Category Archives: Puzzle Reviews

Danlock ‘B’

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Continuing in my puzzle reviews, today I have the pleasure of reviewing my Danlock ‘B’ puzzle lock.

I’m no expert on puzzle locks, and in fact, this is the first and only puzzle lock in my collection. Having spoken with a number of puzzling friends, they all recommended the Danlock, and by most it is considered the Rolls Royce of puzzle locks. So why the high accolade?

Well the reason comes from the fact that this is a real padlock. Dan Feldman buys the Nabob padlocks, which are made in Israel, and modifies them into these trick locks. So what you have is a solid brass padlock, with a real lock that makes a really solid puzzle. As you can see from mine, the evidence of the conversion is worn on the face of the lock. Mine has several scratches and wear marks from where it was worked on. I don’t think it takes away from the puzzle, and if anything I feel that it adds to the effect.

So down to the puzzle itself. You’re presented with two keys, one shacked to the padlock itself, and the other which Dan has kindly cut in two. The object is to open the padlock, then return it to the state you see in the image above. You’re not allowed to use anything other than that which you find on the puzzle itself, (so no paper clips!) and the best comment I heard was “You can solve this puzzle locked naked in a padded cell”. While I don’t suggest this method, it is true. Everything you need is right there.

With this being my first trick lock, I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but I promptly set about trying to open it. Taking that leap of faith and sticking the broken shard of key into the lock, I quickly had it open, but what next.

All I’ll say is that there are a number of ‘aha’ moments with this puzzle, and it really is well designed and made. All told it took me about an hour to solve the puzzle, and get things back into their original state. A great puzzle, and I can’t recommend it enough to any collector.

So one last thing to say about it. I noted that I have a Danlock ‘B’. Dan made two version of this puzzle. The ‘B’ is revision two if you like and has an added twist over version ‘A’. Having talked with a friend who has the ‘A’ the difference is subtle, and if I’m honest I don’t think it adds a huge amount to the puzzle, however it could prevent someone from finding the final move for just a little longer. If you get the chance, pick up a rev ‘B’ but if you already have an ‘A’ then I’d say there’s not enough extra there to justify adding a second version to your collection.

Everyone loves Cake.

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This time I have a review of the four Karakuri Cake Boxes, 1 through 4. I picked these up from PuzzleBoxWorld.Com a family run business specialising in puzzle boxes.

I am already a member of the KaraKuri Club, however these were at a good price, and I can’t really say no to adding new puzzle boxes to my collection.

Each box is an inch wide by 2 inches long, so none of these are big boxes, and by Japanese measurements would be considered as 2 sun boxes.

In general all the boxes are superbly made, and each has it’s own unique opening mechanism, making all of them worth having. None of them are difficult to open, requiring no more than 3 moves, so I had each of them open in less than a minute. If you like this style of puzzle, then I’d say they’re worth picking up, but don’t expect them to challenge you.

The first box entitled “Cheese Cake” is what I would consider the most ‘standard’ of the boxes to open. It follows the usual pattern of sliding end panels, and is fun for it’s design more than it’s solution.

The second in the series entitled “Fruit Cake”, and it’s easy to see why, is a little unconventional. At first, the lid will move a millimetre and no more. There seems to be nothing else which moves, and it leaves you wondering. After a short time exploring, you’ll come across the solution. It’s not a standard puzzle box, but does follow a fairly simple locking mechanism that is well enough hidden to keep people guessing.

Number three in the series is entitled “Chocolate Cake”, and judging by the dark brown wood used, it would be a fairly rich cake at that. No huge surprises here, it’s pretty standard and won’t pose any real challenge to someone familiar with puzzle boxes. Again more fun for its looks than the challenge.

Finally we have “Marble Cake”. The Zebra wood used in this box giving it it’s distinctive look. This one had me stumped for the longest time. When you’ve been looking for and finding sliding panels, to find that none of the panels on this box move at all tends to throw you off the solution. I think this is my favourite of the four just because of the mechanism used. If you were only to buy one, I’d make it this one.

Vinco Cross Box

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So little has changed with the state of my own puzzle, with many other jobs needing done, I’ve not had the time to work on it. However here’s a review of Vinco’s Cross box instead.

Vinco's Cross Box in the closed position

Vinco’s Cross Box in the closed position

If you’re not familiar with Vinco, these are mostly wooden puzzles made by Vaclav Obsivac, who is generally regarded as the master of coordinate motion puzzles. As you can see from the photograph, the work is superb. These are beautifully made wooden puzzles, which for the most part are composites of many different woods glued together to make the puzzles. One of the things that I hear most often about these puzzles is that people think they must be very expensive. The craftsmanship is excellent, and they carry an air of quality about them. The truth is that they are not that expensive, with each piece being less than $50 on average.

