Forging Prison Irons AKA Darby Handcuffs 

I like the way you work. You have great pride in what you do and it shows. When I became an apprentice in England nearly 65 years ago I had a file in my hand filing on a 2 1/2" cube of mild steel for nearly two months, filing this angle and that angle every day, all day long. It was tough, but it sure taught me a lot about hand tools and how to use them properly.

A very cool and great executed project!! Didn't know you were a locksmith!!

Spicing things up are we? Your talent and ingenuity never cease to amaze me sir!

I love to see blacksmithing videos of unusual, obscure, or specialized items. I doubt I could find many (if any!) other videos on making handcuffs, even if I tried. It's great to see projects like this. Thanks for posting this video.

Your video was an absolute pleasure to watch, 10 out of 10 for workmanship and skill, 11 out of 10 for having the patience to complete the job using all the old time methods,keep up the good work!

Man as a correctional officer that uses cuffs everyday I can really appreciate this. Great video and project

This is one of the coolest projects I have ever seen. Great job..

A different kind of build from anything I've seen before. Thanks for a great instructional video, and for the nugget that these are why the guards are calleds 'screws' I never knew that!

Smashed it again Tim . A bit of history In 1880s in Victorian England , There was two makers of restraints Hiatt Nicholls and Thomas Froggatt .Froggatt was a good Friend of Harry Houdini. The cuffs got the nick name in Victorian times as Darbies. This name was taken from Darby Bonds .A monie lender called father Darbie , it was hard to Escape from a Darby Bond . I Hope you haven't all fallen asleep .lol lots of love and kind regards to you all and god bless from over the pond

I've always liked the cuffs from the old westerns. Thanks for the creation!

Wow! Just wow. Your talent and skills just amaze me. It wasn't until amost right up to the end that I got it. I kept thinking to myself how in the world do those conical cylinders play a part in a pair of handcuffs. They really came out well. Fit and finish looked great and best of all they worked. Well done Tim! Now to find someone to cuff.

this has got to be one of the most original projects i have ever seen on a blacksmithing channel, you have some talent my friend, they look amazing !!

Mr. Tim, you are a master and a wealth of information, thank you for sharing and bringing us along.

Seen these a hundred times in movies, never could figure them out. Now I can, thanks. btw, your narration was informative and nice to listen at.

Sir, you are 60% craftsman, 40% magician!

Excellent Tim! The swedge block and forge brazing are beautiful. Thanks

Tim, you are remarkable, the thought processes to come up with what you need to do to resurrect the fabrication is way beyond me!

Amazing work sir. Absolutely beautiful. If any ever says your nit a Blacksmith well they are wrong.

Man, this is exactly what I was looking for! :D been looking for some demonstration how to make tapered ferrules from flat bar. this showed me two ways. this must've been a major project with a lot of research and planning, really appreciate that you took the time to share it with us!

Could not stop watching this. Still looking for a set, but watching you forge them was extremely satisfying. Please keep up the ama-zing work :)

Hello Mr Big Dog Forge. I am a new subscriber who found my way to blacksmithing videos via T-shirts DIYs! I must say that your channel really makes me understand the art that goes into blacksmithing and your variety of subjects and techniques are really amazing! You are doing everything from handcuffs to 1000 layers pattern welding Damascus! Impressive!

If the guard with the key was the screw, then if he lost the key he was the screw up ! I really enjoyed this build, it not every day some one makes hand cuffs.

Wow. Love the project. Your always a pleasure to watch and learn from. Thank you Tim

I own a pair of these, I use them in my capacity of a Victorian Policeman at a museum. Really authentic and great quality. Thanks for sharing the video. I agree about this video being therapeutic.

Another amazing project Tim!! Love the detail. Great video Sir, thank you. ⚒️😀👍⚒️

And now your wife laughs as she putts the cuffs on whilst you are sleeping. Lol. Love your fantastic work on the cuffs. You were like an expert on the way you built them. I'm suspecting that you are from a hundred and fifty years ago and was brought forward in time. Have a wonderful week.

This was a very cool video. I loved learning how these were made and to watch you use the primitive tools was great. Displays a great amount of skill and patients. Thanks for posting.

Wow! Great work, Tim. They turned out amazing. Well done, brother

Nice to see a highly skilled blacksmith work!

That has got to be one of the best forging videos I have ever seen thank you

I wish I could like that multiple times as it was one of the coolest builds I've seen in a while. And now I know who to call should I need a locksmith.

Always wondered what would happen if John Switzer and Deviant Ollam got together, and now I know! Fabulous build!

Beautiful Job, I really enjoyed watching that...You surely have a gift!!!

Fantastic project Tim, they came out great. I'm a retired Detective now, otherwise I would have been placing an order for a set!!!

Great job and very entertaining to watch you create these cuffs. Being a retired LE this made me want to create a set . Thanks and God Bless

Wow. Never thought about how they made this. You are great man. Love this type of projects

What an awesome project! Thanks for sharing it! Your video was incredibly thorough!

Thank you very much for your video on making handcuffs. It is enjoyable to see how old craftsman made the tools that I respected when I watch the old movies of the West as a child. Used to collect some of the old handcuffs and try to find leg irons. It would be interesting if you could make leg irons as they were made in the 1850s or thereabouts. Keep the good work going you are a master of blacksmithing.

