Key Trap

Designer: Christoph Lohe

This puzzle measures: 77 mm x 55 mm x 130 mm

Material: Palisandr, Maple, Wenge, Cherry and Garapa

Move: 38

Kevin Sadler wrote about it:

“I've picked up Key Trap by Christoph Lohe next from the second batch of puzzles because it's absolutely stunningly beautiful. Everything by the New Pelikan Workshop is lovely but this is one of the most gorgeous puzzles I've seen in a long time. I also cannot resist the puzzles created by Christoph – he just seems to always find the very best sequences and combinations of moves that are possible in a shape. Here,as the name would suggest, we have a wooden lock made with lovely bevel inlays and slipfeathers in the shackle. The key is locked onto the shackle whilst being buried in the workings of the lock. Initially there is only a small amount of movement and after a little while begin to find a few more things that are possible and more wild movements are available to you. After a short while I felt I was getting somewhere and might even be able to soon remove a piece. Then, with my usual technique to aid memory of backtracking to the beginning, I realised that I was unable to remember the path and spent a rather fraught half hour trying to work it out. If you've not paid attention then the correct movement is very well hidden – it took me quite some time to find. Like most locks the key is the “key” to the solution – the position of that locked key on the shackle is the major thing to work out – you have to move it about the right way (no rotations though). Even at the end that key remains shackled in place. Reassembly from scratch is also possible if you are good at these. This is a fabulous puzzle – Christoph and Pelikan pull it off again!”