Sandfield's Secret Folding Hankie

This "puzzle" is one of the more unusual and unique (as well as pretty) Exchange Puzzles from my haul during IPP35 last year in Ottawa, Canada. The other which I thought also deserving of mention being Straight Up, reviewed a while back. 

Robert Sandfield's Secret Folding Hankie is parked under Slocum Classification 9; a "folding puzzle", and aptly so. The goal is to fold the handkerchief to reveal a secret image and a hidden message. The design of the Hankie is a joint effort by Robert, Perry McDaniel and Cindy Liang.

The handkerchief itself is printed on a square cloth of approximately 41cm x 41cm and the pattern includes the Canadian Maple leaf and squiggly scrawly lines along the edges, with swaths of red filling up the spaces in between.

As I played with the hankie, I was reminded of Mad Magazine's Fold-In on the inside back cover of each issue featuring those quirky, satirical and often humorous illustrations which dealt with current hot topics of the day. And this is exactly what I tried to do with Sandfield's Hankie...but of course to no avail. I tried various other ways of folding the Hankie in all directions including diagonally but somehow could not come up with the hidden message. 

Thankfully Robert included the solution instructions and I finally saw the words and images I needed to see. For the folded hankie solution click here - password - hankie.

A great and interesting puzzle concept and I hope there would be more of these in the future. For more information on secret folding handkerchiefs, Robert has also kindly provided the link to a reference site http://handkerchiefheroes.com/secret-love/. Another link which discusses vintage valentine puzzle handkerchiefs is here.

Three-Layer Double Dovetail

The name is quite a mouthful but this doesn't detract from the fact that the TLDD is extremely beautifully made. About the size of a small jewellery/ring box, and looks like one too.

This was Robert Sandfield's IPP34 Exchange Puzzle in London this past August. Designed by Perry McDaniel, the TLDD was crafted by Kathleen Malcolmson from two exotic hardwoods, Honduran Mahogany and Primavera. 

If there are a couple of things that I really like about the TLDD, these are the very precise construction and finishing of the puzzle and the attention to detail. So precisely cut and edges sharp that if you are not careful, you can "pinch" your fingers accidentally during play. I really can't fathom the amount of work Kathleen went into making a hundred or so of these for the Exchange!

Unlike Sandfield's Rebanded Dovetail, the TLDD is more akin to the "impossible object" kind of dovetail puzzle, where you wonder, just by looking at it, if the two halves can be split apart at all.

The goal is not just to separate the two halves, but also to find a cavity within the puzzle which contains a cute little rubber star. From a puzzling perspective, not difficult for those who have experience with "impossible" dovetails, especially with the likes of Wil Strijbos' dovetail collection. But to the uninitiated, this one may take a while to figure out.

A very nicely made Exchange Puzzle, not too difficult, which displays well too!

Locked Drawer

Name
Sandfield's Locked Drawer Puzzle.

Designer
Robert E Sandfield and Kathleen Malcolmson.

This is the unsolved state!

Manufacturer
Kathleen Malcolmson

Type & Classification
Puzzle Box; Sequential Discovery

Dimensions
7.8cm (Length) x 6.5cm (Width) x 3.8cm (Height).

Materials & Construction
Walnut, Prima Vera and White Oak. Construction, fit and finish is excellent with slight bevelling on the exterior box to minimise sharp edges. Nice size with an attractive colour contrast between the handle, drawer and outer box. Overall, aesthetically very pleasing. It comes with its own drawstring pouch which is a nice touch.

IPP
The Locked Drawer was Robert Sandfield's Exchange Puzzle during IPP30 held at Hakone, Japan. in July 2010.

Overview

I had read Allard's review of this puzzle late last year and wanted one. The opportunity came along when I found Robert Sandfield selling several of these Locked Drawers during this year's IPP33 Puzzle Party. Although relatively expensive, I picked up one with little hesitation. This was also the first puzzle I bought during the Puzzle Party.

The Locked Draw is somewhat different from the Japanese style boxes with multiple sliding panels or other trick opening ones because it incorporates a sequential discovery aspect as well. Meaning that the puzzle has to be solved in a particular order of steps and using the tools that come together with the puzzle. No other external implements or tools are necessary.

The object of the Locked Drawer is NOT to open the drawer (as most people would assume looking at the box) but rather to figure out how to close the drawer once its been opened. To open is simple, nothing puzzling about it; just pull the drawer open normally and it will reveal a circular cavity that contains a US$0.25 coin. Pull the puzzle fully out and the drawer click locks. Here is where the puzzling begins; ie pushing the drawer back in again.

I took about six steps to get the drawer "unlocked" and then back into the closed position, which is the reset/ unsolved stage. There is no force whatsoever required to solve the Locked Drawer. A very clever and rather interesting trick to the whole mechanism.

Difficulty Level
For the total novice, he/she is likely to be stuck for quite a long time. But for the experienced puzzler, not overly difficult with enough challenge to make the puzzle fun and entertaining. This is the sort of puzzle that gives you mini "a-ha" moments to let you know you are on the right track until the final step when you know you have reached the goal. Easily solvable repeatedly once you know the solution. Nothing finicky about the Locked Drawer; everything works as intended.

Summary
For lovers of Sequential Discovery puzzles and/or puzzle boxes generally, a definite must-have for the collection.

Rebanded Dovetail

The Rebanded Dovetail was Robert Sandfield's and Kathleen Malcolmson's exchange puzzle at IPP32, held during August this year. I managed to get a copy from Wil Strijbos who had attended IPP32 and brought back with him extra copies of the Dovetail and some other puzzles.

This is my second Kathleen Malcolmson puzzle after Bowling Alley In A Briefcase which was reviewed some time back in this blog. The Dovetail is hand-crafted by Kathleen in her workshop. In fact she has recently started her own puzzle blog and her first post is about this Dovetail.

Constructed of light baltic birch plywood and contrasting with walnut and lacewood, the Dovetail spots four distinctive colour tones. In particular the lightly textured surface of the lacewood which forms the two bands surrounding the box gives the puzzle a rather classy and unusual appearance.

Dimensionally, the Dovetail measures 8cm x 6.2cm with an overall thickness of 3.7cm. The puzzle is very well made and fit and finish is excellent with all sharp edges smoothed out. All parts have been cut to very exact tolerances (see the dovetail joints) making everything feel solid and tight. Of course, all this quality came with a rather expensive price-tag.

The object of the Dovetail is to open the box and remove a one-dime coin within. The puzzle has been classified as a trick-opening/puzzle box. A number of steps are required to open the box and depending on how you count, there are six moves required to free the dime inside. While the Dovetail does not have as many moves needed as some of its more complicated Japanese style counterparts, the execution of the solution is quite unusual and rather clever.

The dime out of the box....smallest denomination around but don't underestimate this little guy! 

It didn't take me long to figure out the first step and the next two were pretty easy. The fourth step was also easy and thereafter, this was where I got stuck. Took me a good ten minutes or so, but eventually I discovered the fifth step and finally got the box to open. This step was rather tricky (probably the trickiest!) and quite unexpected. When I finally got to peek at the inside, I saw the amount of work that went into making the puzzle....hmm, maybe it isn't that expensive after all!

Overall, I found the Dovetail entertaining with a sufficiently nice amount of puzzle challenge. This is not to say that it is an easy solve...no, by no means at all. But definitely fun and most experienced puzzlers would be able to solve it without too much frustration.