The objective is usually to separate a distinct piece I'll refer to as the Traveler (a term I've borrowed from a description of route-finding puzzles) - often a rigid ring, shuttle, or flexible loop - even an open cord with a bead at each end - from the rest of the puzzle, to which I'll refer as the Frame, and then to re-engage it. The best tanglement puzzles can elicit the reaction, "It can't be done!"

Other types of tanglement include those where there are two, sometimes more than two, more-or-less equal parts that must be separated, typically by some sequence of twists and slides relative to each other. These are usually made from hard wire or cast metal elements, sometimes nails.

I have been successful at solving other puzzles using computer programs, but this type of puzzle is difficult to model for an algorithm using a tree-search based approach. My solution strategy is to re-draw the puzzle in its simplest topologically equivalent form, then "re-fold" it, keeping track of how the target piece moves through the other elements. The solution is this sequence of crossings played in reverse.

Dick's categories:

(Whew! That's a lot of Finnish Trapezes! :-)

It has been known by several names, including The Puzzling Rings, Meleda, The Devil's Needle, Baguenaudier ("Time-Waster" in French), Tiring Irons, Prisoner's Lock, Cardan's Rings (after the famous mathematician Girolamo Cardano who lived from 1501 to 1576 in Italy, who described it in his 1550 book De Subtilitate Rerum, published in Nuremberg), and the Chinese Rings Puzzle - in the orient it was known as the "Delay-Guest Instrument." It has been put to practical use as a lock.

Cardan's Rings was included as number V in Chapter X of Hoffmann's 1893 classic "Puzzles Old and New." Slocum found an advertisement for the puzzle in the 1785 catalogue of Peter Catel in Berlin, where it was called the Nuremberg Trifle. Slocum notes that in Germany it was also known as Zankeisen (quarrel iron) and by using this name it can be traced back to 1541. According to David Darling, the earliest European reference is from about 1500 in problem #107 of De Viribus Quantitatus by Luca Pacioli. According to the Wolfram Mathworld site, Stewart Culin (1858-1929) avers the puzzle was invented by the Chinese general Hung Ming, who lived from 181 to 234 A.D.

Many puzzlers consider this to be among the top puzzles of all time, but I confess it is not one of my favorite puzzles - I don't even think it is a very good representative of the Tanglement class. I prefer to categorize the Patience Puzzle as a Sequential / Gray-Code puzzle since its solution involves a lengthy, rigid, and repetetive sequence of moves which must be scrupulously followed. With seven rings, the puzzle requires 85 moves. Each additional ring doubles the required number of moves - with 65 rings, the time required to solve the puzzle at a brisk pace of one move per second would be measured in billions of years!

One of the hallmarks of the Tanglement class is the analog nature of the movement space - Patience is the most digital of tanglements, yet it is still analog in nature and thusly its motions have a lot of play - which can frustrate the pursuit of the digital solution. There are much better Gray-Code puzzles available, and in my opinion the world of Tanglement puzzles offers far more fun to be had, too. However, the Patience Puzzle remains important for the logical thinking it has inspired over the centuries.

Dennis and Donna Sucilsky own and operate Tucker-Jones House, Inc. of East Setauket, New York, established in 1975. Dennis is a museum-trained blacksmith, and in 1980 began producing their trademark Tavern Puzzle brand of robust metal tanglements.

Tucker-Jones' roster is now organized into eight groups, rather than the four previous difficulty categories of simple, intermediate, difficult, and very difficult.

Group 1 Antique Designs	Group 2	Group 3	Group 4
Iron Heart Conestoga Playmate Old Shackles (identical to Horseshoes) Bottoms Up	Self Restraint Painted Lady Black Jack Iron Maiden	Lyons Loop Traveler's Woe Clef Hanger Tinker's Bell	Wise Guy Blackbeard's Revenge Satan's Stirrup Dirty Dog
Group 5	Group 6	Group 7	Group 8
Double Bypass (Hess A010 p.1) U-Turn Big Kahuna Odd Ball	Big Shot Tri Again Doozie Best Ever (2008)	Long Island Catch Double Trouble Matched Set	Sneaky Pete Patience Puzzle Freedom's Ring

I believe their easiest puzzle is the Iron Heart (Hess A001 p.1). My favorite is the Dirty Dog (equiv. to Hess A291 p.11). The Group 6 puzzles are intended to be modular - you can re-combine their constituent parts in novel ways to invent new puzzles.

[29]

I would say Uncle's Puzzles' easiest is the Heart's Desire. (Hess A048 p.2)

Uncle's roster includes (I own those in bold; thumbnails shown for items I lack):

Moderate	Intense	Severe		New
Gingerbreadman (identical to TJ Conestoga Playmate) Heart's Desire Carpenter's Special  (bent nails) Trapeze Sweetheart (identical to TJ Iron Heart) Lucky Horseshoes (a really hefty version of Horseshoes) Vee Mobile	Butterfly (identical to TJ Lyon's Loops) Derby (identical to TJ Satan's Stirrup) Double Image (identical to Puzzletts Jigsaw) Fooler Lance Derby Junior  Triangledangle (2003) Witch Way (2005)	Baffle Chain Reaction Challenger Grand Wizard Ladder Nonplus Pentagon Ring (identical to Ring and Fetters) Rope (identical to Ball and Chain)	Suffacator Triad U2 4 Play Snafflebit (2003) Luke's Lock Triple Crown	Cuffed (2007)

My favorites include:

Pentagon (like Hess E020 p.37)

U2 (Hess E143 p.39)

Trapeze (Hess E018 Govenor p.37)

Vee Mobile (Hess D104 p.29)

Suffacator

I finally solved Suffacator! This picture of a version of Suffacator called "Tripwire" (I don't own this) shows that the solution requires only one end of the "shuttle" loop to pass through the body of the puzzle.

