Cryptex . . . from ebay

Made of die-cast zinc alloy, with a surface treatment of plated bronze to give it that 'aged' look.

Total outside length = 4.95"
Outside diameter around letter rings = 1.94"
Inside diameter of 'key' cylinder = 1.09"
Total length of inside 'key' cylinder = 2.660"
Total weight = ?

Knot Cross (Kong Ming Lock Puzzle)

You can view its solution  here

Frabjous -- (Special Edition) ($59.00 + shipping)

First of all, I would like to thank my fellow collector friend  Rob Stegmann  for having displayed this wonderful puzzle/sculpture on his website, which I surf from time to time. This is how I found out about it, and instantly fell in awe of its sparkling beauty -- and accesability of purchase.

George W. Hart is Chief of Content at the newly formed Museum of Mathematics (MoMath) in New York City. He comes to this position with an interdisciplinary background as sculptor, scholar, mathematician, engineer, writer, computer scientist, and educator. His geometric sculptures are recognized around the world for their mathematical depth and creative use of materials. He is a pioneer in using computer technology and solid freeform fabrication in the design and fabrication of sculptures.

One of his magnificent sculpture/puzzles is being offered at a reasonable price for the general public.
Its name: Frabjous

The 'Special Edition' version is made of ACRYLITE® Radiant acrylic sheeting -- lazer cut to the spiraling pieces that make up the sculpture/puzzle -- which has the ability to create dazzling color changes and dramatic eye-catching movement, all without specialty lighting! ACRYLITE Radiant sheet magically shimmers with iridescent colors that change as the viewer moves.

Another less-expensive version being sold is one where all the 31 pieces are in blue (sculpture/puzzle consists of 30 identical pieces -- one extra is provided) .

There are three sources one can purchase this magnificent sculpture/puzzle:
 Artifacture in Dallas, and at the  MoMath online shop , and Artifact's  Etsy shop

According to the fine folks at Artifacture:
Product Details :
The special edition Frabjous is a sculpture and geometric assembly puzzle made from dichroic acrylic. The swirling geometric form is composed of thirty identical pieces that catch and reflect the light in stunning fashion.

Mathematically, the planes of the shape are the face planes of a "great rhombic triacontahedron," a self-intersecting polyhedron with thirty rhombic faces. But the puzzle piece is a carefully designed subset of the rhombus that doesn't intersect copies of itself.

Weaving the parts through each other so each remains planar is trickier than it looks. Instructions are included. Recommended for ages 16+.

The word Frabjous is, of course, from Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll, "O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!"

-George Hart, Artist
Museum of Mathematics (MoMath)

Manufactured by: Artifacture
Merchant SKU: FRAB-RAD-LF
30 identical pieces combine to form a beautiful sculpture
Finished size 6" x 6" x 6"
Designed by Mathematician George Hart
Made from laser cut, dichroic acrylic
Made in the USA

Comments: The product comes with a pair of cotton gloves . . . to keep any fingerprints from soiling any section of the sculpture/puzzle during assembly, thus interfering with the displaying of the beautiful iridescent colors that are produced.

Also, you are supplied with one extra piece (for a total of 31) -- in case you get a little more irritable than usual in the assembly, and apply a little bit too much pressure at some point, whereby you crack a piece.

Thank You to the folks at Artifacture. Nice touch.

Instructions are supplied with the kit. However, the instructions only go so far. The instructions were a help as far as the vortex pieces overlapping each one in succession in a clockwise rotation, for the first 10 pieces (module #1).

Besides showing the entire solution, a  video on YouTube helps in viewing the 'verticle' pieces and their placements (in between module #1 and module #2).

The 3rd phase (module #2) was a little tricky. Here's where I slowed up considerably trying to establish a perspective as to how I was to proceed. At some point, it hit me . . . . . looking at all the spirals.

. . . from  Bits & Pieces

According to the fine folks at Bits & Pieces, " . . . 9 intricately laser cut wooden laminate pieces . . . A remarkable challenge designed by Derek Corbin. It measures 2" x 2" x 2". "

You can view the solution  here

C & U wire puzzle

. . . A very nice 'hefty' gift from my good friend -- and Connecticut's only seriously avid puzzle collector --
 Rob Stegmann .

Thanks Rob.

Here is what I call a simply, tricky puzzle :  simple, once you know how it works. But tricky in its simplicity.
The 'key' maneuver is hidden in plain sight.

The wire is a whopping 1/4" thick. Set flat on a table surface (free of tension), it measures 5 + 7/8" long. Under tension, you could pull it another 3/8" (for a total of 6 + 1/4" in length)

For all of you who get easily frustrated, you can view the solution  here

cast COIL

According to the fine folks at  PuzzleMaster , "It appears like a box-like lump with a hole in it, but is actually comprised of two coiled up virtually identical pieces. You must try to take it apart by sliding and rotating the pieces. Although the pieces are angular in shape, they can be rotated in unexpected ways, making their movements quite intriguing. The theme of the puzzle is Loops."

