By Vurdlak on March 2, 2007, with 167 Comments
This is an awesome puzzle. I just found it on the net, and apparently it’s very tough, but not unsolvable. You should find a way to get the lock unlocked, and take the key that is locked by it. Only solution I found, is to buy two of these, hoping that both locks can be unlocked with the same key. Other than that, I’m stuck. Can you help me solve this? This is the newest addition to our Toys category. Some of you asked, why is that category named like this: Well, even though it is consisted of puzzles, toys and DIY (do-it-yourself) articles, somehow I decided “Toys” name would suit it the best. You can check it out, and tell me your opinion, I have just updated all the links, and you should find dozen of more cool articles there. But first, let’s solve this puzzle below. Maybe this what we see is instead optical illusion, and maybe the solution is not as hard as we think. I really don’t know. Enjoy!
Update: This lock is called Danlock, and I just wrote second post about it. Check it here.
(12 votes)
whats the broken key for? did that come with it or something?!?
first post!!!!!!!!!!!1
cut the key out?????
There’s a lot of puzzles like these that look impossible but are very deceiving. The lock probably just pulls out.
seems quite easy. the broken key gives the “illusion” that it is useless, but really its quite helpful. shove the 1st half of the broken key down the lock, then the second half to follow, slowly turn it and the lock is free………i think.
Copy the key @ the shoe repair shop ;-)
Take the puzzle to a key-cutter who’ll duplicate the locked key….
take the lock and key combo to the hardware store. Have a copy made of the intact key. use it to unlock. Throw the broken key in the recycle bin.
plz, stop with these, “first post!” its ridiculous.
maybe, the key that’s cut is a clue…
I would stick the broken key into the lock. All the teeth are on it and the remaining piece has enough of a stem to it to still turn the lock. Then open it, take off the good key and throw the whole useless thing away – the price of a good time! :-)
Xan Shui
This is simple. Put the broke peice in the lock. Push it all the way in with the peice you turn. There is still enough of the trun shaft to open the lock. The only problem is you will have an open lock with a peice stuck in it.
I think you should put the broken piece in the lock and then stick the rest of the key in behind it and try to unlock it. If it unlock you would have lost half of the broken key in the lock but at least you go the key off the lock with out cutting the key off.
Put the broken end of the key into the lock, and then insert the other half behind it and you should be able to turn it to open it. I had a broken key like this at my last job so I know it would work.
You should be able to insert the broken key bits into the lock and undo it the padlock. I have done this in reality, although not with this particular product
Presumably the puzzle is that the you’ve got to get the first key out and you have another key but it’s broken?
take the lock and key to a hardware store and have them make a copy. it’s not locked onto anything.
If you do have the broken key, you could push the long piece of key into the lock, shove it right in then push the head of the broken key into the lock after it and then turn.
you can still use the key. now you just have a big key chain. and i agree with the guy above, just break the top part off, then take it to walmart and get a new key made (technology these days… crazy, just crazy).
Just use the broken key anyway? should still turn?
but if you put the broken part of the key in lock, you can’t take it out anymore… then you can throw the lock in garbage…
?
i dun know crazy glue the broken pieces together then open it??
There are three keys. There is a hole in the pouch that make it look like one is broken. One key is sticking in and the other is sticking out.
I think the lock is actually open, that’s the illusion. you can’t the see the far end of it; it’s open! just slide the key off!
I think alot of you are missing a key point: there is absolutely nothing important that the lock is being used for except for the key to the lock itself. Instead of getting the key crafted again why not use the money towards another lock??? Possibly a combination lock?
It sounds like this is a puzzle, which means there is a trick somewhere. So “take it to the locksmith and get a new key cut” is not the answer. Similarly, any answer that can only work once is not correct.
My guess is that we can’t figure it out solely from the picture.
Some possible solutions:
1) The key on the lock can be removed without unlocking the lock. In other words, the key can be slipped off through a hidden break.
2) The lock has an alternate way of unlocking. Hidden switch or something like that.
3) The keyhole only requires the short part of the key to open the lock. Don’t shove the other part into the lock or you will lose it.
There really is no problem here. You still have full access to the key that is on the lock. Pick up the lock and attached key, and go open whatever you’re after.
Ta-da!
I would weld the broken key and then break the lock with my teeth
It’s obvious that post #23 is the right answer. Period!
There Is A Hole In The Pouch And The 3rd Key Is Pokng Out Diagonally. Oh Yes Easy Peasy lol
‘seeezy. I’d use Photoshop.
I would just throw it away and buy a key and lock seperate or …. figure it out later
Did anyone else happen to notice that the teeth on the broken key are different than the teeth on the locked key? That being the case, which key will actually unlock the lock?
