

There are a whole series of elaborate rules to make the state's use of force
work for you. Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals is the traditional primer in
this sort of thing, but it's always interesting to hear the stories of those
that lived that type of life.

~~~
vinceguidry
Anybody interested in this topic should check out the Crimethinc Collective.
They have many excellently written essays about the minutiae of activism,
including ins and outs of the more dangerous "black bloc" tactics.

[http://crimethinc.com/](http://crimethinc.com/)

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narfquat
Did I just watch a video of a series of pictures? Why not just have a 3-5
second motion video?

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dmckeon
For the more stylish, white-collar, french-cuffed arrestee (or perhaps kidnap
victim):
[http://www.sparrowslockpicks.com/product_p/link.htm](http://www.sparrowslockpicks.com/product_p/link.htm)

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rurounijones
Sounds like an excellent way to get tazed after resisting arrest by removing
handcuffs.

~~~
shire
Or perhaps shot at, cops are very very strict and power hungry nowadays is
best to just follow the law to avoid confrontation.

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sachingulaya
That's a great way to get yourself shot by law enforcement.

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jack-r-abbit
_Evade Unlawful Handcuff Restraint_... Right. And their follow-up product will
be a tool to open a car door in case you are _accidentally_ trapped in the
caged back seat of a car with no internal door handles.

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shire
Well I could see this escalating into something more serious than it ought to
be. This could how ever be useful for a criminal with nothing to lose which in
that case this product could be helping criminals escape.

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kennywinker
Anyone else think of Y: The Last Man?

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y:_The_Last_Man](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y:_The_Last_Man)

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codezero
Why would they make this out of metal versus some other solid material? As it
stands, it would be detected by a metal detector, right?

~~~
brohee
Some metal detector only work on ferromagnetic metals, which wouldn't be the
case for the alloys they are going for. In any case at under one gram they are
likely under the threshold of detection and are easy to store near legitimate
metal, like a zipper.

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xophe
Without sarcasm, a great way to prompt cops to start using zip-ties, which is
just a lot more dangerous for everyone.

~~~
D9u
There are ways to break free from zip ties.

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cranklin
County jail inmates uncuff themselves all the time (in a matter of seconds)
with an industrial-sized staple.

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tlrobinson
Note: my internet sleuthing skills suggest it is illegal in some states to
carry a handcuff key (Florida?)

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mortov
However Police long ago started to switch to rigid handcuffs to stop people
being able to move their hands and manipulate their way out :
[http://www.police-supplies.co.uk/handcuffs-keys-
pouches/hand...](http://www.police-supplies.co.uk/handcuffs-keys-
pouches/handcuffs/tch-rigid-handcuffs-black-finish/prod_456.html)

Since the indiegogo site will have been added to the 'criminal intelligence'
database, every paranoid cop will take extra care.

You would be horrified at the number of snopes.com myths cops believe in, so
something with the potential to be real will have them in a frenzy.

Expect lots of people to be beaten and tazer'd over the next week or two as a
direct result of the hysteria this creates in cops all over the place
believing people have a hidden super secret magic handcuff key.

~~~
D9u
True that regarding rigid handcuffs... The ones with a chain connecting the
pair are susceptible to manipulation which can break one of the swivels.
(SERE)

On somewhat of a tangent, this reminds me of the German guy who 3D printed
keys for some of the more high-tech handcuffs awhile back.

[http://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2012/07/16/hacker-...](http://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2012/07/16/hacker-
opens-high-security-handcuffs-with-3d-printed-and-laser-cut-keys/)

I imagine that instead of abusing detainees the more respectable law
enforcement officers will conduct more thorough searches.

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kostyk
"Unlawful" to me sounds just like a marketing gimmick.

~~~
ygra
They can't really advertise »Evade lawful handcuffing«, I guess ;-)

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PhasmaFelis
"Evade Unlawful Handcuff Restraint", indeed. I suppose the order form requires
you to pinky-promise that you won't use it if lawfully restrained, cross your
heart.

These guys know very well who their target market is, and it's not "law
enforcement, military, and security professionals...restrained with their own
cuffs".

Be a nice thing to pass on to your friendly neighborhood activists, though.
I've known a couple of guys who always kept a lighter in their back pocket to
melt through those plastic zip-tie cuffs. When there's mass arrests at a
protest, it's good to be able to help a bunch of hastily-cuffed peaceniks get
loose and melt away into the crowd before the paddy wagon shows up. You
probably won't get everybody, but you'll do a lot of good if you can keep the
pigs from getting their hands on women and openly gay/transgender people.

