Posted by Greg Gilman on December 10, 2001 at 06:54:26:
In Reply to: Re: New collector needs advice and posted by Steve Santini on May 09, 2001 at 12:34:33:
: Hello,
I am fairly new to collecting this stuff also, but I have seen a lot of collections come and go in my time. The one thing that caught my attention about your request was how VERY eager you seem to buy MANY EXAMPLES QUICKLY.
That usually is a bad strategy. Three wekks ago I started up buying everything on eBay I liked and I could afford almost with no thought going into what I am doing.
I have now seen hundreds of Handcuff photos. I have read everything on this sight and have been reading other sights. I have been emailing back and forth wih a lot of experts, so called experts, and the people who you can trust and who knowwhat they are talking about, pretty soon start to sort themselves out.
I have quickly narrowed down by VERY far: what I'd like to own.
If you are new and run around paying op dollar for everything, where will you be in a year when you have learned and gottn much more educated and are much more knowledgeable and discerning about what you wanto to own, and why?
It isn't a very liquid market for selling off early mistakes. If you have a few early GREAT BUYS, consider yourself lucky, but why overdo it?
Take the time and ask yourself: Why do I, want to devote serious amounts of my time, to acquiring vintage metal restraint items?
What is the real psychological appeal to the hobby for you? Basically there are three types of Hadcuff collectors I know of, Number 1. The General Casual Collector, who usually needs a little more time to learn why he wants to collect handcuffs. This could includ people drawn to interesting early metal devices, seen in plenty of Hollywood movies, often extremely well made, showing distinct eras of human manufacturing techniques, there limitations, and if you apprecate master metal work, some of the best work of the time. Some people can speng a lifetime at number1. without ever knowing why for them it was handcufs, not watches, or coins.
Number 2. People who just suddenly need a strong psychological distraction and who are often not really conscious of what handcuffs really mean to them. They may feel the are aging, and want to have the handcuffs and the keys, to remember things they saw but couldn't afford or legally own when they were younger. The may have felt trapped in life or cheated by time a lot. This type seems to enjoy hunting for the rare types, showing them off at handcuff and rare lock shows, and creatng more rivalries than real friendships, by feeling they have become a real "Known Buyer," and a, "Knowledgeable Collector," to be envied by others. These things feed the ego only, and pretty soon the collection and the ego can block the handcuff collector from finding access to their deeper selves anymore. It is sometomes for frightened people. People who have maybe lost something or someone they love, and unconsciously think "locking things up," will bring back the goodfeelings they had befor,ebut can't control or force to return now, so they end up using the handcuffs to kep old bad memories away, or to feel stronger, like they have some authority, to lock up what they wish to, and only open parts of themselves if they should ever choose to again.
The 3rd. kind decides to buy these rare coveted bits of metal and use them as a spiritual lesson, by first buying them, and then learning enough spiritual discipline, to move on, and sell them off, let some of the THINGS you treasure go, in favor of developing a deeper conection to your family, God, or nature.
Right now I'm collecting out of loss. I've lost someone I loved and I can't make the world change and bring that person back, and I have tried as hard as I could. So I've been buying for a few weeks, but now that I've had just enough time to see what I am doing, the list of what I want is much much shorter. Basically I'm now interested in working to make a few custom designed pairs of handcuffs, as an artist over a log time, no rush, and maybe learning i am not a prisoner or a victim of what happened to me, maybe I can open my heart withouta key, maybe I can survive without feeling so much paininside my heart that I want a really strong lock to make me feel more protected by owning it. Maybe I can learrn to free myself from the past by escaping: before I become a serious collector.
Good Luck in your search, whatever you decide.