Chinese Nine Linked Rings

Puzzle: Chinese Nine Linked Rings
Brand: N/A
Designer: Zhuge Liang
ST: ~30 m

Nine Linked Rings

This is the Chinese Nine Linked Rings puzzle. Although being famous not much puzzlers seem to have it. It has been manufactured by quite a lot companies, and goes on to have many styles. This puzzle also have quite a history to it. It was invented by Zhuge Liang, a chinese teacher who also invented other things and led many successful battles. According to history he had invented this puzzle for his wife to play with when he's at war.

Half-Solved

The puzzle has basically two parts, the "sword" and the rings. Nine rings entangle with the sword and with each other, and your task is to take out the "sword". The puzzle is based on a simple principle, and for a ring to be taken on or off you have to meet certain requirements, so that's why you are taking them  repeatedly on and off to try and get the puzzle solved. For example, when you want to get the ninth ring off, the eighth has to be on, and in order to do that, the seven has to be on... In total there's 341 steps to take all rings off, and boy, won't that hurt!

Separated... 341 steps!!!

This puzzle is not particularly fun to solve, as it's just doing the same thing over and over again, but still,  logic thinking is required. I would not recommend it to serious puzzlers, but juniors would receive lots of fun. The Nine Linked Rings can be gotten from MrPuzzle.