Soft Shackle "Quick release"/"ripcord" problem.

I've been on a soft shackle spree the past couple of days, and I've tried putting ripcords in them to make them open more quickly. Sometimes they work just fine, sometimes they don't. I think it depends on how tightly I milk the outer sheath while closing the loop. When I pull the ripcord, the soft shackle curls up like a slug with salt on it. I'm getting frustrated. Any ideas?

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I made a bunch a while back, and if I remember correctly, it had to do with where the ripcord was secured. If it wasn't in the knot, it wouldn't work right. I think. It may also have something to with the ripcord being on both sides of the inner strand. Try running the ripcord through the center of the inner strand for a bit, then exiting at a single point.
Here's a visual approximation of that.
Attachment 30644

PF

Knotty showed a way to make them using a Solomon Bar knot. And here are a few that I made.

They are easier to make and use. IMO

I find the nacrobiner works easier for me. No dealing with milking

Just curious if you have ever tried a round line rather than the flat ribbon that the picture shows? The technique looks correct. It would be simple enough to try another kind of ripcord.

I've made plenty of Nacrabiners, but I'm just trying to get the soft shackle with a ripcord to work correctly.

I'm using 7/64th" amsteel and was using really thin whipping twine for the ripcord. I tried using 1/16th" braided cord and 1.75mm zing-it with no luck. I also tried Pucker's suggestion with the whipping twine. It had the same outcome as my previous method.

It seems to me that pulling the ripcord causes the inner cord to bunch up directly above where the ripcord passes through. It causes a kind of inverted constriction.

Roadrunner, I saw in a previous post that you made ripcords out of what looked like a single length of zing-it? How did you attach it?

Did you try putting the ripcord through at the diamond knot?
I haven't been able to replicate the issue, so I'm just throwing ideas out there. :-/

PF

Here's a video I made showcasing the issues I'm having.




Huh, doesn't look like that embed worked... the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxvYHYyMMQI

In my opinion, there are two things going on...

1. You are expecting too much out of the "ripcord". Most of the time, mine work, but sometimes they do the same as yours. It all depends on how I "hold my mouth".

2. You have the ripcord attached way too deep into the bury. You only need to be able to pull out 1"-2" to open the loop adequately. The ripcord pulls on the buried cord below it, but it has to push all of the cord above it. When you push on the cord, it expands and binds up. The portion that is pulled contracts and slides freely. So...the less that has to be pushed out of the bury, the less there is to expand and bind.

My ripcords are attached at just 2 1/2" into the bury and could be even less.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by callook66

I've made plenty of Nacrabiners, but I'm just trying to get the soft shackle with a ripcord to work correctly.

I'm using 7/64th" amsteel and was using really thin whipping twine for the ripcord. I tried using 1/16th" braided cord and 1.75mm zing-it with no luck. I also tried Pucker's suggestion with the whipping twine. It had the same outcome as my previous method.

It seems to me that pulling the ripcord causes the inner cord to bunch up directly above where the ripcord passes through. It causes a kind of inverted constriction.

Roadrunner, I saw in a previous post that you made ripcords out of what looked like a single length of zing-it? How did you attach it?

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Raise your hand if you think you need 300lb breaking strength cord as a leash to pull a bury out or peel a sheath back.

I think I need nothing stronger or thicker than heavy polyester or nylon thread, say 5-10lb strength. I've had no problems with snags or bunching, and have yet to break the leash.

I buried the ripcord so deep per a tutorial I saw on youtube. Going a little more shallow seems to help. I'm using a very thin whipping twine that's almost like a tiny ribbon. The zing-it didn't work at all.

I was really hoping that the whipping twine buried in the knot, being completely unattached to either rope, would be the answer. No luck.

DemostiX, how do you attach your leash? Is the thread difficult to grip? Do you ever have any failures?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by callook66

...I'm using a very thin whipping twine that's almost like a tiny ribbon. The zing-it didn't work at all...

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I used braided masons line 'cause it was handy, so it doesn't have to be "thread". Dental floss may be another item you might have on hand.

I embedded your video for you. :D

The issue raised here is, I'm sure, due to the anchor of the leash being buried way too deep.

But, better yet, for new soft shackles, would be to follow a design which does for the clasp what absent neck feathers does for vultures --leaves the mouth area clean.

Evolution will sort things out.

Priority: Allan Edwards guidance to this approach is complete. In another thread a careful shackle-maker confirmed that Edwards calculator guided him to a satisfying just-rightness in cord lengths. But that design was also presented earlier in HF by a member.

I use very thin braided fishing line.. :) No problems

Given that the thread is 4 years old, I hope the OP has found a solution. :)