MagicPuzzles.org

Impossible Lock - Rainer Popp

This is the “Impossible” Lock.  It is so named by Grand Illusions, its sole vendor as far as I can tell.  The website of the maker, Rainer Popp, was available from the instructions that come with the lock.  It seems to indicate that this is one of 2 puzzle locks that Popp makes.

You get a key as well as a special tool to open the lock.  I like this as it clearly indicates that no other tools are to be used.  I’ve been tempted in some puzzles to use a paperclip.

I was able to access the hidden motions of the lock relatively easily.  However, opening the lock also requires that the motions be done in the correct sequence.  Also, I had expected the hasp to be spring-loaded so that it would pop out when the puzzle was solved, rather than having to pull it out, so I may have solved it without knowing it.  I finally had to give up and look at the solution

Unlike some other puzzle locks, this would not be very useful as a real lock, since it can easily be disassembled via the flat-head hex screws in the face.

Here’s another category of mechanical puzzles: puzzle locks.  They fall into the general take-apart category.  Most of them tend to be manufactured in India for some reason.

This is the DanLock.  It’s not only by far the best puzzle lock I’ve seen, but one of my favorite mechanical puzzles period.  It starts off in the condition you see above.   The goal is to open the lock, and then return the puzzle to the original state.  Opening the lock is actually pretty easy, but it’s only the first of 3 steps in completing the puzzle.  I was able to solve it in about 15 minutes, but it’s very clever, and has definitely frustrated some friends that had tried it.

If you want a DanLock, you have to buy it from the designer Dan Feldman himself.  I contacted him via email, and he had me send a check to one of his friends in the United States.  He shipped me the lock directly from Israel.  It’s not a cheap puzzle ($70 when I got it in July ‘07), but it’s worth it.

Here’s the “Lunatic Lock”:

It’s about $10 and widely available.  There is no key associated with it.  This one took me forever to solve, and I only got it by accident one day when I was trying random actions.  Even when you know how to solve it, it can be a little sticky.  Only one of my coworkers was able to get this puzzle, and he is not generally good at solving puzzles.

This is the “heart lock” that I got from Bits and Pieces.  Like almost all puzzles from Bits and Pieces, it’s cheap.  It’s made in India, and comes with 2 identical keys.  I suppose it’s in case you actually want to use it as a real lock.  It’s not overly difficult, but clever.

This in another lock manufactured in India and sold by Lee Valley Tools.  It’s 2 lbs, and costs about as much as the DanLock.  You get 2 identical sets of 3 different keys, all of which are needed to open the lock.  The problem is that there’s no apparent key hole.  Once you figure out how to use the first key, the other 2 keys are a cinch.

Lee Valley sells another Indian puzzle lock called the “trick lock,” but its solution seemed a little too obvious, so I sold it on eBay.

This is the “Ring Lock”.  I got it from Mr. Puzzle in Australia, and it’s also widely available from European dealers.  It’s clever.