Dick Gives Me Think 5 Things To Think About

Window Lock 4 by Dick Hensel

A few weeks ago I received an email from Richard Hensel, informing me that he was completing a batch of his latest wooden locks and suggesting that I might like to avail myself of the opportunity to look and feel stupid (my words not his). 

Having just paid for and received, over the last month or so, quite a large number of rather lovely puzzles (including the Stickman Midas Touch Box, the Angel's Wheel, Idan's I Need My Lunch, the latest releases from Mine and of course the large delivery from Jakub), I figured that discretion was probably a good idea and I asked Dick to wait for a new month before I bought and received yet another toy that would make "she who makes the world shake in fear" angry. I think it worked in that when it arrived, there was just a little muttering and no noisy shouting or pain in the back of my head.

This is the fourth in the series (obvious from the name I guess) and looks fun. It shares the family resemblance with an oak lock and acrylic window on the front allowing the whole thing to be seen. But seeing is not understanding as I was about to find out. I set straight to work after I had finished work yesterday (I missed an MPP yet again). As the title of the blog post says - this puzzle gave me 5 learning/thinking points:

1. Always take your photo before starting to play - I couldn't resist fiddling and managed to make things happen that I couldn't get out of and then I realised that I might not be able to take my initial photo.
2. Look at the damn thing properly before doing anything - it might help you plan what you can do and it might help explain why certain things move/change/happen.
3. Think© - stuff happens or doesn't happen for a reason!
4. Don't stick your fingers inside small holes - stuff can move and then you are in real trouble!
5. Dick is a sneaky bastard!

Having finally gotten back to the beginning, I took my start position photo and started again. needless to say I didn't really understand what I had done. Time to start afresh.

The first thing to notice is that on the left hand side of the lock (as with several of these in the past) can slide and it moves an obvious piece inside:

One edge sides and moves "stuff" inside

Ball bearing present

Having realised the obvious, I couldn't see how that would help. The slider is all very interesting, but it doesn't seem to engage with anything and after a few seconds of opening and closing it several times in various positions, I came to the conclusion that there was more to this puzzle than that. as you can tell, my level of genius is well below that of Derek. I gradually realised that there must be something else hidden inside that I needed to find. Memory of several previous Window Locks left me the feeling that there should be a ball bearing somewhere to help use manipulate internal parts. Rotating the puzzle from side to side, I could hear something rolling about but it couldn't be seen. I turned it over to look at the back and then when I had it right side up the ball bearing was visible. I had no idea where it came from! The BB could be moved around most of the right hand side of the lock where it did absolutely nothing. At this point, I obeyed the thing I learned in point 2 above - LOOK! 

It is relatively obvious what is locking the shackle in place but not what is stopping the locking mechanism from moving. I did find a channel or two for the BB and in one of them I promptly lost it. It went in and didn't want to come out again. There was a tantalising view of it peaking below part of the mechanism but it didn't want to return to the play area. Bugger! I am rubbish at puzzles! I figured that this must have been where it was when I first picked it up so I had better do the same thing again to get it out as I had initially. Except I didn't really know what it was. After 5 minutes of fiddling I eventually figured that out and I could make the ball disappear and reappear at will. Phew! I couldn't make it do anything but at least I had it where I could use it. 

I used learning point 2 and 3 again to decide where I could place the BB to try and manipulate the interior. There is a rather subtle feature that is easy to miss but if you notice it and do something then there is a click and something changes. I had no idea what had changed but the click was quite obvious. To me a click was very useful - all of a sudden, I could move the BB somewhere else and all sorts of stuff inside slid around and BINGO! The lock was open:

Solved it! No spoiler here

I had it open and was able to see the mechanism that had revealed itself. Very clever! But that's not all of it. We are now onto learning point 5 - Dick IS a sneaky bastard. Whilst I understood the last part of the unlocking mechanism, it didn't mean that I understood the puzzle. I was able to return the pieces inside to the initial configuration and the shackle was closed. BUT, when I tilted the lock, it spontaneously opened again. I had missed the critical part of the mechanism. The click had changed something and I didn't know what it was. I could put everything back but it wasn't actually locked.

