Comments on: 3D printed keys open "high security" handcuffs

By: Ray Perkins

Ray Perkins — Sat, 21 Jul 2012 11:44:00 +0000

”PersonWhoIsTotallyNotMe” would make a great blogger name.

By: SoItBegins

SoItBegins — Sat, 21 Jul 2012 07:41:00 +0000

As a developer, I learned THAT one a long time ago— when working on my first WordPress site.

By: SoItBegins

SoItBegins — Sat, 21 Jul 2012 07:40:00 +0000

I am given to understand that zipties made for immobilizing people, as opposed to securing goods, are made of metal.

By: billstewart

billstewart — Sat, 21 Jul 2012 03:50:00 +0000

The “won’t show on a metal detector” feature is the important trick here, because it’s what makes this potentially more useful than a standard metal handcuff key. (That, and it’s good for blog cred :-)

By: Kathryn Anna Fortunato

Kathryn Anna Fortunato — Sat, 21 Jul 2012 01:10:00 +0000

There are numerous options for the plastic buckle types of belts (such as the ones you’d use on a DIY paracord belt) which conceal breakaway plastic cuff keys.

By: Kathryn Anna Fortunato

Kathryn Anna Fortunato — Sat, 21 Jul 2012 01:07:00 +0000

Moreover, you’re also usually secured from behind, which makes that motion much harder if you’re not double jointed in both shoulders.

By: 20thCenturyVole

20thCenturyVole — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 20:30:00 +0000

Plastic key, perfect for concealment (taped to the inside of a belt, for ezample), won’t show on a metal detector.

By: Al Billings

Al Billings — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 19:17:00 +0000

That technique (and the other common ones) don’t work with the kind of zipties actual cops use. They’re stronger materials.

By: dragonfrog

dragonfrog — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 18:40:00 +0000

I suppose in theory you could do something like, wait until you’re not watched, ditch your drugs or other incriminating material, and then re-cuff yourself.

A person who is totally not me tells me that she once got nabbed over a small bag of weed, cuffed, quickly patted down for obvious weapons, and put in the back of a cruiser. There she managed (without removing her cuffs) to reach a concealed bag of pills and stuff them into an inconspicuous corner of the car. The cops searched her more thoroughly a few minutes later, and then let her go with a warning.

By: dragonfrog

dragonfrog — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 18:32:00 +0000

Really, the security model of a handcuff is: “Sure, it would be trivial to open with a hairpin, if you had unobstructed use of both hands. But we searched your back pockets for hairpins, and then handcuffed you. Your move.”

By: wysinwyg

wysinwyg — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 18:05:00 +0000

It's easier than that.

By: mccrum

mccrum — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 17:48:00 +0000

I think it depends on how fast you are and how distracted the people who cuffed you are. If twelve people suddenly dropped their cuffs while being herded by two cops, pretty good chances for most of the escapees.

I imagine if you’re willing to plan to bring a key and commit to this kind of behavior after you’ve been nabbed you’re not going to be pretty aware of if and when your chance is going to come.

By: dmillecc

dmillecc — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 17:22:00 +0000

Any thoughts on what might happen if you actually unlocked your handcuffs?
Probably not good.

By: eagleapex

eagleapex — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 17:14:00 +0000

I made one for my dog: https://twitter.com/eagleApex/status/225334875236990976

By: stillcantfightthedite

stillcantfightthedite — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 16:55:00 +0000

Well, that’ll teach me to RTFA, I guess.

By: Nonentity

Nonentity — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 16:46:00 +0000

From the article quote: “he precisely measured them with calipers and created CAD models, which he used to reproduce the keys en masse, both in plexiglass with a friend’s standard laser cutter and in ABS plastic with a Repman 3D printer”

I assume the picture is the first of the two.

By: stillcantfightthedite

stillcantfightthedite — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 16:30:00 +0000

From the photo, it looks like these shapes were cut out of an existing sheet of material, not 3D-printed.

By: Robert Holmen

Robert Holmen — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 16:27:00 +0000

Every time I see video of police cuffing protestors they’re really using something like a zip-tie that doesn’t use a key. I suppose you could 3D print yourself a scissors.

By: CSBD

CSBD — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 16:17:00 +0000

I can’t wait for the head line: “3-printers of mass destruction will allow all terrorists to escape gitmo!”

By: mccrum

mccrum — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 16:08:00 +0000

In B4 “You guys are only helping the bad guys!”

By: show me

show me — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 16:03:00 +0000

Security by obscurity almost always fails in the long (or sometimes short) run.

By: nixiebunny

nixiebunny — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 15:58:00 +0000

Handcuff keys are dirt simple. The standard Smith and Wesson one has a single square bump, and the high security has a second bump somewhere on it.

In their defense, the police aren’t usually locking up people with 3d printers in their bedrooms.

By: dragonfrog

dragonfrog — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 15:47:00 +0000

Does the picture actually show the key pattern for a “high security” handcuff? A single diagonally slanted tooth? That’s surprising to me.