See Climb-Safe-With-A-Figure-8-Knot for making the figure 8 knot.lj wrote:A simple release can be made by using some cord, say 4-5mm diameter, and 5m long, tie a "Figure 8" knot to make a loop, then make a series of knots and loops fed through each other with the "tails" of the cord beyond the Figure 8 knot, making a tangled ball. All the knots should be loose, not pulled tight. You then use the loop to secure wrist ties, even chain loops padlocked on! All you have to do is undo all the knots, which will take however long you took to make the knot ball in the first place, plus any added difficulty (=time) like a blindfold or the whole tie behind your back, or above your head. Of course, at least in early experiments you still should have the safety shears nearby - as you "progress" a simple way of making theemergency release less attractive is to have the shears on a shelf, held in place by an expensive vase, sculpture or whatever you really would rather didn't break, with a cord dangling within reach, tied to the shears, so pulling the cord to get the shears drops the object to the floor!
The reason for the Figure 8 knot is that it can always be undone by alternating the direction a bend on either side of the knot, the leverage slowly releases the tension in the knot - it is used by rock-climbers as the main knot between the climbing rope and safety harness, and it can be undone even after a fall has put severe tension on the rope (I know this from experience...).
A possible solution is with 2 cuffs, a rope and a ziptie (or padlock). Once you make the loop, the figure 8 knot and the bundle loose knots you insert the loop in your cuffs and pull the zip tie tight.
The only solution with no safety shears is to untie the bundle loose knots and the 8 form tie.