At this point, I decided that maybe I had a couple of pieces in the wrong order of positioning (if you have opened it, then you know what I mean). I tried to change the order and gravity wouldn't do it. Time to put one of my fingers inside through a small hole to hold things in place whilst I used gravity. Here we arrive upon learning point 4 - I managed to rotate one piece that should not have rotated and then it fell out. Aaaargh! After a short panic, I managed to put it back and then rotate it into the correct position so that it wasn't going to fall out again. At this point I heard a clatter and had a race with a cat. Yes, the ball bearing had fallen out! Luckily I intercepted the ball before it was actually swallowed. I reckon a trip to the vet might have cost me my life - "she" doesn't know about that aspect of this puzzle and I'd be grateful if none of you told her.

Well, that wasn't terribly bright!

Having returned all of the innards to the lock, I was completely stumped. I could open and close the lock so that it looked like I had solved and reset it but I could not re-lock it. I was obviously misunderstanding a fundamental feature of the mechanism. Taking time to think© again. I tried to work out why the locked position wasn't holding properly and I had my lovely little Aha! moment. I could see part of what was happening and if I tried a specific manoeuvre then maybe...click! Oh yes! That click is absolutely crucial. Once I finally realised what the click had been, I was able to lock and unlock the puzzle at will. Fabulous!

Allard's review said that he took a couple of days to work it out and agreed about the sneaky aspect. Everyone can agree on learning point 5 - "sneaky bastard"!

If you get a chance to play with or buy this puzzle then jump at the chance. It really is a lovely design with not quite everything on show but enough to work out what is required. My set is now up to 4 of them now and I'm already looking forward to a future one. I still have one of Dick's locks that predates the Window locks - it has been sitting on my desk for years now and I have no idea how to open it!

A Second View Through The Window

Dick Hensel's Window Lock 2

Imagine my utter horror to be wearing the same dress to the party sorry, publishing a review of the same puzzle as good friend and much better puzzler, Allard! His post on this puzzle is much better than mine - go read it now!

I now have 3 Locks from Dick and every single one of them is Shane's fault. He keeps getting early copies (he’s a locksmith, after all) and showing them off on Facebook which, of course, tempts me into rattling off another email and once more, rattling off some PayPal. Luckily I took delivery of this whilst Mrs S was away at the outlaws. By the time she came back I had it secreted away amongst all the others. To all you men out there, you know the answer you get to the question "is that new?" (Shoes, clothes, handbags, jewellery etc.) and the answer is "oh no, I’ve had this for ages". This can apply just as equally to puzzles. When asked about whatever I’m fiddling with, I can reply: "I’ve had this one ages!" And luckily, to Mrs S they all look the same! This means I can sneak them in whilst she is away and she will never know…apart from the Ring door camera which does give things away a bit. Doh!

The middle puzzle lock in the group is the Hensel lock mark III and was the first I bought from him and even after nearly 6 years, remains unsolved. I have had it on my desk for years and can only find a few moves. I’m a puzzle lock eejit! I really enjoyed the first Window Lock - both of these are a mixture of a dexterity puzzle, a maze, as well as very constrained sequential discovery puzzle. The fact that it looks like a lock is entirely incidental.

They all look very similar in shape and size and I think this version is made from oak. It has 2 ball bearings inside and a rather complex maze of pieces which form a bewildering set of baffles. Some of them clearly block the opening of the shackle and others seem to be there for no good reason. But… everything is there for a specific purpose. The initial fiddle with the shackle shows it to be blocked by the large ball bearing so it’s time to try and move it out of the way. Easier said than done! It’s a bit of a bugger manipulating everything with just the small ball bearing as your solitary tool. Through the window you can see everything but not really knowing what to do, you end up trying a few things u til miraculously you discover some parts are held together by a magnet and you need to break them apart with nothing apart from a ball bearing. Having found the first sequence, I realised that that there was another piece holding the shackle in the locked position. Time to move the ball elsewhere and try to release it. Again, easier said than done. Trying to move the ball without losing the gain already made is a challenge in its own right and then trying to undo the path blockage you have made getting there is a fun diversion. 