Uncle's rates these as severely difficult:

Baffle	Chain Reaction (Hess D041 p.27)	Challenger (Hess G002 p.47)	Grand Wizard
Ladder	Nonplus triple compound trapeze var. (like Hess A019 p.1)	Triad Compare to U.S. Patent 3441282 - Lewis 1969	Fooler is only "Intense" (Hess D023 Stirrups p.27)

Other Uncle's designs I have:

Lucky Horseshoes	4-Play	Luke's Lock
Triple Crown	Hi-Q Tangle [discontinued?] - see comments here	Wizzard [discontinued?]
Uncle's produced this promotional puzzle called "Front Line Partnership" (FLP).	Lance	Snafflebit
Witch Way	Triangle Dangle

[25]

LiveWire's roster includes (I own those in bold):

Level 1	Level 2	Level 3
Coiled Again (see Hess E013) Double Vision Equalizer Grand Prix (seems eq. to Puzzletts's Jigsaw, Hess E022) Handcuffs (identical to Horseshoes) Silent Partner (identical to Uncle's Fooler) Sleight of Hand Sputnik (see Hess E037) Candy Canes	Abracadabra Aftermath Dead End (see IQ Collection Brain Bender) Have a Heart! (identical to TJ Double Bypass) Mousetrap Pyramid Scheme Rapid Fire Spirit is Willing Weathervain	Astroknot Ball and Ring (identical to Ball and Chain) Centipede Chinese Rings Coathanger Keyring Companion (Unsolvable!) Mexican Standoff Paper Clip Pentangle (identical to Uncle's Pentagon)	Pinetree Quadrangle Slingshot Squaring Off Tripwire (eq. to Uncle's Suffacator) Trouble Clef Wedge (eq. Wit's End w/ loop) Two Part Harmony Skip a Beat

Here is a link to a list of their discontinued puzzles.

LiveWire's puzzles are smaller and made of lighter gauge wire than either Uncle's or Tucker Jones'. The lineup contains many novel and wonderful designs! Here's what I've got so far:

Double Vision	Equalizer	Sleight of Hand	Candy Canes	Abracadabra
Aftermath	Mousetrap	Pyramid Scheme	Rapid Fire	Weathervain
The Astroknot	Coathanger	The Mexican Standoff (Hess C282 p.24)	The Slingshot	Two Part Harmony
	Skip a Beat	The Virus (discontinued)	Arrow (discontinued)

[18]

Puzzle Master in Canada offers very nice lighter-weight tanglements. Several unique designs, including new (and difficult) designs by Dick Hess!

Annihilator	Derringer	Mirror Image	Scorpion (Hess E069 p.38)	Scorpion's Sting the string is looped through twice
Black Widow	The 'A' (Hess C010 p.16)	The Anomaly	Rat Race like (but not) Squaring Off From the Old Game Store, VT ($14)	Infinity
Butterfly's Revenge	Sidewinder	Parallel Dimensions	Cupid's Dart (= Uncle's Suffacator)	Mosquito This is a simplified version of the Suffacator design.
Silent E	Blue Knight	Man of War	G Factor	Puzzlemaster offers this really nice version of Dick Hess' design "The Yak."
The Whale Designed by Dick Hess	Brontosaurus Designed by Dick Hess	Pendulum Designed by Dick Hess	Keyhole Designed by Markus Goetz.	Destroyer Designed by Markus Goetz.
29 and Holding IPP 29 in SF - thanks, Alan!

[26]

Here are puzzles in the Family Games line. They've recently undergone some re-packaging and re-naming. The items in my collection are noted in bold. The others are shown for reference.

You might be able to find them at these resellers:

• ToysGamesPuzzles
• Puzzlesusa.com
• Educational Learning Games

Abacus (4)	Clench (4)	Dipper (1)	Duress (3)
Granville (2)	Grape Grief	Gripper (3)	Owl (4)
Periscope This one is in the "Science Stumpers" line.	Pulley (3)	Shackle (2)	Weaver (1)
Yank (2)

Brain Drain	Brain Strain	Brain Tester	Brain Twister
Cuckoo's Nest	Wedding Vows

A (4) PM	Beetle Bug (3) PM eq. to TJ Satan's Stirrup	Black Widow (2) PM	Brain Baffler (1) eq. to TJ Conestoga Playmate
Brain Bender (2) IQ Co. New Zealand	Brain Burden (4)	Brain Buster (1) eq. to Ball and Chain	Brain Game (4)
Brain Spiral (3) (Hess E016 p.37)	Cowboy's Hobble (1) PM eq. to Ball and Chain (Hess E017 p.37)	Cranial Key (3) eq. to Puzzletts' Jigsaw (Hess E022 p.37)	Fantastic Five (3) PM eq. to Uncle's Pentagon
Handcuff (1) PM	Heartbreaker (1) PM	Iron Maiden (1) PM	Lobotomy (4) eq. to Uncle's Challenger (Hess G002 p.47)
Mental Maneuver (2)	Mirror Image (4) PM	Parallel Dimension (4) PM	The Rack (3) PM eq. to Uncle's U2
Scorpion (2) PM	Scorpion Sting (2) PM	Sproing (3)	Yield (2) PM eq. to Uncle's Lance

Orb (see Dexterity)	Sandpiper (see Dexterity)	Urchin (see Dexterity)
Labyrinth (see Route Finding)	Magnacube (see Magnetic)	Mosaic (see Assembly/Packing)

Family Games offers several puzzles in their "Don't" series - not all of them are tanglements; several are secret-opening.

Don't Break My Heart	Don't Break the Bank	Don't Break the Bottle	Don't Break the Bottle Caddy	Don't Break the Bottle Corkscrew
Don't Count on It	Don't P Me Off	Don't Push My Buttons	Don't Tee Me Off	Don't You Dare

Family Games also sells some larger puzzles in their IQ Collection series, shown here for reference. I have the Citadel and Porcupine.

Arch Rival

Citadel

Porcupine

Portico

Temple

Fiddl'Widdit Wire Puzzles is located in Bodega Bay, California. Marichu Hernandez and Paul Wood make the puzzles.

From the gift shop at Old Sturbridge Village, and from Necker's, a few tanglements by houseofmarbles.com:

Bungler's Block (aka Chinese Pendulum) (Hess E273 p.44)	Hell's Bells	Madman's Maze same as Dirty Dog	Indefinity Hess D326 p.36 Crossed horseshoes
Labour of Love Don't have it - but it's the same as Tucker Jones' Double Bypass	Mortal Coil Don't have it - but it's like Tucker Jones' Lyon's Loops	Gordian knot

[5]

The German company Logika offers several puzzles by Ingo Uhl, including "Das Magische Schnurspiel" tanglements. They're made from recycled materials.

Schnurspiel 4 =Eyeglasses

Schnurspiel mit sechs Wurfeln

Schnurspiel mit zwei Wurfeln

Schnurspiel mit ein Wurfel

GR.01 Heart = TJ Iron Heart GR.02 Swing = F024 Post and Twirls I don't have either.	GR.03 U Ring	GR.04 Devil
GR.05 Pot	GR.06 Loop	GR.07 Trio Ring
Kawada black packages Nos 3,4,5,6 F024 post and twirls, U Ring, F008 Long-stemmed Rings, F056 Triple Twists (Devil)

The Oskar's Keys puzzle was also offered by Kawada: 

[10]

I got these 3 Tenyo "Electro" puzzles in Japan at Tokyu Hands, then found some additional boxed copies.