That was very interesting. You made a fantastic job of those handcuffs.

I think this is the best thing I've seen forged i love seeing tools and usable things being made nice and clean videography also thanks for sharing

Loved this project Tim!!! I need to rebuild the forge have some throwing implements in mind!!! Three throwing knifes and three throwing axes!!!

"Don't know what I am going to do with these, but they are fun to build" Where I come from we just say "It kept me off the streets and out of the bars".

This is the coolest thing I've ever seen you do. Keep up these kind of projects!

In the UK, prison guards are known as screws. Great videos, I always enjoy them.

Wow you have locked that project down. Great work sir.

I was awestruck from start to finish. That sir is art

What a great how to bud. I always like that laid back way you talk us through your posts.Best 1/2 hour ever my friend.

Fascinating. I love to learn how things were done before modern day technology changed things. Thanks for the video.

And now we know the rest of the story just like Paul Harvey lol great vid Tim

As a collector of handcuffs and shackles I really enjoyed your video. Well done.

Beautiful work! Enjoyed watching!

Amazing work Tim ! I really enjoyed the video. Thank you sir.

That was fantastic to watch and also educational, thankyou very much, and well done.

Well I thought I ws hip to all the blacksmith channels on youtube... Then I accidentally find this and am truly amazed. REALLY well done. Simply a great video. Very impressed. THANK YOU for sharing this.

Very cool project. Your best build so far.

Great work! I love how they turned out.

Truly amazing video. I love to see how you can duplicate these older items and show how they are made.

Great video. As a handcuff collector and a member of the Forum you referred to, it was interesting to see the "old school" methods. I posted your link to the Forum.

Excellent video and a great design. Until this, I'd never seen anything remotely similar. Thank you very much.

Thank you for sharing this is a blast from the past, I think i have seen something like these in old western movies. Great job keep up the good videos

Tim, you're the Bob Ross of Blacksmithing 😊 Love your videos, they're so interesting and calming at the same time!

👍👍 this is much better Tim. The narrative as well as the detail is much more appreciated. As always keep up the great work and god bless! Side note : when I was real young, I worked in a grocery store. We had a safe that had not been opened for several years. One of our customers was a locksmith. He volunteered his time and opened the safe. He first drilled a hole into the door. And put a borescope inside to see what was in it. There were several watches and some documents. It was pretty cool watching him play with the tumblers and open that old safe.

I saw your Damascus video from a few years ago and I've been interested in these videos since. Keep up the good work man!

Outstanding video ty !!! A true Artisan at work.

You are amazing . I enjoy watching your videos. I always learn something. Thanks sending BIG DOG belly rubs.

It's good to see you and hear your voice again...

Thank you for Sharing this project.

Excellent video, thanks for sharing.

Awesome build Tim, interesting to hear how the officer received the term screw, makes total sense when you see this type of cuff. Cool project :-) and da Big D cuddles in the middle.

I did not know that about Screws. That's what we call them here in Australia :)

Video is great, have watched it 5 times. Got me interested in the Brady handcuffs, many I saw had a swivel in the chain. Your idea how to make this part. Thank you for the great videos and your time.

Excellent work, excellent presentation, most enjoyable to watch and I learnt a lot. I'm not in the US but I am "in the job" and they still call us "screws", amongst other things. 👍🇦🇺🍺

Thanks for sharing Tim. I learned a lot.

you are so creative and your artwork are tremendously awesome. the best video

Awesome thanks for sharing and God Bless you guys!

Amazing job with the hand cuffs 😁👌

Great job came out very nice. They look like originals.

I love to watch a master craftsman at work.

Thank you very much, beautiful work. YVO

You have a great camera. I really love the super close-up shots!

All I can say is WOW Tim!! Wayne

The guards were also called turn keys, for obvious reasons!

Dude those turned out great, even forged the hardware and key. Nice job

Very cool Tim. I've seen them and wondered at the work to make them. This was fun to see, and they turned out great. Sure, hope I never have to experience them. Thank you.

REALLY like that big anvil! BECOMING a bigger and bigger fan of your work &channel -SUBed!

They r very cool Tim great job

magnificent work!!!

I have a bunch of those wrenches you used for bending. They were included in the toolkit that came with the 1911 Ford Model T.

I got the Bob Ross of Blacksmiths reference.

it would be interesting to see how the "Lock Picking Lawyer" would tackle these, such a simple mechanism would be difficult to pick with traditional skills. Thank you for sharing this wonderful example. I remember my struggles, 40 years ago trying to drill steel with a hand drill it is blister forming and character building.

You made it look easy. Great job!

Those are awesome Tim!

Those turned out awesome man!

Knock it out of the park on this one, awesome video.

Ah ha, a locksmith! A trade close to my heart! So the 1/4-20 threaded square spindle reminds me of a lock spindle. 3/8”-20 (odd thread) and 9/32” square.

Love this very informative and entertaining 👍

Many didn't take too long, Great to discover just how to do and learn , Like a old gaurd being a screw. Thanks

Awesome build

Thanks Tim, that is a fantastic project and one well worth the week or so it will take me! Maybe longer, my skills are not up to yours and still a few years away! But not to complicated, I’ll let you know how I go!

You have the patient of a saint