Month: September 2004

A very nice, well priced Stull Watch

This is a very nice watch that works basically like the old Stull Watches, does not cost an arm and a leg and seems to be very consistent.

Basically you take off your watch and show how the winder freely moves the hand (as it should!), you then turn it over and hand it to them so that they can move the hand to any time without seeing.

You can always predict the time. The other good news is that you can repeat it up to 3 more times without the same number recycling. The watch can be examined before and after and comes with am impressive instruction booklet featuring more than 12 different routines.

The only problem I had with this effect was that the numbers on the box that were meant to be the "random" times this watch stopped on were wrong. This is easy to resolve you just write down the numbers for your watch the first time and then you are done from then on.

If you can’t afford the Richard Gerlitz Prediction Watch, then this is the one for you. One thing to be wary of: some of the early watches actually had the name "Timetrix" on the face – the instructions are printed that way but the watch itself has TmX on the face. When ordering yours you might want to ensure that you have TmX on yours. It seems a bit strange why they would go to the effort of creating what looks like a normal watch, and then stamp the name Timetrix on it!

Highly Recommmended!

Click here for more information.

For Collector’s Only

This is probably the worst effect in the current Joe Porper Line. The effect holds great promise, the box is well made and looks nice.

The premise is you show the black box, with hole running through the middle and show a bolt that goes through the hole and then you add a full deck of cards and clearly demonstrate that the bolt cannot go through the deck. Then after the magic incantation you ask the spectator to push down on the bolt and it goes all the way in penetrating the deck. You can then pull out the bolt and hand everything out for examination.

However, it has some serious angle issues and takes some real talent to pull this off without exposing the method. I found the box just too difficult to seriously use. I also found it strange that although there is a hole running from top to bottom you cannot show the bolt coming out of the bottom after the so called penetration.

Anyway if you are collecting the Porper Line you’ll have to get this, otherwise I really think you will be dissappointed with it.

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Professor Hoffman your Coin Wand is here!

Ever since I saw the Coin Wand in Hoffman’s Modern Magic (page 203 in my edition) I have always thought this was a cool utility device. Until this baby arrived I had never actually seen one up close.

The wand is nicely made and works very smoothly. It allows you to vanish and appear as many dollar sized coins as you fancy – without any difficult sleights or moves.

The choice of a Dollar coin as opposed to a Half Dollar is interesting: on the one hand the coins are clearly visible from quite a distance, but the downside is the wand has these unusual slightly flared ends to accomodate the size of the coin. I do most of my magic in close-up and parlour settings these days, so I would have preferred the smaller sized coins with less of a flare. However, if you are using this in the bigger venue then you probably won’t even notice the taper and you really benefit from the bigger coin. It is probably a small point, but worth mentioning.

Otherwise, this is another fine magic utility from Joe Porper.

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Beautiful Dice Cup

If you are into dice stacking or you just like pretty utility items then this Dice Cup from Joe Porper is sure to please. This won’t make it any easier to actually do the Dice Stacking, but at least you will look good trying.

It is tall enough to handle 6 dice comfortably, made with polished silver metal, and wrapped with genuine alligator skin, and lined on the inside.

If you saw Fred Kaps do his simple Dice Stacking on his recent DVD you’ll know how cool and amazing it looks. And with a Porper cup how can you go wrong?

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Nicely made and clever.

This is a nice piece from Joe Porper. It comes in the easily identified hard wood case and is made in Joe Porper’s popular anodized aluminum style.

The effect is simple enough. You show the nut in the box and ask a spectator to thread the bolt into the nut. It clearly is very solidly threaded into the bolt.

You have the spectator unscrew the bolt and then you show them how using magic you can thread it instantly. And this is what you do, one minute it is not threaded on the bolt and the next second it is – no covers or anything to hide. The whole unit can be examined both before and after.

The box is a mechanical gem and has great potential too fool you. The only real problem I have with this effect is: why do you need the black box at all? Why can’t you just thread the bolt on the nut in an instant without the box? Of course that would not make for an expensive collector item, but it would look more magical. But enough of this heracy – the box is beautifully made and the mechanism is clever.

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This Miracle isn’t cheap, but it is Beautiful!

This is clearly one of the best of the Modern Joe Porper line. It is beautifully made, it is quite stunning when performed properly and it employs a clever mechanism. So it fills the Craftsmanship, Ingenuity, and Entertainment checklists of the Very Best Magic. Later in the year Digital Cheetah will be developing a new website that just features The Best Magic, and this is precisely the sort of effect you will find there.

It arrives in a solid (and heavy!) hardwood presentation case and comes with a detailed booklet of instructions with lots of photos. To do justice to this effect will take some practice, but that is a good thing as we all know. The moves are certainly not difficult and the killer ending with the Al Koran inspired pen is accomplished all too easily!

The price at $695 is up there! But, unlike some of the other effects in this line, I believe you will be happy with it, and once you perform it you will for sure feel confident you have made a great choice. The dealer ads say this is a limited edition, but no mention is made of how limited the edition is. But if you are tempted to get one I suggest you get one soon – the amount of work to build these is by no means trivial so the supply will eventually run out.

Click here for more information.

Wow! This is incredible!

One look at the Collector’s Workshop Spirit Cabinet from Master Craftsman George Robinson makes you fall in love with beautiful magic all over again!

What a rare treat to open up a box and be totally blown away by the craftsmanship. Not only is this little cabinet incredible to behold, it comes with a box full of goodies too, with 9 pages of instructions and 7 routines. Talk about incredible value for your dollar.

This has to be one of the best buys in magic on all levels: value, sheer beauty, number of routines. I honestly don’t know how George can produce these at such a low price. You should get one before they run out.

I’ll post a longer review when I have studied the detailed instructions that come with this. In the meantime, if you have any doubts that Viking/Collector’s Workshop are producing some of the finest magic today – just buy this single piece and you will understand.

So very highly recomended, it hurts!

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Slightly Dark but Unique Art!

This set of prints from the talented artist Kreg Yingst are wonderful for the magic Den. He has 52 different designs and if you are looking to create a new Rainbow deck then contact Kreg as he would love to work with someone in the industry who could spearhead their publication.

He has some other amazing paintings and magic related artwork on his website. Be sure to check them out!

He’s a real nice guy too!

Click here for more information.