#1

#2 See patent 4391445 - Vizelyi 1981

#3

Tenyo also issued a series of "Computer Puzzler" tanglements:

This is not a Tenyo, but it is similar to Computer Puzzler No. 1

Computer Puzzler No. 2 See patent 1091709 - Rutledge 1914

Computer Puzzler No. 3

Computer Puzzler No. 4

Computer Puzzler No. 5 (was No. 3)

Tenyo seems to have re-numbered their Computer Puzzler series (or someone copied Tenyo) - below are two box backs showing different numberings. Numbers 1, 2, and 4 are the same, but the square-shaped No. 3 has become No. 5 and a Gordian Knot / Loony Loop - type has usurped its place...

I think I figured out the point of Puzzler No. 4. The string loop needs to be between the lobes of the heart - see in the lower left diagram, where the two arcs make a "closed" loop (at least when seen edge on)? Right through there.

Penny Farthing I, II, III, IV

Bathtub Ring

Menagerie including: Bison, Yak, Pig, Hippo, Ox, Rhino, Whale You can buy Hess' "Yak" puzzle at Puzzlemaster.ca

Meteor Torito has it.

This set of three were provided by Richard as souvenirs for IPP14. Included: Keyring with Two Cups, Ring, and Baffled Key; Keyring with Horseshoes and Ringed Key; Keyring with Double Cups, Baffle, and Simple Key.

These fascinating original designs are from Kirill Grebnev:

Step	Love Secret	Step in Future
Symbol	Spiral	Apple

These are from Davan's:

Voluta

Ynoa

Channel Craft makes a nice line of wooden/rope puzzles.

Left Brain Teaser, Right Brain Teaser, and No Brainer		Twin Trouble, Triple Trouble, and Quadruple Trouble
	Trouble	Jeff Taylor Original (gift)

[5]

Lumberjack Toys of San Francisco, offered a nice line of wooden/rope puzzles called Stumps Puzzles from 1979 and 1982. They were identified by letter. I've obtained A, F, M, N, and P. Others shown for reference.

I have seen them for sale at the IQ Puzzles site.

A	C	D	E
F	G	J	K
L	M	N	P
Q	R	S	T
single stick Is this B?

[5]

Mad Cow in the UK makes a series of wood/string/ring tanglements. I found several at my local Barnes & Noble bookstore, nicely packaged and offered by stirlingfox.com. There are eight designs in the stirlingfox series (more in Mad Cow's lineup), I got some of them, in bold:

Full Moon	Gatekeeper	Mad Cow	Wandering
Woodworm	Triangle	Quadrilateral	Drumsticks

Bilateral

Trilateral

Garden Gate

Lumbering

Square

Rope Ladder

Snake

The earliest disentanglement puzzle I can remember having is the classic ox-yoke - rather than free a ring, get the two rings onto the same loop of cord.

Among my favorites are two difficult puzzles I solved myself - the Ball and Chain (Hess E017 p.37) from Pentangle, purchased in Japan, and the Gordian Knot ( See U.S. Patent 2091191 - van Luven 1937, also D0172310 - Riddle 1954 ).

The Loony Loop is a version of the Gordian Knot, as is the copy of the Gekkenwerk version.

Brett brought me back an Emmentello by HABA from Germany.   I got the Mausefalle by Philos in Montreal: 

A newer design is Rick Eason's Tricky Dick. I got this from Rick at the 2005 New York Puzzle Party. To me this seems identical to the Ball and Chain.

Here are other lighter-gauge tanglements I own.

Double Treble Clef (Hess E041 p.37) Potty Puzzles has it.	Obstacle	Bunchgrass Mountain Misery	Two puzzles from the Great American Trading Co., York PA, purchased at Necker's: Provoke (on the left), and Torment.
Brainstorm IQ Co. New Zealand	Possibly Possible Puzzlesdownunder has it.	Roundabout From the Puzzle and Craft Factory.	Butterfly Pendant Atlantis / Karl Scherer Hess E065 p.38
Puzzletts' Jailer	Puzzletts' Jigsaw (Hess E022 p.37)	Tee Bar John N. Hansen Co. 1978 - same as ChannelCraft's Left Brain Teaser	The Rings of Ming (Chinese Patience)
Ball and Chain From Stumpy Originals	Wire Puzzle No. 2 From Stumpy Originals Hess D028 Double star	Hemispheres - Eureka Mini	Jumper - Eureka Mini
Heart String purchased at Eureka	Escargot - Constantin purchased at Eureka	Saturn purchased at Games People Play	Gluhbirne by J.C. Constantin.
Omega this is the "Hobbles" design purchased from Hendrik Haak	HM Wire F	Fujita - Meiro Tower	Fujita - Meiro Maze
Five Keys - Constantin	Fishing	Euro See patent 779874 - Saunders 1905	Bull's Nose - Eureka
	A set of 9 small wire tangles from Rick Irby, including: The Magic Snail, The Magic Balance, The Magic Bracelet, Wire Monkey, U Ring, Ring on Spring, Horseshoes, Japanese Nails, and Rings with U Handles	"Puzzle Party in a Box" set from Rick Irby. Includes 9 puzzles depicted (plus a shuttle on spiral): Magic Scissors, Magic Gypsy Earring, Magic Impossible, Magic Snail (dup), Magic Ladder, Magic Balance (dup), Magic Pistol, Magic Bracelet (dup), Magic Guitar	A set of 6 in the "Mini Puzzle Series" by MI Toys, including: Heart on Double Trapeze, Shuttle on Triangle with Two Loops, Violin, D028 Double Star, Butterfly, and Clef.
a group from Spilsbury	A "Russian Angel"	Philos Verflixte Vier Purchased in Berlin on the way to IPP28.	No. 74, "Orli hnizdo" (Eagle's Nest) by Jan Sturm. Instructions: "Vyndejte provazek." (Remove the cord.) Thanks to Stanislav Knot for providing the information to me! Purchased at IPP28 in Prague.
Black Widow - Go Games Austin	Australia Map tangle - Mr. Puzzle Australia (Obtained from Rick Eason at NYPP 2009)	Outrageous Rings, by Dr. Richard Hess.	Toysmith/Mindgames/MiMi Puzzle Drum No. 8137 Purchased from Eureka in Brookline.
Marks and Spencer offered a puzzle called "Bull Ring" (I don't have) which had the above "solution" depicted on its box... A fellow puzzler determined that the pictured solution is impossible and the above solution is correct... The Bull Ring is equivalent to this hard wire version I have. B1 from the Kawada B set John Jaques & Son, a venerable British firm, called this Ring and Fetters.
Ring and U with Chain	Wal-Mart tangle w/ red cord	Target 2001 set	Dayton Hudson 1998 set
Ring and U on twist Target 2002 set	loops (Eq. to Lyon's Loops) Target 2002 set	Dayton Hudson 1998 set	very tricky, especially restoring it without an awkward twist - not sure what to call it
	From the Zoyo Wire Puzzle set 3+ similar to Livewire's discontinued "Flight Test"	The large puzzle from the Smithsonian set; also one of the MI group
Marks & Spencer Lateral Thinking set of 4
The Twisted Puzzle Collection from the "Seriously Tough Puzzles" series by Lagoon Puzzles:

Puzzlesdownunder sells the Possibly Impossible.

