Tag Archives: Hideaki Kawashima

Triskele

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It’s been a while since I managed to sit down and write anything new. Not that I don’t have lots to write about, just seems that with a wedding coming up, and things being rather busy with the day job, I’ve not had much time. Anyway, that said, here’s a nice Karakuri box to give you something to read about.
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The Triskele is a puzzle box designed by Hideaki Kawashima. It’s a beautiful looking puzzle, as you’d expect from the Karakuri group, and it hides it’s secrets well. I spent quite a bit of time fiddling with this one, and seeming to make absolutely no progress on it.

Triskele by Kawashima

Triskele by Kawashima

Only 25 of these were made for an exhibition that Kawashima was taking part in, so I believe from the Karakuri site, that these are reasonably rare. Kawashima notes that the mechanism is not his design, and he’s not made this style of puzzle until now. So what is this you may ask?

Well it’s a cube, measuring 2.8″ x 2.8″ x 2.8″ made from Birch, Magnolia, Wenge and Oak. As you can see from the image above the panels have been selected carefully to give a stunning external appearance, and the fit is so precise that it gives no hint as to how it will open.

Sadly for me, on finding out how the box opens, it’s a simple Expanding box, using the same design as Stewart Coffin’s Expanding Box puzzle. It’s a beautifully made copy, don’t get me wrong, but from a puzzling aspect, it’s certainly not a new idea. The particular copy I have been playing with is incredibly stiff, and the humidity changes, have caused it to become very challenging to open, which if you didn’t know how it opened would make it near impossible to solve.

It’s a good looking box, but sadly it’s not new, and unless you want a very good looking but costly copy of an expanding box puzzle, I’d say leave this one alone. Go have a look at some of Vinco’s versions if you’re just interested in the puzzle itself.

Cube KW2

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I’ve written in the past about the Karakuri Cube boxes, and the small box series. This latest addition to the Cube boxes comes from Hideaki Kawashima who’s one of my favorite designers currently. He describes the box as a deluxe edition of the Cube series, and having enlarged the dimensions, adding a completely new mechanism, it’s a box I was looking forward to playing with.

Cube KW2

Cube KW2

As with the rest of the Cube series, the outer design should look very familiar, however each box has it’s own opening mechanism, and for me is one of the charms. It’s interesting to see just how many different ways to design a mechanism with the same outer structure.

The box itself is made from Cherry, Purpleheart, and Cucumber Tree. Yes, apparently you can get enough wood from a cucumber to make into a puzzle. Ok, so it’s not the plant we get the green salad vegetable from, and if you want to know more, read on.

Measuring in at 2.75″ x 2.75″ x 2.75″, it is a reasonable amount larger than the other Cube boxes, but is still a good size without being too big. Interestingly, I’d have expected the Cherry to be the outer wood along with the Purpleheart, however Cherry is used for the inside mechanism, and is only visible once the box is open. The wonderful light white wood on the outside is the Cucumber Tree. I think I’ll have to keep a look out for some of this wood myself, since it’s a USA native.

As a puzzle, you’ll not be surprised to know that this isn’t overly challenging. There’s only a small number of moves to get to each of the two compartments, and while the sequence isn’t massively different for each compartment, the difference is small enough that once you’ve opened one, you’ll have no issue with the other.

Cube KW2 Opened

Cube KW2 Opened

Kawashima’s mark is found on the inside of the box once opened, and it’s nice to see that the designer thought about how to arrange the two internal spaces. I’ve seen a number of boxes with this style of solution, where the second internal space is ‘upside down’ when opened, meaning anything inside would fall out, or the contents of the first space need to me removed, less you tip the contents on the floor trying to get to the second space.

Overall this is a great little box, and a good simple introduction to puzzle boxes with a sensible price tag.

Sunflower & Twin 2

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This entry is part 1 of 3 in the series Karakuri Christmas Presents

It’s about time I got round to reviewing the 2012 Karakuri Christmas presents. I think I’ve left it long enough that people will have been able to play with them all and not have me spoil anything. One of the really interesting things about the membership is the Christmas present(s) and not knowing what you’ll get, gut in general knowing that the boxes will be unique, and made to a very high standard.

Sunflower – Tatsuo Miyamoto

First up for this years reviews is strangely, the last box I acquired. This one popped up on one of the puzzle forums with someone selling it and despite knowing it was a very simple box, I liked the look of it and decided to grab it, especially since the person selling it was asking for the same price as he’d paid for it direct from Karakuri!

Sunflower by Tatsuo Miyamoto

Sunflower by Tatsuo Miyamoto

Sunflower, designed and made by Tatsuo Miyamoto initially appears to be a fairly plain box, with a stripe of red wood across one face. The puzzle measures 7″ x 7″ x 7.5″, made from Walnut, Keyaki, and Karin. With some initial investigation you’ll find that the panel on the front will depress slightly, and the base seems to also depress. It won’t take much to realise that there’s a lid on the box, and removing that you see the reason the box is named Sunflower.

The Sunflower under the lid

The Sunflower under the lid

I don’t want to give away any details about how the box works, other than saying that this is a simple two step box, which despite it’s simplicity did put a smile on my face when I opened it for this first time, given the way the mechanism works. My only small issue with the box is that the mechanism is really loose for me. This may have been to ensure that there was enough room for wood expansion, but in my climate it’s so lose that it will move on it’s own. A little bit of finishing wax added at the right place has easily resolved the issue, so not a big problem, and may be easy to fix up any issues you have on your copy.

Twin 2 – Hideaki Kawashima

The second box from this year’s Christmas presents and one of those I ordered myself is the Twin 2 from Hideaki Kawashima.

Twin 2 by Hideaki Kawashima

Twin 2 by Hideaki Kawashima

I have been very impressed with the style of Kawashima’s boxes over the last few years, and really like the simple style of his boxes. Measuring 3″ x 3″ x 3″ and made from three contrasting woods it’s a good looking puzzle, and very similar to some of the previous works he’s made. The woods used are Cherry, Maple and Katsura, which gives the puzzle striking contrast between the faces.

I’m not going to show any pictures of the puzzle open, as I feel it gives too much away, however this is a really fun puzzle to play with. As you start to investigate the movement in the panels, you’ll find a what seems like a spring loaded panel which surely must me useful, and will eventually lead to a discovery on the path to solving the puzzle.

With two hidden compartments both of a reasonable size, given the outer dimensions, it’s a good box, that really makes the most of the space available. Again, like the Sunflower it’s not a challenging box, requiring just 6 steps to open both compartments, however it is a beautifully made box, and great to hand to new puzzle box enthusiasts as it’s not too hard and will stand up to some harsh handling.

Summary

As an overall summary which I think applies to all of this year’s Christmas presents, none of the boxes are challenging from a puzzle perspective, and as such many people have commented that they are disappointing from that regard. I have to agree to some extent, as there have certainly been more challenging puzzles to come from the Karakuri group, however these are not the most expensive boxes made, and are as close to ‘mass produced’ as you really get where the quality of craftsmanship is still so high.

You may also be wondering why I’m including the boxes that each of the puzzles came in in my photographs. I’m not just trying to be artistic, but actually each designer has their own box style, so even before opening the puzzle box, you know who the puzzle came from. If you’re a member and not familiar with the designers boxes, then maybe this will help serve as a guide for you.