K4

K4 method Information about the method Proposer(s): Thom Barlow Proposed: 2005 Alt Names: Variants: CF3L No. Steps: 7 No. Algs: Mostly commutators Avg Moves: ~120 Purpose(s): Speedsolving

K4, short for Kirjava's 4x4x4 Method, mixes Reduction, Blockbuilding, Edge pairing and Direct Solving techniques to produce a method that can quickly and efficiently solve a 4x4x4 (Revenge) cube.

It should be noted that while K4 is designed specifically for the 4x4x4 cube, it can be applied to any size of cube. Modifications can be made to make it friendlier to solve on the bigger (>=5x5x5) cubes.

Overview

The K4 Method consists of 7 steps;

1. Two opposite centres
2. Blockbuild a 1x3x4 block
3. Complete the last four centres
4. Complete the first layer
5. Rotationless F3L
6. CLL
7. 3 look ELL

Pros

Small number of rotations required

Efficient movecount

Extremely good F3L lookahead

Cons

Commutators are required for a good understanding of the method

ELL can be difficult for beginners to grasp

External links

• K4 tutorial
• K4 Thread
• Single Page PDF Guide
• Number of "K4 OLLs" in the last layer of the nxnxn cube (Puzzle Theory)