Shane Hales
Shane Hales is a master locksmith from England with a knack for creating wonderful puzzle locks. He is also, among his many talents, a master carpenter, and has produced a small set of ingenious wooden puzzles over the years. His designs are always cause for celebration and have the key to a great time.
It’s been a minute since we visited our old friend the locksmith so it’s high time we hail him again. Masquerading by day as Kent’s own master locksmith (when he isn’t a master carpenter), this English entrepreneur has the key to your every locked away desire.
Over the years Shane has created a number of devious and mysterious wooden puzzles, and more recently, a series of puzzle locks. He loves to restore old and vintage locks, and knows the fascinating history of his craft. It’s no wonder he comes up with such intriguing and clever mechanisms.
A few months ago, if you happened to be visiting headquarters and the spirit moved you, you would find yourself steered toward a beautiful old armoire style cabinet which was painted black and had decorative white flowers and a see through mesh which revealed a few choice bottles.
I’ve extolled Shane’s virtues as a brilliant carpenter and locksmith before, but he has some newly acquired credentials as well now. He recently joined the ranks of the prestigious U.K. Master Locksmith Association, and has started his own locksmithing business.
Welcome back to “Locks and Libations”, the erstwhile scribblings of a box collector who finds himself in possession of something distinctly … not a box … yet wishes to share the wonderful prize with the world, nonetheless.
Viper is an unassuming little rectangular box with a hole in each end and a dark provenance which forces one to contemplate the depths of one’s own puzzle psychology.
The Haleslock 2 presents a striking contrast to its predecessor. The first lock was created from a standard solid brass ABUS padlock and had a single key attached to the shackle by a tamper proof ring.
Who Dares Wins is a British television show named after the SAS (Special Air Squadron) motto. It is also now a collaborative puzzle lock box from a bunch of brilliant Dare Devils....