Cross Box, is made from six identical pieces which require a coordinate motion to assemble and disassemble. When I first got this puzzle, it was very tight. The finish used had left the pieces very slightly tacky, and to take it apart, I had to get my fingers inside the puzzle, and pull with significant force. After it was taken apart once, the motion is much smoother, and it now almost explodes when you slide the pieces apart.

Almost opened to the point of collapse

Almost opened to the point of collapse

As you can see, when the puzzle starts to come apart, it increases significantly in size. Each piece sliding against four others to create the puzzle. This isn’t particularly difficult to put together, and only took me a few minutes. The shape is fairly stable with a couple of the sides in place, and it makes it possible to work without needing a jig or rubber bands to hold everything in place as you put it back together.

Overall, I really like this piece. It’s a great show piece, and when you take it apart, people seem quite amazed at just how much bigger it becomes. Well worth adding this or any other Vinco to your collection.

I bought this from PuzzleMaster who carry a selection of Vinco’s puzzles.

Some New Puzzles

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This is the first puzzle review I’ve done here, as I’ve not made any real progress on my own puzzle, so I thought I should throw something up about the three Karakuri Christmas boxes I was lucky enough to get.

For those not familiar with the Karakuri group, they are a set of master puzzle designers in Japan who create exquisite puzzle boxes. Of all their work I have seen, from the simplest and cheapest of their works, to the most complex, all are superbly handmade from some beautiful woods, and will look superb in any collection.

I was lucky enough in the post Christmas lottery to get all three of the boxes I was looking for. They are “The Magic Hat” from Shiro Tajima; RL and Snake Cube from Hideaki Kawashima.

All three boxes arrived inside their own cardboard box, and sealed in plastic inside that box. It may seem strange but all three of these boxes are fairly large for puzzle boxes. RL is the largest at 7″ cubed.

After opening these, I played briefly with each, but couldn’t open any of them. With the exception of the Magic Hat, the others had a standard sliding panel mechanism, however they didn’t open obviously.

RL was the first I opened, and it has a rather nice mechanism. Without giving anything away, there is a dual mechanism here that may throw some people off, making this more interesting to give to your friends to try. It took around 10 minutes for me to open this box, and it opens in 3 moves, so not a complex box by any stretch however it is a very pleasing box with a good internal space. I also think there may be a second compartment in this box, so I will play with it more to see if that is the case. The contrasting woods used here with the dark main panels, and the light stripes gives the box a very strong presence. Mr Kawashima even added a note to say that with age, the dark wood will continue to darken which is nice, so you don’t think anything is wrong with the puzzle. As someone who is working with wood, I know this and it’s entirely natural, however not everyone may know that this could happen.

My box has a couple of lighter areas in the dark wood, which is probably a result of the piece of wood being used having been covered where the rest was exposed to light. You can see this in the picture, both on the top panel to the right and the top of the front panel. I have no issue with this, and it will darken within a short time, but it may upset some people as they may feel it detracts from the look. Personally, it’s wood, I love that it’s not a ferfectly uniform colour.

As a slight aside, Purpleheart which is a vibrant purple when first cut, will become a darker brown with age, so although a lot of puzzle designers and wood workers like it for it’s bright purple colour, it is work remembering that it’s not going to stay that way.

The Snake Cube was the second cube I managed to open however it really should have been the first. It has a fairly standard sequential sliding panel mechanism, however the final move caught me out. I expected the panels to continue to slide, however once the lock mechanism is released, the lid lifts off. It’s very well seated so doesn’t fall off, and you can move the box around quite easily without discovering this (as I did for about 10 mins). On my third attempt (and after having opened the RL box) I opened this since the final step is the same. The contrasting red and light woods used on this box give it a really pleasing look, and it’s a nice piece to display. I feel all the works from Karakuri fall into that category though.

The final box I opened was the Magic Hat. This is a beautiful box, that seems to have no obvious way to open it. The Rabbit on the top is attached to a circular piece of wood under the lip of the hat rim, and will spin freely. Nothing else seems to move, and spinning the rabbit just makes him (or you) dizzy. I did eventually figure out how to open this box, after around 30 minutes, and was treated to a wonderful detail inside the box. The mechanism is remarkably simple, which I think adds to the effect when you finally open it. Of the three this is probably my favourite, as it has the best fun factor, and will be a piece that people want to pick up when they see it.