A fellow enthusiast asked me for help with this item, so I did a little research.

In their 1978 book Creative Puzzles of the World, van Delft and Botermans have this to say about the Loony Loop: "This Loony Loop puzzle was stumbled upon by the great American puzzler, Stewart T. Coffin. The aim of this puzzle is to free the tied cord from the figure-eight metal loop, without breaking or untying the cord. But -- beware -- the simplicity of the wire loop and intertwined cord may be deceptive."

They go on to say, "Problems with this one? Then look below for help." They give a diagram showing some motions of the cord, but it is vague and difficult to follow. The accompanying text says: "Follow the direction arrows on the diagram: pass the cord loop through the left eye; over the top loop; through the right eye; and around the bottom loop. Now the cord should come free -- or should it? After all, no one has proved it impossible!"

I have never solved it, nor seen it solved, nor been able to follow the diagram. Stewart pretty much says it is impossible, and refers to a "proof" he received from Japan.

Compare this puzzle to LiveWire's "Keyring Companion." LiveWire states that Keyring Companion is a novelty and is impossible. To me it looks topologically equivalent to Loony Loop.

Perhaps the name "Possibly Impossible" is almost accurate. You may draw your own conclusions.

I bought a set of tanglements from a French vendor who sells Japanese items. The puzzles are attractive and of good quality. I found the above group shot of the complete set of 10 on the website of an Asian collector. I've got 6 of them:

No. 2 Helios	No. 3 Maze	No. 4 Labyrinth
No. 5 Upside-Down	No. 6 Escargot	No. 7 Hatena

No. 1 looks like it's equivalent to horseshoes. Nos. 8-10 are other familiar wire designs - claws, trumpets, and twists with straight handles.

The packages indicate that these puzzles are made in China. Based on the Babelfish translation of the text on the site, I believe these come from a "100 Yen Shop" chain named Cando. 100-Yen Shops are the equivalent of Dollar Stores, and are described on Wikipedia.

[6]

Other miscellaneous tanglement puzzles:

Trilogy II from Puzzle and Craft Factory	Cocktail Glass with Olive Not sure of its provenance, but I love it!	?
A Trapeze	The Devil's Staircase, with dark and light bases	a different staircase arrangement
The Horse (a triple trapeze) and the Cat (a double trapeze), from Binary Arts (circa 1985).	This puzzle keychain was a gift from Mike Green. U.S. Patent 692167 - Schumacher 1902	Spiral
Invincible Rings - Bits and Pieces (aka Dutch String Puzzle)	Minotaur - Loncraine Broxton Part of a set that includes: Sax, Shark, Minotaur, Rocket (I don't have the others.)	three triangles
Dragon String	Dragon / Rings	Pentangle Traffic Lights
The Adams' Scissors Puzzle	The Rudis Sword - by The Grail Inc. See U.S. Patent 3958807 - Hand 1976	Sticks / Two Rods (?) Purchased at IPP28 in Prague, from (I think) Ray Bathke's table.
A JCC tanglement "S270" from a Baxter Ergatoudis auction.	Can you take three safety pins and link them in such a way that if any one is removed, all fall apart? Think about it, then look up Borromean Rings.	Mini Teaser Balls - Rocky Chiaro IPP 29 - thanks, Rocky! Teaser Balls was invented by Anneke Treep and Christian Freeling. Also made by John Rausch. See a solution at George Bell's site.
Here are several wooden & string tanglements issued by Bit & Pieces:       Triple Post, Window Pain, Terrible Twosome / Twin Towers, Triple Torment

I got a partially filled wholesale box of old Skor-Mor Thinker Series puzzles. The lot included: 3x F14 Frantic Frenzy (eq. to Wit's End), 1x F18 Ring-A-Ling (equal to Left Brain), 1x (no label, but equal to horseshoes), and 5x F17 Two On One (equal to Ox Yoke). See below...

These sets contain many designs I already have in various forms from other sources. I've given names/IDs of equivalent puzzles in each picture counterclockwise from top right.

I got the purple set (#3+) - it includes one puzzle isomorphic to LiveWire's dicsontinued Firecracker, which is a simplified form of the Suffactor/Tripwire design, and two other interesting designs. The other sets are shown for reference.

Puzzlerings Set 1 F117, TJ Lyon's Loops, C264	Puzzlerings Set 2 Stumpy X, TJ Conestoga Playmate, IQ Brain Bender / MI group	Puzzlerings Set 3 F116/BA Twin Tangle/Hanayama Devil, HoM Indefinity, Smithsonian set large puzzle
Puzzlerings Set 1+ Puzzlett's Jigsaw, A001 (e.g. TJ Iron Heart), ?	Puzzlerings Set 2+ Simplified Ball & Chain, Simplified Flight Test, E044	Puzzlerings Set 3+ / Zoyo Set 3+ ?, LW (disc.) Flight Test, PM Mosquito / LW (disc.) Firecracker / Simplified Suffacator/Tripwire
Puzzlerings Set King 1 ?, ?, eq. to LW Silent E	Puzzlerings Set King 2 ?, D023/U Fooler, ?	Puzzlerings Set King 3 E143/Eyeglasses, E020/Pentagon, Triple Trapeze
Puzzlerings Set Stylish 1 F023 (Ring on Spring), "Questions," F027 (Ring and V)	Puzzlerings Set Stylish 2 Sam Loyd Buttonhook, ?, A048 (e.g. Uncle's Heart's Desire)	Puzzlerings Set Stylish 3 Schumacher Keychain, IPG Hooks, ?

Basic two-piece disentanglements made from hard wire, especially the sturdy bent nails puzzle, are among the best introduction to puzzles. There are many variations, all having different solutions.