You can view the solution  here

Kongming Luban Lock Ball

Zhuge Kongming is well-known to every household in China. He is known to everybody because his wisdom is far more than ordinary people. So Kongming Lock as traditional educational puzzle toys have been seen as the symbol of wisdom.

It is said that the toy was invented by Zhuge Kongming some 2,000 years ago based on the principles of the eight-diagram metaphysics. It was widely popular among the folks. The concave and convex parts inside the three-dimensional interpolation toy mesh perfectly. Kongming Locks come in different shapes and sizes, with different internal structures, but they are usually easy to take apart . . . and difficult to reassemble.

You can view the solution  here

cast H & H . . . from eBay (seller: riscoutmaster)

There are two 'H' pieces that need to be separated. Out of a scale between 1 to 10, this is a gruelling 9. Very difficult.

The first pic to the left displays the two pieces from a front view.
Notice the RH piece; this is the main orientating piece to the solution.
It has Hanayama's name stamped onto it.

The second pic are the same two pieces from the backside.

note: . . . after disassembly has been established, when you go to re-connect, the 'unstamped' piece only has one way to join the main piece; so you don't have to worry about orientation when you start to reassemble the puzzle.

You can view the solution here

                8-cublet                                                                                                                                                                      27-cubelet
According to the fine folks at Bishop Cubes, "Bishop Cubes® are the evolution of a new shape in puzzles. It’s the shape-shifting puzzle game that lets you create your own challenges.

This extraordinary, brand new invention merges two classic toys: the builder’s set and the cube puzzle. The result is a Set of Cubes that can shape-shift to be transformed from one shape to another.

Bishop Cubes® are a medium for your hands and mind to explore the three-dimensions of space. Let your inner genius out to play with this tactile, kinetic, shape-shifting puzzle. Slide and click the interlocking Cubes into new positions to create a vast variety of amazing configurations."

Gordian Knot/Loony Loop (disentanglement/topological puzzle) . . . from eBay

According to the seller (puzzler2) -- from Michigan, "You are bidding on a hardwood Looney Loop puzzler about 11 inches long by 3 inches wide, in fine condition and comes with its own display holder. Made by Btis & Pieces and in its original box, the puzzle comes with a solution."

Zig Zag Knot . . . from  ThinkFun

   Steady State Cube                                                                                                                                                                                 'steady state'
This is my version of Rich Gain's very clever and famous Microcubology cube "  Steady State Cube   - from his store at  Shapeways   - made out of  LiveCube's cubelets.

The outside geometry looks similar to LiveCube's  3D Cross Puzzle , except instead of having 4 cublets on each of the six sides, the "Steady State Cube" has 16 cubelets on each of the six sides! . . . and . . . the 4 center cubelets protrude out from the main 'plate' of each side.

This cube is a whopping approximation of 4 13/16", as viewed in my hand. There are 182 cubelets (with 2 internal voids for movement), all of which weigh 13.32 ounces! (378 grams)

The cube in the pic to the far right is in a final relatively stable state (a 'Steady State') -- after the 6th/top piece was added during assembly (actually, it's the 5th/front piece that affords the stability -- the 6th piece locks it all in place). The next/final step is to push in all six sides (in sequence).

note: the 5th/front yellow piece during the 'stabilization' process is now the 1st piece to start the final 'push-in' sequence of the solution, as noted in the listing below (front/yellow, top/red, left/green, bottom/red, back/yellow, right/green).

   the 'twist' movement                                                                                                                                                                         'unstable state'
<<< The 6th piece to assemble, making a twisting motion into the structure.

Top & front views showing front/yellow piece at the Point Of Disengagement >>>

       > > > > > > Far right: 'unstable state'
without the front/yellow piece.

Each pair of sides has a single color:

yellow = front & back = steps 1 & 5
green = left & right = steps 3 & 6
red = top & bottom = steps 2 & 4

You can view the solution of the original Rich Gain's Shapeways' Steady State microcube on  You Tube .

                             Bill Wylie                                                                                                                        Hexidecimal Puzzle (copy)
Bill served an apprenticeship as a cabinetmaker in Scotland a long time ago.   The company he worked for specialized in the repair of antiques, so the work was of very high quality.   He moved to Australia in the mid fifties and eventually started a furniture-making/repair business, and a general building business, with the help of his two sons (both carpenters).

He has since retired a number of years ago, and has now brought to the puzzle genre a resurgence of the famed and rare Hexadecimal Puzzle (16 puzzles in one).

He has recently started selling his new item on eBay.
The eBay page viewed here has since ended, but he will continue to start new pages.

All new auction winners are encouraged to email me with their names so that I may be able to enter them onto my special  Hall Of Hexadecimal Owners  page (as 'copy' owners).

The wood Bill used for this puzzle was Tasmanian Myrtle .