I finally moved to the second challenge an unblocked the restriction only to find the shackle still had a third element locking it in place. Right then, off we go and release that. Erm…except I couldn’t! It would appear that I had done it in the incorrect order! Damn! Who would have thought that a lock needed a specific sequence of moves to open it? Not me obviously but then, as previously stated, I’m an eejit. I had to relocate the element I’d already done and move to the required position to start again. After that, time to backtrack and redo my mistaken second move. Aha! The lock opened and I was startled to see the way it actually opened. 

No clues here!

Re-examining the sheer amount of difficult moves that Dick had put into this design and the precision required to make the tiny pieces that move on each other, held by tiny magnets, I am staggered at how well it works. Re-locking the puzzle is "just" a matter of reversing the steps but because gravity and pushing/pulling against magnets is so important, this I actually NOT quite so straightforward. Slightly different pathways/moves are required and for one move in particular, quite a lot of dexterity.

I have solved this a few times over the last week and still enjoy the process. I know exactly what to do in what order but actually doing it remains a bit of a dexterity nightmare. I love it! If you can find a copy of this then it’s well worth it.

Now, who wants to help me "launder" more puzzle deliveries so Mrs S doesn’t find out about them? 

😈😈😈

Window Lock

Window Lock by Dick Hensel

Unfortunately I am working this weekend and so only have time for a quickie - it's still a goodie though! Who would have thought that you can make a lock out of wood? I certainly wood not have thought it possible but then what wood I know? Even more interesting is when the entire workings of the lock are visible through an acrylic Window. Allard reviewed the Window lock back in November and I couldn't resist asking Dick if he was going to make any more. He said that he was thinking about it and wood let me know if he did. I was truly delighted when he contacted me at the end of January with an offer of a copy. My version was made from a different wood to Allard's and had an extra feature...the ball bearing which, I suspect, made one part of the solution a little easier to perform.

As the name states, everything is on show and yet it is not just a simple matter of looking and doing to open it. I have been fiddling for a week or so before I managed the complete solution. The first possible movement is relatively obvious because all you can do at first is roll the BB around (which does nothing) and look for anything else that might move. Once you have found what else moves then your vistas open up into a bit more confusion. Yep, movement happens and immediately there is something that screams to be done but due to the fancy angles Dick has cut the wood at, everything just slides back and forth without achieving anything. It's a sort of mesmerising sliding back and forth but that doesn't help you open the blasted lock. 

Next, there is something else that screams at you to try and it requires more dexterity before you can make it happen (and sometimes I couldn't make it happen). At this point there is an audible oooooh! in the room (Mrs S doesn't mind those sorts of sounds) and more things become apparent. There are magnets inside - knowledge of which actually doesn't help you and even if you are not careful can seriously hinder later moves. At this point, I got stuck for a week...I could make another "thing" happen inside and it was very satisfying but did not appear to get me anywhere near to opening the "blasted" lock. I was beginning to understand why Allard had enjoyed it, The next couple of evenings were a succession of failing and succeeding to do the first move or two and then "click" swearing under my breath. I was missing something crucial.

As they say, it was now time to Think© and it didn't help. With the Window lock, it was time to Look and then Think©. A very foreign idea for me but it certainly worked - as I have said, everything is on show if you look properly then there is more to Think© about and at that point I had an idea...what if I?

Bingo!!

Damn! That should not have been so hard!

This clever puzzle literally has everything on show through a window but seeing it is not enough - you need to think and plan an attack. It actually is not that tough but the moves are not obvious until you try to work out a pathway to releasing the shackle. I absolutely love it! I really wish that I was able to open my other lock from Dick. I bought the Hensel Lock in 2017 and have not gotten any further than a few moves in! I am truly terrible at locks/burrs/packing/puzzles in general!

Whilst chatting with a new friend on FB messenger, I came to the realisation that I have a problem...I haven't tidied up my desk in 6 months! I actually know where everything is but Mrs S is starting (actually she's continuing) to get annoyed at me! Do you think I should tidy up? I actually think I could leave it a while longer:

Looks organised to me!