Box 1

I’m thrilled to welcome another designer to these pages, Phil Wigfield. I’ve admired his shiny brass puzzles for some time now, but had yet to experience any in hand. His creations have been tricky “free the washer from the bolt” type objects which have been unanimously lauded. He has recently dipped his toes into the world of trick boxes, with a phenomenal debut he promises is just the first of many. He modestly calls this little brass cube the “Box 1”.

I’m a fan of the brass puzzle boxes made by Rocky Chiaro, who once made what at least one expert considers one of the greatest puzzles in history. Rocky’s influence can clearly be seen in Phil Wigfield’s own creations, at least on the surface, but he brings an incredibly surprising playfulness to the form that is novel and quite satisfying.

Phil, who for the past dozen years has been in the food manufacturer business, told me about the evolution of his design journey and this new box.

His foray into making puzzles “came about during Covid when we weren’t allowed to go to the pub. I started to make some puzzles for the family initially until I put a few on eBay; and thus it began.” Not surprisingly, he took inspiration from a few of his favorite designers. “[T]o narrow it down you may have guessed that the top two would include Rocky Chiaro and Two Brass Monkeys (Steve and Ali).”

Phil’s prior puzzles have mostly been tricky take-apart objects. “My first two puzzles were Sticky Barrel and Spinning Tumblers of which Sticky Barrel has always been the most popular. On top of those, we have Undercover and a series of Dexterity Puzzles plus an IPP exchange puzzle. However, one that I made of which grabbed quite a bit of attention was Free the Washer.”

The idea for his Box 1 had been brewing for some time. “The initial design is something that I’ve been working on for about 12-18 months on and off. In my mind I know what I’m trying to achieve; but the how to make it work in principle and both be achievable in machining is what takes the time to work out. I enjoy some of the simplistic (so to speak) puzzles from the Karakuri creation group. I wanted to achieve a similarly designed puzzle but with a nod to Rocky Chiaro. I tried to eliminate ideas that I’ve seen and look for something that may have been overlooked previously.” Phil has certainly done it, hiding a very surprising, novel mechanism in this little cube. It never ceases to amaze me how many ways there are to fool people with a little box.

I had a chuckle at Phil’s no-nonsense name for his puzzle. It may be a bit boring, but it is also brilliant, since he plans to make future boxes with new tricks. Robert Yarger landed on just this strategy early on as well. “I’ve been known to say ‘oh it’s an easy-ish puzzle’. When you put so many of them together it becomes second nature. So why not just go with what’s natural; it’s my first box – so Box 1 it is. Brass is a great product to machine; but it comes at a cost – its density/weight. The main challenge not just with this puzzle is trying to achieve something that is aesthetically pleasing, easy to hold and play with but not so heavy it aches your wrists. As such, the box was made as small as possible with the most amount of material removed without making the walls too thin. Trial and error seems to work – and luckily as all of my machining is done by hand I can quickly make new parts of differing sizes where needed.”

Phil suggests that his original design was “a bit too easy. Luckily, I had kept aside an extra bit to the puzzle of which I added in quite last minute. When it comes to machining the puzzle it can become overcrowded inside. As such, I wanted to keep it as clean as possible from a solution point of view. One of the reasons I moved away from nut and bolt puzzles was that I felt that it was coming to a point where ideas may get merged into other puzzles. As such, I very much want each puzzle to be made of completely differing designs.

Everything was made on both my manual Lathe and Mill. Everything is handmade including the pattern on top. Yes, for countless hours I was engraving lines 3mm apart in both directions to create the pattern on top. The lathe is now about 60 years old, and it still amazes me how accurate it is. I know I don’t get the finish like you do with CNC machines, but it’s nice to be able to still produce something that is made by eye. Even though they can give you a scare sometimes; they also keep you fit hand cranking various wheels into the cutting face. The more puzzles I make, the more confident I get using different ‘functions’ of my lathe and mill. For this puzzle in particular; once open you will see fairly tight tolerances. I definitely couldn’t have achieved those a year ago on a large (ish) batch of puzzles.”

Box 1 was met with plenty of rave reviews, and everyone who has experienced (and solved) it seems to agree. It is therefore an additional pleasure to know this may be the start of a whole set. “I’ve actually got a 2nd Box puzzle that I’m currently designing. Once again I’ve stepped up both my design complexity and box functionality. Hopefully I can get a prototype finished in the next couple of months. Other than that; I’ve had my usual play around with prototypes over the Christmas period. So you never know, there may be some other ‘different’ puzzles coming out at some point.”

“I would actually just like to thank people of whom support me in making my puzzles. As long as people want to keep supporting me, I’ll keep making them.”

Thou Shall Not Be Named cocktail — Thou Shall Not Be Named by Alicia Perry

As luck would have it, I discovered an ideal cocktail to toast this little brass treasure cube with essentially, no name. You might think that finding a toast for a non-named puzzle might pose a challenge, and typically, you would be right! But this little gem fell into my inbox in what can only be considered serendipity. It’s an elegant variation on the classic Boulevardier, created by San Diego bartender Alicia Perry, who has been known to prioritize “accessibility and playfulness” in her cocktails.

Perry tends bar at my favorite spot for a cocktail in San Diego, the award winning Polite Provisions. I have featured a number of libations created there and by the bar’s owner Erick Castro over the years, and even did a feature there “on location” once. At one point, years ago, they had a little Karakuri cake puzzle box I gave them on display behind the bar. Perry’s tongue in cheek cocktail swaps agave spirits for the grain whiskey typically found in a Boulevardier, and swaps the ubiquitous Campari for a smoky rhubarb root amaro that I am also rather fond of using. It’s particularly nice when the weather turns chilly, as was the highly unusual case here in Houston recently. She describes it as “stirred and direct”, which is comforting as you succumb to the mis-direct of this charming brass box. Cheers!

Box 1 puzzle by Phil Wigfield and Thou Shall Not Be Named cocktail — a pair of no names

Thou Shall Not Be Named by Alicia Perry

1 ½ oz reposado tequila (El Tesoro)

½ oz mezcal (Del Maguey Vida)

½ oz Amaro Sfumato Rabarbaro

½ oz sweet vermouth (Cocchi di Torino)

Stir ingredients with ice and strain into a favorite glass. Lemon twist.

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What’s in a Name?

Box 1

Year of the Snache