Manacles, chain shackles, and handcuffs

Shackles are tools that are used to fasten together a prisoner’s feet or hands, or to punish someone. They used to be called shackbolts, swivels, gyves, and manacles. Until recently, the only two handcuffs that were around were the ones that look like figure-eights, which allow for the hands to be bound closely in front or in back of the prisoner, or the handcuffs that consist of rings connected by a chain, like the kind of handcuffs that police offers have. But recent advances have been made to the handcuff. New handcuffs are not as heavy, and because they can adjust, a police officer can use one pair to fit any prisoner. Read the rest of this entry »