Non-Reciprocal Gears

Non-Reciprocal Gears is a set of gears with ratchets. Its mechanism is related to the Non-Transitive Gears. The toy can be presented as a parlor trick. You challenge a friend to choose a gear and turn it. If their gear turns the fastest, they win. If your gear turns faster, then you win. The trick is that if you turn a gear clockwise, what most people do, then it will turn slower than the other gear. So no matter what gear they choose, they lose. But what if they ask you to turn the gear? No problem, you just turn it counter-clockwise (anti-clockwise). That way, again your gear will turn the fastest.

Watch the YouTube video.
Read at the Shapeways Forum.
Read more at the Non-Twisty Puzzles Forum.

Please order a 3D-printed do-it-yourself puzzle kit from Shapeways at this page (check with Oskar about screws and stickers), or contact Oskar directly if you are interested in obtaining a fully colored, stickered and assembled sample of this puzzle.