F001 Nails U.S. Patent 969481 - Jenkins 1910 Here is the solution for the basic bent nails puzzle. Notice how the pointed ends exit through the loops? The Glass Nails were issued by Bits & Pieces some time ago.	Trumpets (aka S-Nails) (Hess F114 p.46) From Games People Play
The Professor Puzzle "Hard As Nails" set includes:   Nail Biter, which I don't have (but see Bent Again, below). The Nail Biter/Bent Again design improves on the basic bent nails by preventing the solution where the points exit through the loops. Nail Jail (see right)   S-Nail, which I don't have but which seems like the Trumpets puzzle. The Last Nail in the Coffin (see right) (#5 is balancing nails on the head of another - see my dexterity page.)	Nail Jail - see Hess F123 #2 in a series of 5 Professor Puzzle nail puzzles. Puzzlingpuzzles.com offers nail puzzles, including their "Hard As Nails," which seems identical to Nail Jail.
	The Last Nail in the Coffin - see Hess F126 #4 in a series of 5 Professor Puzzle nail puzzles. This is an excellent puzzle and very different from the usual linked nails! Two distinct maneuvers are required in sequence. I still forget how it's done even after practicing!
Mr. Puzzle Australia offers several nail puzzles, including a set of four with stand called Another Nailbiter, and their entry in the Tokyo 2004 IPP Design Competition called Twisted's Sister (with Torii gate). The set includes four puzzles: Bent Again (like Nail Biter) - F122, Get Hooked (like Last Nail in the Coffin), Last Tangle in Tamborine (3 nails), and Twisted.
This is the 3-Nail Combo from Puzzlesdownunder. It includes the Nail Twister, Nail Lock, and something similar to the Trumpets / Twisted.	Puzzlingpuzzles.com offers nail puzzles, including this 4-nail puzzler called Spider Nails.

[14]

Journet's Family Compendium. Instructions inside lid. Eighteen puzzles, including: Two Nails V and Two Rings - F027 (rings missing) Dee Rings - F017 Rings & Links - two clips and two rings Three Links - F014 Three Rings - more like a smaller version of Triple Twists (Target 2000) than F010 Spring ABC (C is broken) Salmon & Grid Pig Tail - F002 Two Loops - C and U F030 Lucky Star (horseshoe/heart/star) Curly - Post & Twirls F024 Jolly Ni**er (Strongman) Three Nags (missing) Maze - Ring and Plate Hearts Keys (open key is broken) This lot also included a copy of Aeroplanes that is missing the rope.	Journet's Popular Compendium. Instructions inside lid. Nine puzzles, including: Heart & Anchor (aka Faith, Hope, & Charity) Two Link - Devil's Keys (missing) ABC Key (missing) Spring (ring on spring F023) Star & Garter Pig Tail - F002 Two Nails (missing) Three Snakes There were extras included in the lot: double triangles F012, triple clips F014, ring and plate, Hearts, Three Nags, and a Strongman (aka Jolly Ni**er).
The International Box of Assorted Puzzles, from H.P. Gibson & Sons, Ltd. London E.C.1 (IBA) Eight puzzles, including: Fire Irons Snake & Scissors Tango (loop is broken) Lucky Star (horseshoe/heart/star) Salmon & Grid Heart & Anchor (aka Faith, Hope, & Charity- missing) Hearts Sandow	The International Monster Box of Puzzles, from the International Card Company, London, E.C. (IMB) Nine puzzles, including: ring and twist - F018 ring on spring - variation where spring end runs back thru spring axially, has bead on ring double rings with handles F002 Three Snakes nails ABC Three Nags Faith, Hope, & Charity - cross/anchor/heart Kultur - Strafe der Kaiser - like Sandow
The International Box of Metal Puzzles, Series No. 4, from H.P. Gibson & Sons, Ltd., London, E.C. (GIB). This is the one I would've wanted back then - it has almost everything. The inside cover of the box describes each puzzle. Twenty puzzles, including: Pick-It-Out - pick the ball out of its flower-like cup Spring - F023 Aeroplane Two Nails Fire Irons Two Wire Links - F016 Claws Anchors Three Wire Links - F014 Triple Clips Two Loops - C and U Pig Tail - F002 Hearts Two Keys ABC Lucky Star - heart/horseshoe/star Tango Salmon & Grid Three Snakes Star & Garter Three Nags Two Links - Devil's Keys	"Chad Valley Series British Made Metal Puzzles" (blue box). (CVB) Instructions on loose blue sheet included. Twelve puzzles on the sheet, including: ABC Spring Three Twists - Triple Clips F014 Maze - ring on plate Two Nails Pig Tail Three Rings F010 Aeroplanes Keys Two Link - Claws F016 Link & Twist - F020 Three Link - like Target 2000 Triple Twists
"Super Puzzles" set SP1 by Sherm's of Bridgeport, CT. (SP1). Includes an instruction sheet, but it says it "explains others besides those in your set." The instructions include the solution to the Doggie (Dog and Collar) puzzle. The instruction sheet covers the following: The Pretzel Puzzle - aka Two Rings (aka Dee Rings) F017 Two Nails Two Twist - aka Link & Twist - F020 The Question - aka Pig Tail F002 Spider Web - ring in plate - sheet tin Doggie Puzzle (sitting dog and collar - missing) Heart Puzzle - sheet tin heart with string Cover the Spot (missing) Triangle Puzzle - a sheet tin triangle with small hole - "catch puzzle" to "push a large coin through the small hole." Spring Horseshoes - sheet tin The Boo-Boogy Man Puzzle (river crossing) is described, but there are no physical pieces This lot also included an interesting 2-piece "Handbag -shaped" puzzle, and a sheet tin Ox Yoke neither listed in the solution sheet.	"Chad Valley Metal Puzzles" (red box). (CVR) Box cover depicts eleven puzzles and says "Full directions included in each box," but I don't have the directions sheet. Eleven puzzles on the box cover, including (from upper left, clockwise): Two Rings (aka Dee Rings) F017 Spring Two Link - Claws F016 Post & Twirls - F024 V and Rings F027 Horseshoes Maze - ring on plate Two Nails Three Twists - Triple Clips F014 ABC Devil's Keys - flattened style The set is complete, and the lot came with some extra puzzles: plate and ring maze, nails, Devil's Keys, Spring, and Pig Tail.
Casse Tete Chinois Jeux Spear No. 430007, distributed by Waldi. A French set of 24 puzzles. The puzzles are shown on the box bottom, and solutions are shown on the inside of the cover. Includes: Two Nails Over the Top - two rings linked by a twist Claws F016 ring and two clips Two Rings (aka Dee Rings) F017 F002 Pig Tail Link & Twist - F020 large ring w/ break, two U's, small ring F025 Three Snakes (wire, not cast) Heart on Trapeze F008 long-stemmed rings Post & Twirls - F024 F026 offset keys F030 C and U F029 triangle and key Horseshoes E013 chain on spiral Patience - 5 rings large wire version of Tango E002 Stilts Spring triangle/heart in spiral Egg-Beater - simple single-level version double trapeze	The Uncle Sam Puzzles sets were issued by the J.L. Sommer Mfg. Co. of Newark, NJ. According to Slocum and Botermans in Puzzles Old and New page 99, there were four sets with two puzzles in each and they appeared in 1920. (I don't have these.) Jerry Slocum's collection shows Set No. 1, which contains: Pig Tails (F002), and the Ring on Spring (F023). Set 2 contains: Mutt and Jeff (F003), Over the Top (F079). Set 3 contains: Horseshoes (D001), Three Rings (F010). I've seen another group of eight puzzles called the Uncle Sam Puzzles, which in addition to those, contained: Double-G (F017), and plate heart w/ string.

