When I designed the locking mechanism, my intention was for the larger gear to be turned by rotating it in either direction by holding the teeth that are exposed at the top and bottom. This is why those parts are exposed. I found that when other people tried to open it, about half went straight to the small triangle and tried to rotate that---that would break it, though---the force would be too great for the glue to hold.  They seem to do this because they know that this part is what has to be rotated so that the triangle fits through the hole. The rest of the people move to the large gear, and try to move the little knobs on either side in the slots. I guess a side affect of using the ring and dowel to make sure the large gear rotates in place is that they become miniature handles for rotating the gear. The ring atop of the triangle is actually the highest point, so perhaps this indicates to people that this is what they must have a go at first?