lock timer

 

Not been able to find a specific timed release pair of cuffs or even a timebox, but gave up on that one after the third or fourth page on Google.

 

Perhaps you could use the CD Tray release?

Version 1 and the direct link to download from Rapidshare

Also Version 2 but if you have Windows 7, some users do have issues getting this one to work. I had, but have just downloaded the file and it works perfectly for me on W7.

     Even 3-digit locks can take much longer than this to work through in this way if the dials are very stiff.  The operative factor is how long it takes to test 10 possible combinations by making one rotation of the units dial: if the dials move smoothly, you can test the 10 in a couple of seconds by making a complete rotation of the units dial in one or two movements while pulling gently and continuously on the shackle; but if the dials are sufficiently stiff, this won't work, and you'll have to test one combination by pulling on the shackle, release your pull, turn the units dial to the next digit, and pull on the shackle again - and so on for the remaining combinations.  Testing 10 combinations this way probably takes about 10 times as long as the situation with smoother-moving dials.
     I once calculated in my mind how long it might take to open the lock this way if there were 4 dials, and they were of the stiff variety - in other words, all the least favourable properties of the lock for quick escape; and I think the result was that it could take a decent fraction of a whole day.
     My reasoning probably went something like this: assume an average of three seconds per combination tried - a maximum of 30,000 seconds, or an average of 15,000 - about 8 hours' maximum time, 4 hours' average.  But then factor in the time needed to rest - and you *will* need to rest - increasingly often - and I believe that would more than double the total time.  And you will probably lose count at some point, on one or other of the dials, and you will have to repeat a part of the overall counting cycle to make sure you don't miss a range of combinations.  That could cost a couple of additional hours.  For instance, in a 4-digit lock, you are up to 3,654 in your count, and you realize you've lost count of the hundreds dial, or you are not sure if you accidentally moved the thousands dial (you can accidentally move a dial adjacent to the one you meant to move, or you can be unsure if you have) - to make sure you don't miss any combinations, you will have to go back to 3,000 in your count and do the whole thousand over again from the start before you click the thousands dial over to 4.  So I would be very careful about using a lock which has both 4 dials and stiff-moving ones.
     This combination-permutating method is just my backup escape - and I have had to use it two or three times.  I don't like to use it for my planned escape, because I actually don't enjoy spending a few hours working the locks open in this way.  It is incredibly tedious - and actually quite exhausting - far more in practice than it may seem just reading about it.

     Actually, I might just clarify a point I made earlier which you may have misinterpreted.
     I said earlier that a surprising number of locks could be opened in minutes or even occasionally seconds.  And your comments seemed to indicate that you may have thought I was just talking about the combination-permutating method of opening the lock.
     I was actually talking about locks which are poorly made, so that, when you turn the dials while pulling on the shackle, the dials "catch" a little when they are set to the right digit.  The effect may be subtle, but can be detected quite easily if you are pulling on the shackle at the same time, and in just the right way (neither too hard nor too lightly).
     Before I use a lock, I test whether I can open it quickly with my eyes closed.  And I remember one case where I could open it within 10 seconds about 5 times in a row.  Needless to say, that lock never gets used.
     The way things are shrink-wrapped in plastic nowadays, you can rarely test a lock before buying it - you have to buy it and then hope it's good enough.  It isn't always - but this is just one of the costs of pursuing a hobby like this.
     And it's not necessarily the cheap, no-brand locks which have this defect - some of those, costing only a few dollars, have proven to be completely escape-proof (except for the tedious checking of all combinations in order), and amongst my more successful locks.  And I have had very disappointing and useless locks with well-known brands stamped on them.
     It's the smallest, luggage-sized locks which are most prone to this, so if I come across a good brand, I stock up on it by buying several.  (I mainly use that size because it best suits the things I do most often.)

Originally posted by teather The advantage over ice locks is that the time you are restrained depends upon the amount of effort you put into trying to release yourself - it doesn't just happen.