Zenith set - I obtained a set of loose puzzles and an instruction sheet copyright 1950 by Zenith Toy Co., Brooklyn NY. Several puzzles are described, many of which aren't metal tanglements. The tanglements described include: Double Twist F020, Bar Circle F017, Double Links and Ring (two clips and ring), Double Prong F008, Ring and Coil aka Spring, Double Question Mark aka Pig Tail F002, Double Loop F015, Triple Links F014, Double Ring and Loop F018 with another ring, Double Hook (Claws F016), Double Triangle F012, Nails F001.

Parlor Puzzles sells some nice sets. The sets contain many of the same designs I already have, and all of them contain the basic F001 Bent Nails. I have Sets #2 and #3.

Set 1 Ring on Spring, Claws, Double Rings with Straight Handles, and Double Twists with U Handles.

Set 2 Includes the Link (leftmost) and the Latch (rightmost). The Latch is actually the opposite effect of Nail Biter / Bent Again - it enforces the points-through solution.

Set 3 Sets 1 and 2 combined (only one copy of the bent nails), for a lower price.

Here are two other sets I don't own, but I have seen them often on auction, and I have all of the designs they include.

I have all of the 7 designs included in the "Shaolin Magic Meditation Puzzles." Moving clockwise from the upper left, they are (or are equivalent to): Lotus Flower Blooming, Horseshoes, Star-and-Garter, Double Rings with Straight Handles, Twin Tangle, Japanese Nails, and Claws.

The set of 12 Magic Metal Puzzles includes: Double Triangles, Double Twist with Twist, Double Rings with Straight Handles, Ring and Clip, Offset Triangles, Double Rings with Bent Handles (F005), Triangle and Ring, Double Twists with Curved Handles (F119), Double Twists with U Handles (F117), Double Clips, Double Rings, and Twist and Ring. I have all of those designs.

Here are some other wire puzzle sets I've obtained.

Dayton Hudson sets from 1998 (2 different sets) and 1999:

Sets from Wal-Mart (also a plain white box WM9036 not shown, but see the puzzles later):

Target stores' tanglement sets from 2000 through 2008:

"Make Puzzle" sets B and E, from Kawada. I brought these back from one of my Japan visits.

JAL promo sets

The following are from various sets, including those shown above. Many are small miscellaneous items I've had for a long time, by Famus (Magic Metal Puzzles) and Nasta (Mr. Magician Metal Magic Puzzles). I have many loose clips, rings, and triangles, not shown. I've replaced the group shots with the individual pics in the table below, and I have listed the Hess ID and his name for each of them. These are in Hess' section F, Hard Wire Puzzles.

F001 Nails	F002 Double Rings w/ Handles aka "Pig Tail" or "The Eastern Question" Not shown: F003 = dbl rings w/ lg handles F004 = dbl rings w/ short handles	F005 Double rings with bent handles small from Gilbert set large from Dayton Hudson 1999 set
F006 Triple rings with handles First is "Well Spent Cash", next is Gilbert's "Vampire" Not shown: F007 = quad rings w/ handles		F008 Long-stemmed Rings
F009 Double Rings F010 Triple Rings F011 Quadruple Rings	F012 Double Triangles	F013 Double Clips F014 Triple Clips
F015 Double Twists	F016 Double Bends aka Claws Hess p.45 and F073 p.46 U.S. Patent 399146 - Jacobs 1889
F017 Double G aka Two Rings aka Dee Rings aka Bar Circle aka The Pretzel Puzzle, aka Conjuring Rings	F017 Parlor Puzzles Rings Compare with U.S. Patent 788048 - Jensen 1905	F017 Professor Puzzle's The Enigma in the U.S. included in the Metal Madness set from Cardinal
F018 Twist and Ring Not shown: F019 dbl rings and twist	F020 Double Twist with Twist U.S. Patent 718323 - Deck 1903	F021 Offset Triangles
F022 double V's
F023 ring and spring (Hess p.45)	ring on spring twice	F024 Post and Twirls
F025 Wire Snakes	F026 Offset Keys	F027 Ring and V
F028 Wheels and Ring(s)	F029 Triangle and Key	F030 C and U U.S. Patent 584857 - Dennis 1897
F031 Wire Monkey NOTE: F032 - F050 were omitted from Hess because they are cast, enlarged, or include flexible parts	F051 Japanese Nails	Not shown: F052 triangle and 2 circles F053 circle and triangle w/ lock F054 two circles w/ lock F055 circle, square, and triangle
F056 Triple Twists see Kawada GR.04 Devil	F057 triangle with 2 twists (I don't have this.)	F058 Wheels with 2 rings see Kawada GR.06 Loop contrast this with F028 - in F058 one of the rings is permanently attached and links the two wheels.
F059 Japanese Hairpins	F060 Cup and locked ring see Kawada GR.05 Pot	Not shown: F061 - F068 F070 - F074 F075, F076, F082, and F084-F103 omitted from compendium F077 - F078 F080 - F111
F069 Double Rings with Straight Handles	F079 twist and two rings aka "Over the Top"	F081 Open Hearts
F112 double twists with handles Twisted Twins by Binary Arts Not shown: F113 dbl rings w/ threaded handles	F114 Israeli Nails aka Trumpets Not shown: F115 mini-ring w/ clip	F116 Sao Paulo Puzzle aka Twin Tangle by Binary Arts
F117 Double Twists with U Handles	F118 lg bent tip nails (I don't have this.)	F119 Double twists with curved handles aka Nines Smithsonian set Not shown: F120 Naughty Nines F121 "The Wire Puzzle"
F122 Bent Again Mr. Puzzle Australia	F123 Hard As Nails by Puzzlingpuzzles eq. to Nail Jail by Professor Puzzle Not shown: F124 Totally Nailed	F125 Totally Hard (I don't have this.)
F126 Get Hooked Mr. Puzzle Australia	NOTE: F126 is the last item in section F.

