I had to call on my emergency back up today because I had not thought to check my gear for faults!
I was wearing my waist harness with handcuffs attached at the sides, Ankle cuffs, (joined by 2" chain) and a leather hood. I have made an extended key using a Plastic Rod and standard handcuff key which makes releasing the right hand cuff relatively straight forward,I have used this with no problem on many occasions for about a year. This is where I made the error,I did not stop to consider that plastic degrades over time when subjected to stresses. When I examined it afterwards I could see some of the tell tale stress lines in the rod.
All went well until I put my home made key in the lock as i turned it to release the double lock, the shaft sheared and the key flew out and bounced away. Not to worry I also had a standard Hiatts extended key as a back up.This was on the arm of a nearby chair. But as I sat down and reached for it disaster struck I knocked the arm and the key fell down between the arm and seat cushion where I could not reach it.
So there I am almost naked hooded hands locked securely at my hips and ankles shackled together. I shuffle slowly over to the table with my mobile on it, carefully pick it up and activate the safety assistant sending a text to my emergency back up. Then sit and have a long wait for them to arrive and free me.
Moral regularly check your gear (including keys) before use!
