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)	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.

[27]

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 equal to Puzzletts's Jigsaw, Hess E022) Handcuffs (identical to Horseshoes) Silent Partner (identical to Uncle's Fooler) Sleight of Hand Sputnik (see Hess E037)	Abracadabra Aftermath Dead End Have a Heart! (identical to TJ Double Bypass) Mousetrap Pyramid Scheme Spirit is Willing Weathervain	Astroknot Ball and Ring (identical to Ball and Chain) Centipede Chinese Rings Keyring Companion (Unsolvable!) Mexican Standoff Paper Clip Pentangle (identical to Uncle's Pentangle)	Pinetree Quadrangle (Chilean) Slingshot Squaring Off Triple Play Tripwire (identical to Uncle's Suffacator) Trouble Clef Wedge (eq. Wit's End w/ loop)

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'. Here's what I've got so far:

Double Vision	Equalizer	The Astroknot	The Mexican Standoff (Hess C282 p.24)	The Slingshot
The Virus (discontinued)	Arrow (discontinued)	Pyramid Scheme	Sleight of Hand	Abracadabra
Mousetrap	Weathervain

[12]

Puzzle Master in Canada also offers nice lighter-weight tanglements.

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
Silent E	Blue Knight	Man of War	G Factor	Puzzlemaster offers this really nice version of Dick Hess' design "The Yak."

[20]

Here are puzzles in the Family Games line. The items in my collection are noted in bold. The others are shown for reference.

ToysGamesPuzzles (aka Turn Off the TV) offers many of the IQ Collection puzzles in sets (look under Brain Puzzles). They've recently undergone some re-packaging and re-naming. Puzzlesusa.com also has some. Select the "Brain Bender Puzzles" theme, and scroll past all the darned Scramble Squares (page 4)...

Educational Learning Games also has them.

Abacus	Brain Baffler	Brain Bender IQ Co. New Zealand	Brain Buster
Brain Drain	Brain Game	Brain Spiral (Hess E016 p.37)	Brain Strain
Brain Tester	Brain Twister	Clench	Cuckoo's Nest
Dipper	Duress	Fantastic Five	Granville
Grape Grief	Gripper	Handcuff	Heartbreaker
Iron Maiden	Mirror Image	Owl	Periscope
Pulley	Shackle	Weaver	Wedding Vows
Yank	Brain Burden	Sproing	Mental Maneuver

There are some dexterity/balancing puzzles in their line, as well as other types.

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

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

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.

Step

Love Secret

Step in Future

Symbol

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]

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"

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.

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

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?	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.

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, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006:

"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 Hess...

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