Haleslock 2

Update 24 October 2017 - Dear Reader, please check out my new puzzle blog and e-store at http://mechanical-puzzles.com

This is my 400th post! How time has flown by. And what better puzzle to write about than one coming from a really talented puzzle designer, Shane Hales from the UK. 

Shane started designing puzzles several years ago and I have had the good fortune to receive as gifts two of his very limited edition puzzles, first The Circle and later Turn The Plug. His puzzles are limited edition either because he produces only several of a particular design or he gifts them to friends. Until recently, Shane did not sell any but only gifted his puzzles to the lucky few. I am one of them lucky ones who got a Haleslock 2 as a Christmas present!

Recently Shane has progressed to producing puzzle locks. His works are not designed from ground up, example, in the style of Rainer Popp, meaning to say, he designs and produces a puzzle that looks like a lock, Instead, he goes the Dan Feldman way, where he uses existing commercial padlocks on the market and modifies them into a puzzle/trick lock. Shane's locks, the Haleslock 1 and Haleslock 2 were made available for a charity auction and sale respectively on his puzzle site but unfortunately for puzzlers, his Haleslock 2 are all sold out.

So coming back to the Haleslock 2...what is it like as a puzzle? Well, as I have alluded to, it is a typical looking padlock from a brand called Squire. The lock comes with two keys (one without any teeth as can be seen from the photo) and attached by a rather long chain to the shackle. The object of course is to un-shackle the lock.

I had read Allard Walker's blog post on how he had solved the Haleslock 2 and commented that it was "not extremely complex or complicated". For me personally, this couldn't have been further from the truth! I had solved Shane's previous puzzles, The Circle and Turn The Plug without too much frustration and without help, but for some (strange) reason, I could not solve the Haleslock 2 even after multiple sessions of playing over a number of days. Something was eluding me to the point I decided to ask Shane for not one, but two clues before I managed to figure out the first move...and the Hales Lock has four moves to free the shackle.

After the first move was done, everything else became easy and I released the shackle without a cinch. For me, the solution for the Haleslock 2 was totally unexpected. The "trick" (no pun intended) of the Haleslock 2 is IMHO a really a good one not easy to discover. With hindsight, I realized that I had missed something right at the beginning that I shouldn't have. Overall a great trick lock with an original and different idea/concept. Good work Shane!

Danlock Model B

Update 23 October 2017 - Dear Reader, please check out my new puzzle blog and e-store at http://mechanical-puzzles.com

Every puzzle review that I have come across on the Danlock has praised it. I have always wondered what was so special about it, after all, the lock looks like any another padlock. From an aesthetic point of view, it certainly does not have the Popplock-style embellishments nor the typical over-the-top dimensions.

It was only several weeks ago that I received the Model B from it's designer Dan Feldman. I waited for nearly 9 months as it was out of stock then. 

The lock itself looks pretty ordinary. Dan had chosen to use a stock lock made by the Nabob company in Israel for his puzzle. The lock measures about 8.5cm tall and 5 cm wide. It is larger than a Popplock T6, but smaller than all the other Popplocks in terms of size and weight. It has the usual brass body but instead of steel, the shackle is also brass. As a real functioning lock, the quality is very good and looks well capable of deterring break-ins.

The "trademark" of the Danlock which makes it recognizable is the broken key that comes with the lock. The object of the puzzle is not just to unlock the shackle but to relock it with everything back to their original place. Dan states in the puzzle instructions that everything that is needed to solve the lock is present; the ring that hold the two pieces of the broken key is not needed, neither is the draw-string pouch that accompanies the puzzle. In a way, the Danlock could be classified as a sequential discovery puzzle.

Unlocking the lock is easy part. When you look at the pieces you have, it is obvious that the broken key shard has to be used somehow. Using the broken key, I happily unlocked the lock in a jiffy. The real (and very difficult) challenge is to restore the lock back to its original state, with both the unbroken key and broken key attached back to the shackle. 

I was stumped for a number of days at this stage; trying different things but with no success. Finally I contacted fellow puzzle blogger Kevin Sadler for a clue. He gave me a hint and I re-examined carefully everything I had in front of me again; the lock body, shackle and the 2 keys. I decided to experiment with some moves I hadn't tried previously nor thought of. Lo and behold, my efforts were rewarded not too long after that. I managed to reinstate the Danlock to its original state. Certain aspects of the solution is very well disguised and the action steps required to completely solve the puzzle were quite surprising and totally unexpected. 

I feel it's by far the best and perhaps one of the most difficult trick locks I have come across. The only other lock that I would consider which can give the Danlock a run for the money is perhaps the Popplock T4. The real appeal of the Danlock lies in its ability to hide a really amazing mechanical puzzle design within the confines of an ordinary and non-script looking padlock. And unlike most other trick locks, here, both the opening and closing are part of the solving process.

Not cheap but the Danlock is good value-for-money given it's puzzling aspect. Definitely worth acquiring. The Model B is available directly from Dan Feldman.