Prior to section F, Hess covers several other categories of wire puzzle:

• A) Trapezes
• B) Pagodas and Houses
• C) Rings (this section includes the Patience puzzle)
• D) Horseshoes, Scales, and Folding Puzzles
• E) Other Puzzles

I have included some items from those sections in the next table.

A001 simple trapeze	A048 entangled hearts p.2	C264 p.23 Spiral with Heart Casse Tete Chinois set
D001 p.27 Horseshoes many sets include this classic	D009 Scales Le Bon Geolier	D034 Japanese horseshoes WalMart SM186 green set
E002 Two-way Stilts from the Casse Tete Chinois boxed set	E013 Triple Twist	E037 p.37 Entangled double loops I got the long-handled CADABRA at a DAC. smaller is from Target 2002 set
E044 p.38 Quadruple Loop With Chain (a2) from small blue French box SM186	E051 Airplane on Mt. Fuji

Additional hard wire puzzles I have not found in the Hess Compendium...

Large twists with U handles Target 2002 set	eights Smithsonian set	P and G Clips WalMart WM7494 gold box w/ red string on cover
Twists - Target 2004 set	Triple Twists - Target 2000 set	Parlor Puzzles Triangle
Wal-Mart WM9036 set of 4
Wal-Mart - twists w/ J handles	Wal-Mart - bent nines	Target 2006 links
Stumpy Originals "X" aka Lotus Flower Blooming	Dayton Hudson 1998 set
Pretzel	Paper Clips - Luc de Smet IPP19 U.S. Patent 442511 - Church 1890	Professor Puzzle's The Sting in the U.S. included in the Metal Madness set from Cardinal
Ampersand originally designed by Rick Irby	Another kind of Ampersands. Gift from Brett's Mom and Dad - thanks!	pinches
IPG - triangles IPG - SS IPG - hooks "Questions" Gift from Brett's Mom & Dad - thanks!
Dr. Richard Hess has created several "hybrid" puzzles based on combining elements from different puzzles offered by Professor Puzzle: Claw-Pinch Hybrid Claw-Nail Hybrid Nail-Menace Hybrid #15 Purchased from Dick at IPP28 in Prague

Hanayama makes a wonderful line of "CAST" puzzles - a series "edited" by the late famous Japanese puzzle expert Nobuyuki ("Nob") Yoshigahara (1936-2004). (Nob's mailing list NOBNET remains active.) The Hanayama Cast series puzzles are rated within difficulty levels 1 through 6. Almost all of them are sturdy two-piece tanglements. Some might be better classified as route-finding puzzles - especially many of the creations by Oskar van Deventer. However, I have grouped them all here together. Similar puzzles also have appeared under the "Eureka" and "Kawada" brands. In some cases, another puzzle is equivalent to the Hanayama version.

You might be able to buy from the following sources (I make no warranty!): Puzzlemaster.ca Torito.jp Potty Puzzles www.puzzlein.com Arabesk (look under tanglements) eBay (homepage) eBay search for "cast puzzle"

Level 1: ABC Keys Bike Flag Loopz Hook	ABC British Registry Number 577846 - 1911	Keys U.S. Patent 488974 - Davis 1892	Bike U.S. Patent 609941 - Lejeune 1898	Flag U.S. Patent 596633 - Shortt 1898
	Loop Designed by Vesa Timonen But take a look at U.S. Patent 984803 - Dinuccio 1911	Hook Designed by Vesa Timonen
Level 2: Keyring Cricket Disks Violin Horseshoes Plate Key 2 Medal	Key Ring Designed by Oskar van Deventer NOTE: In the solved state, the words "Key" and "Ring" are in the same quadrant.	Cricket U.S. Patent 609081 - Collins 1898	Disks Designed by Oskar van Deventer	Violin U.S. Patent 3168316 - Lytle 1965
	Horse	Plate	Key 2 Designed by Otake & Wong	Medal This is a commercial version of Dalgety's St. Mungo's Fish
				St. Mungo's Fish from James Dalgety
Level 3: S and S O'Gear Cage Snake and Star W-U Dolce Cuby	S and S Based on the Devil's Keys U.S. Patent 732954 - Mowry 1903	O'Gear Designed by Oskar van Deventer	Sunflower (George miller) Equiv. to "O'Gear"	Cage A variation of the "national puzzle" of the Czech Republic.
	Snake and Star U.S. Patent 3383113 - McCandless 1968	W-U	Dolce Designed by Akio Yamamoto	Cuby Designed by Oskar van Deventer
Level 4: Devil Heart Baroq Ring L'Oeuf Radix Coaster Marble	Twin Tangle - see Hess F116 p.46 Equiv. to "Devil"	Heart	Baroq Designed by Akio Yamamoto	Ring
	L'Oeuf Designed by Oskar van Deventer	Radix Designed by Akio Yamamoto	Coaster Designed by Serhiy Grabarchuk	Marble Designed by Bram Cohen and Oskar van Deventer
Level 5: Amour Spiral Laby Ring 2 Duet Vortex Equa Helix	Amour Designed by Akio Yamamoto	Spiral Designed by Kennet Walker	Laby U.S. Patent 598855 - Carter 1898	16 to 1 Equiv. to "Laby"
	Ring 2 Based on a design by Jose Grant	Duet Designed by Oskar van Deventer	Vortex (2008) Designed by Akio Yamamoto	Equa Designed by Oskar van Deventer
	Helix Designed by Akio Yamamoto
Level 6: Elk Chain NEWS Enigma Nut Case Quartet	Elk	Chain Designed by Oskar van Deventer	GGG Special from James Dalgety; Designed by Oskar van Deventer. A more difficult version of Chain!	NEWS Designed by Nob Yoshigahara
	Enigma Designed by Eldon Vaughn	I got an original ELJO Enigma with magnetic stand a while ago from Puzzletts U.S. Patent 3885793 - Vaughn 1975	and a plastic Enigma more recently from Games People Play in Cambridge, Mass.	Nut Case Designed by Oskar van Deventer
	Quartet Designed by "Mine" (Mineyuki Uyematsu)

[49]

Hanayama has done a nice job of bringing new puzzle designs to the mass market (such as the Sunflower/O'Gear, Enigma, and Radix), and also mining old designs (such as the Keys, Flag, and Cricket). I've cited patents for some of the designs when I could find them. Here are other old designs I've run across that I think would make good additions to their lineup:

• "The Dorstrom Hub" U.S. Patent 819345 - Dorstrom 1906
• "O-U-ASS" (my term, not his) U.S. Patent 637352 - Schugg 1899
• U.S. Patent 1138108 - Hogl 1915

[12]

Takara Toys Co. of Japan (now with Tomy) offers a line of four puzzles in their "The Puzzle Museum" collection based on an animated detective story starring a character named "Lupin the 3rd." Each puzzle features Lupin trapped in some way along with another character. You must find a way to separate them.