What is with all you people. Do you not read the posts before you make a post. On almost every illosion I see on this great site,
people are posting exacly the same solutions or comments. It really gets anoying because other people might think that you just stole the idea from one of the other posts.
Glue the broken key back together, open the lock with it, this allows you to to open it without having a broken key stuck in it.
the key attached to the lock is too new. There must be some thin superglue inside the lock to take out, fix the key then turn the lock. There might be another lock hole
(A) If you actually needed to get the key off the lock (say the lock were actually a rather large cage instead of something portable),
(B) if you wanted the lock to be usable after you got the key off, and
(C) if you did not have access to a third key (as other posts suggest you might), here’s what you could do…
(1) Make a small incision in the side of the key, down to the point of the bolt.
(2) Pry open the incision with needle nose pliers to form a chasm.
(3) Remove the lock through that chasm.
(4) Use the pliers again to bend the key metal back to its original form.
(5) Use a drop of solder to seal the original incision in the key.
(6) Walk away with both key and lock intact.
Problem solved! :-D
Duh ppl, the number on the broken key gives the pin setting of the lock, once that is know … with a lockpick kit … it’s cake
props to post 23 who saw the illusion and thus the answer!
read it, say “Oh cool!”, and move on with your lives
:)
I’d just use a hairpin.
Buy a hacksaw, cut the lock into a thousand tiny pieces, eat three of them, hug a tree, and then it will be solved.
It appears that the top half of the “broken” key does not belong to the second half of the key below it. It looks like the toothed part of the key is only part of a key sticking out of a hole in the bag. If you were to put the broken half’s together the key would be too short to operate the lock.
First of all, we are presented this picture as a puzzle. So solutions which involve a trip to your local hardware store for a duplicate key, boltcutter, cutting torch…etc are obviously not going to be the answer. We also must assume that there is a specific reason we need to get the key from the lock.
A zoomed in [paste into photoshop] look revealed that the key on the lock does not have the same tooth patern as the [apparent] broken key laying on the bag. Therefore, one would surmise that the key on the bag is intended for the lock, and the key on the lock is intended for another lock not present in the picture. I propose that one scenario in which we need to remove the key from the lock is that the keyhole this key fits in belongs to a door with a recessed hole small enough that disallows the key entry into the door because the padlock is too large to fit. If it helps, this should set the stage for ‘why’ we need to solve the puzzle.
A few obvious solutions (like those mentioned above such as inserting both pieces of the key in the lock, or simply twisting the key on the lock until it breaks free, are all viable solutions. However, in the spirit of puzzle solving, destruction of any part of the puzzle (the lock no longer functioning…a deformed key) do not seem to be the answer by not fitting the spirit of the problem. One tends to shy away from the obvious answers anyway because what kind of puzzle would it be if it were that easy?
The idea that I see as most plausible is the one that suggests that the puzzle combines a puzzle with an optical illusion…creating a solution of the picture containing TWO fully functioning keys; both partially hidden in the fabric of the bag in such a way as to present it as a single key. The zoomed in inspection of the image did not reveal any clues to discredit this idea.
Interesting puzzle. It would be nice if someone encountered the actual solution, and could link to it.
Off the subject, I have two questions.
1) Why does anyone make such a big about being the first post? Especially when repeatedly posters attempt to claim it….the 4th or 5th post down….
2} Does anyone actually read any (or all) of the posts above them?
OMG pick the lock with a bobby pin or something just pick the lock. that’s how u get in to locked rooms when u dont have a key.DUH!
umm just buy a new one and throw the whole useless thing away whats the point anyway hahahahahaaaaaa O.o
i agree with 23 and 29
This is not a logic puzzle that you solve by looking at the photo. It’s a DanLock.
the key is not broken. the ridges on the broken part dont seem to match the key thats on the lock. so the piece we see with the ridges is apart of another key. so then that would mean there are 3 keys total. open the bag take out the other keys & then unlock the lock.
Do you people know how stupid you make yourselves look?
who to say that the key on the lock is for the lock you may jst have to use the key with the lock attached or cut the lock off
Its realy easy there are 3 keys 1 is stuk with the lock, another one is broken and there is other in the bag, but the bag is not broken and has half key in because in that case you would see the shadow of the top part of the borken key.
Post #23 looks good. click on image to get a bigger photo then zoom right in. Looks like there is indeed a key poking through a hole and there is a broken piece of key laid on top to make it look like the two halves of one broken key.
But how to get that good key key out of the bag through such a small hole…?????
Any ideas?
Poster #23 has the correct answer…the “broken” key is not broken…it is sticking out of the bag. Look carefully at the fold of cloth that appears to separate the two “pieces” of the “broken” key.
