I can’t lie here – I severely dislike having to wear cufflinks. Not because I don’t like the way they look or anything, but because I always lose those little fuckers and end up in some sort of panicked trip to the mall to replace them last minute.  Though I’ve vowed to get rid of all my French cuffed shirts it has yet to happen so, for now, cufflinks remain part of my wardrobe.

If you’re going to wear cuff links wear these

Times have changed and the days of operators sporting shorts, Tevas and a pair of Oakley’s 24/7 are long gone. With Personal Security Detachment (PSD) assignments, intelligence work and regular trips to embassies the modern day operator has evolved and so has his wardrobe.

So if you’re going to go the way of the French and use cufflinks you might as well make sure they are bad-ass.

Oh but to pick a lock?

Lock picking is an acquired skill that I think everyone should have. It’s just one of those things that everyone should have a functional knowledge of like changing the tire on your car.

Of course the easiest way to pick a lock is to have a key, like in the case of these handcuff key cuff links.

LOR doesn’t promote or condone nefarious actions as provided by tools such as these 

A few things to note: They are illegal in a few states.  These come in a cheaper version – but they do have a logo on them – which to the observant assailant is a dead giveaway.  The plain black ones are something I’d wear anyways and wouldn’t ever be mistaken for anything more than cuff links.  I like the allure of having something multipurpose.

Okay I have to also admit

I’ve been functioning in fairly high levels of business since I left the Teams in 2008 and I’ve noticed that cufflinks can sometimes show up as “conversation pieces”. You know the type of conversations where people like to brag about how much something cost or talk about how they bought them in France. You know. Stupid shit.

These are only like $60 bucks so if you find yourself in one of those weak moments where you want to Bitch Slap some business poser you can bypass the “I paid $500 for these” and go straight to the demonstration of what a real man uses! I’m just saying.

Check them: Sparrow UNCUFF Links