Vol. 1 with Fujiko Mine

Vol. 2 with Inspector Zenigata

Vol. 3 with Daisuke Jigen

Vol. 4 with Goemon Ishikawa

I bought most of them from Thierry Borne's Japan Goods Shop.

This is known as the "Fire Irons." It is described on page 94 of Slocum and Botermans' 1987 "Puzzles Old and New." It contains a poker, shovel, and tongs. The objective is to free the tongs piece, which is not too difficult. A nice vintage piece with cast elements.	Lucky Star Horseshoe/Heart/Star	Aeroplanes CVB
Three Nags	Salmon and Grid	Two Hearts
These are the Devil's Keys, also known as "Loop the Loop" described on page 95 of Slocum and Botermans' 1987 "Puzzles Old and New." U.S. Patent 732954 - Mowry 1903	Maze - Ring and Plate CVB	Strong Man (aka Jolly Ni**er) Here is an alternative version (I don't have).
The Snake Puzzle	Queen's Jubilee / Waterbury Watch	thick rings
The Hello Puzzle U.S. Patent 896344 - Akin 1908	Snake and Scissors (IBA)	Sandow (IBA)
Tango (GIB)	Faith, Hope, & Charity (IMB)	Strafe der Kaiser (IMB)
Star and Garter The lower copy is an unusual advertising version, for the Minneapolis Times.	Anchor	vintage cast ABC and Keys
	CWS This is similar to the ABC puzzle - you have to navigate the horseshoe piece around the frame and off.	VIM Another maze-type puzzle similar to the ABC puzzle. (I don't have this.)
	A group shot of several versions of the Elk puzzle. The smaller examples in the center are the older ones, from vintage sets. The larger examples on the top and bottom are versions issued by Hanayama - they're marked "NOB" on one of the tabs. The other large versions are made in Taiwan.

An early ring-in-plate maze/tanglement, Gilbert's No. 893 Spider Web puzzle. The 18-step solution is in the booklet that came with the Gilbert set.	Dog and Collar, or "The Doggie Puzzle." Described in Slocum and Botermans' 1987 "Puzzles Old and New" on page 93. Two versions - sitting and standing.	The Bootlegger and His Flask, mfd by the Gardner Screw Corp. MA. Described in Slocum and Botermans' 1994 "The Book of Ingenious and Diabolical Puzzles" on page 103. I have another marked "W.R. Maxwell 88 Lafayette Ave. Brooklyn N.Y. Patent Apld"
Ryede - 787796 - Rydquist 1905 My version has three links and the shuttle - in the patent there is an extra link from which the shuttle hangs, and a ring through the top link. You can see the parts best, I think, in the patent image, in the edge-on view in the lower right. There, the shuttle has been moved from the extra link to the third link. The configuration I have is analogous to the "Dirty Dog" puzzle from Tucker-Jones House. Ryede This is an alternate configuration from that in the Rydquist 1905 patent, but using the same characteristic shuttle piece stamped "Ryede." I actually found these first, and two of them, so it's not a fluke.
Heart and String	Stars and String	Ox Yokes
Horseshoes (alt.)	Valspar U.S. Patent 1484849 - Stoppel 1924	Stars and Crescent See patent D0035115 - Forster 1901
handbag	Panama Lock - this is a modern repro of a vintage puzzle - See U.S. patent 994694 - Sievers 1911.	Tango Shoe It's tough to read and obscured by the rivet, but in the center it looks like its says "PAT 1906." I think this puzzle is a derivative of the Dorstrom Hub: U.S. Patent 819345 - Dorstrom 1906
Trio (I don't have this.)	Balkan Compare to the Trio. (I don't have this.)	Bootlegger aka Boot and Hand U.S. Patent 1519702 - Preuss 1924 But also see the earlier U.S. Patent 295665 - Mount 1884
Houddene	Milwaukee Key Maze A 2.75" square brass plate, with a brass wire "key" including a trapped ring. Remove the key from the plate - the ring gets in the way. Clever but not difficult. Stamped "MILW. WIS. F.J.O. 1939" - maybe this was homemade?	Gilbert Turtle

Waterbury 3 U		Cup and Ring (Hess C084)
The "Psycho Cycle" (Hess E009 p.37) was produced in 1976 by A. J. Koveleski. Get the handlebars piece off. You're in for confusion when you reach the back wheels.	Here is the Trickie (sic) Trike. The box says Copyright 1954, Made in Japan. So, I guess this predates the Psycho Cycle. Vinyl covered wire, and no seat. U.S. Patent D0173360 - Kerner 1954
various thin wire, including Maltese Cross, Comb	Not sure of the name. I call it "Libra." The ring does come off, with a modicum of force. Looks like Hess E130 p.39 (also see variant E138)	Kross Keys Jerry Slocum told me Kross Keys was advertised in "The Novelty News" March and May 1915 issues.
vintage Spring	The "Chilian" (sic) Puzzle.	A pair of the Chilean Puzzle. U.S. Patent 962039 - McFarland 1910 See also 1649054 - Barket 1927 See also 828880 - Falkner 1906
ABC set - Hong Kong mentioned in Slocum and Botermans' 1987 Puzzles Old and New on page 88.	Buster Brown Hess F003 Double rings with large handles aka Mutt and Jeff	Red Goose Shoes promo

B.F. Goodrich Tag Remove the string without tearing anything or bending the round green end tags.	Magic Skull Remove the skull from the string.	U-Haul Tag Remove the string without tearing anything or bending the round end tags.
Aunt Jemima	Cannon & Cord A turned wooden Cannon. See Hoffmann Chap. II No. X.	Butter Nut Bread
Van Houten's Violin	Jayne's Expectorant	Fairmont Creamery Puzzle
	Adams' Rastus

Free-the-trapped-object are kind of a distinct sub-category. Here, there will be a subtle orientation you have to find in order to get the target piece free, or a sequence of moves.

The Pop-Earth design is patented: U.S. Patent D0280430 - Holman 1985; but see also 558009 - Worrall 1896