I think it’s post # 23. That makes sense. What’s the answer Vurdlak???
There is no way the hole in the key is big enough for the lock to fit through, therefore there’s a break in the lock and the key is sitting in the break. Maybe the broken key is what’s supposed to give us that clue.
Also, one can’t just assume the key on the lock is the key FOR the lock, therefore even though the key FOR the lock might be broken, you can still use the key on the lock (assuming the hole in the key really IS big enough for the lock to fit through like that)
i think that there is another key, the part that looks broke off is another key tucked in the fabric.
use a paper clip to open the lock. easy as that.
i think that there is another key, the part that looks broken is actually another key tucked into the fabric
FIRST:
If you’ll notice, the Broken key cannot possibly fit in the keyway of the lock. They don’t match.
SECOND:
The top of the key around the lock is cut and can be twisted off.
THIRD:
Take the number off of key and have one cut.
By the way, the broken key doesn’t have the same pattern as the attached key
The lock is made in Israel. Now we know that this cannot be true because everything they have of any value is made in the US. So my conclusion is that the lock doesn’t really exist and the whole thing is an illusion not meant to be thought about very much
duhhh you qould go to get a duplicat of it but MAKE SURE NOT TO MAKE A DUPLICATE OF THE BROKEN ONE! there not the same key broken one = triangle bumps….. locked kew = wiered bumps…..
There is a code on the broken key, which can be used to order a duplicate key.
Phil
The assumption is the broken key is used on this lock. Look closer, the teeth are different. The real (second) key is in the bag.
The broken key serial number starts with a D, while the key on the lock starts with an N. The real second key is still in the bag.
This is a puzzle, not just an ordiary lock. I have seen this one before. The keys dont have anything to do with openng the lock. It is very imaginative.
the best, quickest, and least expensive way by far is take pair side cutters (wire cutters ) cut the key were it goes threw lock at the narrowest point, snip once then bend tab over. there by opening lock without going to store at all and no broken key is left in lock .. was easyyyy
u could just put glue of the 3 key and put it in the lock keep it there for 3 days then take it out
The broken key has a code on it. A locksmoth can make a new key from that code
take wire cutters, and cut the lock. remove the key. melt useless junk in large fire.
well im cuban and dominican lol so since im ghetto, i wudd juszt like superglu the key togethr nnd open tha lock then throw it awayyyy my brain hurts just thinkin bout it………………………..
lol … i would say that if u put the broken bit in and use the other to turn will …
Render the Lock Useless.
Now you have a broken part of the key in the lock u cant get out.
y is every1 so ridiculously dense?
can u not tel that bcos the hooped part of the padlok is faced away 4rm us it is obvious that it isnt lokd and infact u can just slide the key off!
sorry 2 ruin it but i just had to
Hey,
just the put the long end of the broken key in the lock first, just as you would if it was not broken, then put the broken key handle (with the number code on it) and turn it, they should both turn together, then it should unlock.
23 is completely wrong and totally unimaginative. take a look at this site all about the puzzle. you can clearly see it is not three keys.Do you really think the puzzle would be as easy as just using a third key? thats not a puzzle, thats called, “not being and idiot”
http://www.abstractstrategy.com/2-danlock.html
I think the guy above who talked about the spirit of this puzzle had the best approach.
Yes there could be another intact key poking through a hole in the bag – I mean why is the bag there anyway?
The fact that it doesn’t match the other key doesn’t mean that this one won’t fit the lock.
Failing that perhaps if you pushed the broken end in to the lock followed by the top part of the key you could still turn the lock using the small part of the top half that is inside the lock.
If you stick the bottom portion of the key into the lock you can use a screwdriver or something else to turn it.
“Hole in The Bag” is a red herring solution.
!) Insert broken end into lock and then insert remaining end and open.
2) Remove large end of key.
3) Hold open the lock and slam bottom of lock on a flat, smooth surface. That will extend the inside keypart to the opening by inertia.
4) Snap the lock shut so that the cyliders are reset to locked position.
5) Smartly Snap the lock down again on the edge of table but this time so that the broken end and keyhole are not obstructed.
6) Out pops the broken tip!
first of all.. the whole key doesnt go in it, you could use the bottom of the broken key and put it in there, and turn it with the top of the broken half, it never says you have to be able to take the other half of the key out.
if you look at the keys you will see that they are not cut the same
provided the locked key is the correct key for the lock, simply remove i.e. break, cut, etc..the toothed end from the lock, slide it into the key hole and with the grip end of the original broken key, used to turn it open, however the puzzle can only be preformed once and some how i doubt this is the solution.