German Clejuso adjustable handcuffs with key circa 1940s

[bsweeney]

German Clejuso adjustable handcuffs with key circa 1940s, manufactured in Germany at Clemen & Jung OHG's factory in Solingen.

There are no markings on the handcuffs or the key. You twist the key in a screwing motion to open or close the handcuffs. I communicated via email with Mr. Alex Pleithner of Clemen & Jung about this set, he has indicated that his firm has made this style of cuff up until 1960 and the key is consistent with their model. However the handcuffs produced by them were nickel-plated and due to the complete destruction of company records in WW11 he is not able to say if other finished cuffs were produced. I can say this; due to wartime conditions German production faced extreme reductions in quality control. This set shows ?NO? sign of ever having a nickel-plating, which probably would have been dropped due to the wartime materials restriction. German coinage went from silver to a base metal at this time! Considering this, it is highly likely that these were in fact produced during this critical period of the war in Europe. Because they are not rusted out and still work as well as they do, have the crude wartime finish, can be identified by mister Alex Pleithner of Clemen & Jung, I feel comfortable calling them circa 1940 German Clejuso Darby adjustable handcuffs.

[JoeW]

Clejuso advertised these cuffs quite a bit in police publications before and during the war. They were also available through other retailers like Akah and Geco from the early through the late 1930s as seen in their catalogs. Those sold by Geco were nickel plated in 1937. I would suggest that yours are older. The police were expected to use theirs for at least ten years before replacement. How do they wear out?