An Improvement in Puzzles.
Year: 1891

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improvement in Puzzles.
I EDWARD PHILIP STANDLY ALDERSON of 10 Kings Bench Walk Temple in
the City of London Solicitor and of the Royal Naval Artillery Volunteers Gunner
do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
This invention consists in a piece of wood (or other suitable material) pierced
with five holes (more or less) through which are rove two strings secured at each
end to toggles beads or other objects too large to pass through the holes. The
bights of these strings are formed in a reef knot with each other and may be first
passed through one or more rings or other pierced objects or through one or more
holes in the body of the puzzle. The puzzle then is to cast off the reef knot thus
releasing the rings &c. if any and to form it again without detaching the strings
from the toggles beads or other objects (hereinafter referred to as "toggles") above
mentioned.
And for the better describing of my said invention I refer to the accompanying
figures representing a convenient form in which it may be made.
In this form five holes are used, drilled at about equal distances and at various
radial angles through a round bar, and the strings distinguished as A & B
respectively are rove as in Fig. 1-the bights passing through three loose rings
and tho central hole as drawn-the ends being secured to the toggles a a¹ b b¹.
To cast off the reef knot. First draw the knot down clear of the rings to the
position drawn in Fig. 1-seize the upper part of the bight of the string A and
draw it forward loosening the knot-taking care not to got any turns in the bight
pass it to the right (turning it over from left to right) above the single part of the
string A through the hole and over the toggle at a. Draw the bight back through
the hole and downwards making the left hand part of the string A form a cuckolds
eye around the string B. Seize the lower inside part of the cuckolds eye and draw
it forward and downward turning the bight over from right to left whereupon the
strings will be in the position of Fig. 2. It will be observed that the two parts of
the string A cross each other between the parts of the string B. Seize the nearer
of the parts of A at the cross and draw this part of A forward between the parts
of B and pass the bight thus formed of the string A through the hole and over the
toggle at a as before. A shake or light pull will then free the bights of each other
and the rings will fall off.
B
To reform the reef knot, having rove the bight of the string 13 through the rings
and central hole to its position in the figures, reeve the bight of the string A
through the bight of the string B from under upwards and pass the bight of A
over the toggle a as before returning to the position Fig. 2 by reversing the process
above detailed. Then seizing the under part of A at the cross pass it from under
up over the toggle a. Haul back the bight and the knot will be reformed.
The arrangement and number of the holes and the form of the piece of wood or
other material and of the rings toggles &c. may be considerably varied regard
being had to the following conditions-riz.―
The length of the strings and the positions of the holes must be so arranged and
proportioned that the bight of one of the strings as rove will reach following back
one of its own parts so as easily to pass over the toggle at the end of that part.
And in order to prevent the possibility of casting off the reef knot in simpler ways
than that indicated I prefer to arrange the length of the strings and the position of
the holes so that neither bight following either part of its own or the other string
will reach to pass over any toggle excepting the one only which is necessary to the
performance of the puzzle as above.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is
The puzzle or design of casting off and forming a reef knot having all four ends
secured substantially in the manner and under the conditions shown.
Dated this Eighth day of July 1891.
E. P. S. ALDERSON.