Month: April 2007

Storying telling of Epic Paddle Proportions!

This newest set of paddles from the French Craftsman, François Danis, takes story telling to a whole new level. With this set he uses all six paddles to take you on a magical journey through Japan in the Middle Ages, and what a great ride it is!

I have never seen paddles woven so extensively into a patter presentation, and I am very impressed. What I think is particularly cool is you now have a reason for these funny shaped pieces of wood – they are your story boards to explain and enhance the story. What a great idea!

These particular, paddes are made in Mahogany and the box is made in oak plywood and painted a crimson red with gold trim and symbol on the front. A very striking display to be sure.

François has been slowly, but surely growing on me and I feel quite certain that he will be around for a long time to come, and we will continue to marvel at his fresh take on beautiful magic.

Highly Recommended, and amazing value (at least for now)!

Click here for more information.

Easily The Best Drawer Box I have Seen!

Wow, the Magic Wagon guys have done it again! This drawer box would be fantastic if it was just a normal drawer box that looked this good. However, they have added a very clever mechanism that allows the drawer to be totally taken out both before and after the load has been ancomplished!

The mechanism is so well hidden once you produce the item you can pull out the drawer show it all around and show the inside of the cover too. There are no external pins or slides. It really is an incredible piece of woodworking.

If you then factor in the beautiful Teak case and interior and the Teak/Maple top you have a true wonder.

Certainly a beautiful piece of micro engineering.

You have to add this to your collection!

Most highly recommended, and of course this carries The GG Standard, as do all of the Magic Wagon Collector pieces!

Click here for more information.

Wonderful Magical Story Telling with Paddles

When I first received these paddles from the talented young French craftsman François Danis my initial reaction was great quality but they’re all the same! Well first impressions can be very deceiving! Of course when you receive a box of paddles like this you immediately compare them to Chance Wolf’s amazing Paddle Craft Set. These paddles are not the same but they still are wonderful. The materials used are not as good as Chance’s – in fact very few paddles are. However, where François really takes off is that he uses the paddles to tell stories and by so doing makes the magic bigger, bolder, and certainly more memorable than doing some quick moves with a paddle.

As we have come to expect from François the artwork is amazing and the quality of these paddles made in beautiful Walnut is superb. The display box is made from a cheaper oak plywood, but it still looks good. One of the things that is becoming obvious to me is that the choice of wood makes all the difference. If possible pay more to upgrade the woods used. Currently François’s prices are low to average and if they have to go up a bit to pay for better woods, then I think it will be worthwhile. Of course you can never go wrong with Walnut!

In, this set you have stories involving the Curse of Tut Ank Amoun which is a great story telling piece and tells of how the Great Pharaoh was poisoned and always returned to his sarcophagus. It is like a paddle version of the Wandering Mummy trick! There is a story from Greek Mythology about the fate of the heroes with Perse, Ulysse, and Hercules and the role of the dice, which again shows a wonderful slant on how paddles can be used for a complete effect rather than a quick trick. Finally, this set comes with a chalk paddle to draw whatever symbols you fancy upon – or you could do something like the wonderful routine of Jimmy Rogers: I’ll Start Again.

All in all this is a lot more than just a set of nice paddles it is magic storytelling on a stick!

Great Job François, if you had put it all in a walnut box I know this would be in The GG Standard. In fact, I believe because of the unique way you are using these paddles it does deserve a place there anyway. As I play with them more the quality is certainly there and just because they are not Paddle Craft does not mean they are not beautiful and worthy.

Highly Recommend, and amazing value!

Click here for more information.

My Favorite of the Micros so far!

Chance Wolf has never failed to deliver – whether it be high end stage resotrations, amazing kids magic, museum quality paddles, innovative stage spectacles, or his micro line. It is very clear that whatever he touches turns to gold.

The high level of quality of production, delivery, presentation, and innovation make Wolf’s Magic the number one producer of new magic today. I don’t see any other dealer comparing with the quality, originality, or value for money.

This particular micro item is wonderful and my favorite of all of his micro items. Small enough to collect and amazing enough to perform!

Keep it up Chance we know you have more to come!

Highly Recommended.

Click here for more information.

Card Go Revisited

This is a very nice item from El Duco, and although there is no mention of it in the instructions it is clearly based on the old Jack Hughes Card Go. The quality is better than the Jack Hughes version and the routine includes a nice twist that allows you to vanish the card instantly and then have it appear in an envelope. The card can even be signed.

This is certainly a nice looking prop and one of the better things that El Duco makes. The only issue I found with it was causing the card to vanish takes a bit of practice since the release requires a tilt action rather than moving a pin as in the older version. But otherwise it works everytime and the card vanish is smooth and accurate.

The whole unit packs flat for transporting.

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A Great Mini Illusion

This is a wonderful mini illusion that is great for parlour or small stage settings and it looks pretty amazing. In effect you have a card chosen and discover it is the wrong card. As punishment you fire up the fan and the audience can clearly see the fan rotating back and front. Then you put a cover on the front with two armholes and you take their card and thrust it through from the back of the fan. When you hand emerges out the front, the card has been ripped up but it has changed to their card, and your hand is unharmed, with the fan still spinning!

The motor can be heard all the time and the fan can be seen to keep spinning before, during, and after your hand goes through. This item looks just like a real fan of about 10" x 10". This makes for a great alternative to head and wrist choppers, and looks more dangerous.

Click here for more information.