I have had my Dean’s Box for obviously a long time that I am writing this review in 2023. It has never been out of the house and never performed except for my girlfriend and today. I purchased it from Dean and being Dean, and how nice he was, he reached out to me letting me know it would be late getting to me. Dean even followed up with a phone call to me and I couldn’t believe that it was Dean from California on the phone. Such a good guy and such class! The reviews you read about this box are not all hype by magicians or magic circles. I cannot say anything that Andy or what magicians say about it. Beautiful, mysterious and will keep your audience amazed!
Review by Jon Wilson for Nana's Necklace by Dean Dill
5 out of 5
I have used this piece of magic many times and it always will surprise your spectator that is a volunteer and the audience. A very good close up trick that in the day, didn’t cost a lot. The only reason it is expensive now is because one of the greatest and nicest magician’s, Dean Dill is gone. His magic lives on though. It is magic that happens in the spectators hands and that is the most impressive and open magic you can ask for. Highly recommended!
Review by Andy Martin for Mystery Blox by PropDog, Steven Macrow, Nicholas Dakin
3 out of 5
Since 2019 the Mystery Blox as been my version of choice. But sadly I have gone back to John Kennedy’s Mystery Box II due to reliability issues.
I was practicing with the Mystery Blox this holiday season and the gimmick came apart unexpectedly. I replaced it which was relatively smooth. However, my Mystery Blox has never been the same. I tried it on some friends and it went drastically wrong twice. I even tried a brand new box from PropDog and had the same issues.
It is true if you really work it in you should be fine, however the more you work it in the less life the gimmick has, so now you are stuck between a rock and a hard place. If you work it in too little it can fail you, and if you work it in too much it will also fail you by breaking on you when you least expect it.
So as much as I love this box and idea it certainly can be more unpredictable than the original Mystery Box and as a result I have now switched back to as my go to set: https://www.martinsmagic.com/allmagic/cards/mystery-box-ii-by-john-kennedy/ . I just don’t have the time or inclination to deal with issues that can arise with this box.
Review by Mike Adams for Harbin Table (Aluminum) by WholeSalingMagic
5 out of 5
My wife surprised me with mine around the year 2000. She paid a whopping $400! from a dealers booth at a magic convention.
It was a new item so later as with certain items the price went way down. I did use it extensively at shows. It is very sturdy and gives a professional look to the stage.
I still have it and love how it packs so flat and almost sets up automatically with it’s spring hinges.
Review by Andy Martin for Bathroom Key (#7 of 8) by Clifton Mitchell, Satoshi Toyoda
5 out of 5
Clifton Mitchell is a true perfectionist. He doesn’t take on many projects but when he does you can be sure the finished product will be gold 🙂
This item, which is Clift’s version of the Mikame Craft effect Mystery Key Holder that was invented by Satoshi Toyoda, is a real delight. It is one of the very few items (out of thousands) that has ended up in my Gig-Rig ready for action anytime in the future.
Although the idea behind the original Mikame Craft version is a stroke of genius the version they sold has a number of limitations. Clift has addressed all of those issues and then some. Most importantly he made the key look like a common place item, rather than an obvious magician’s prop, and created an interesting and amusing line of patter to go along with it.
More than any other effect I am looking forward to trying this out over the holidays, and I’m quite confident it will drive them wild. Thank-you Clift for letting me have one of these as I know you have a lot of demand for your products, I love it 🙂
Review by John Talbot for Playing Card Dissection by Magic Wagon
5 out of 5
I ended up liking this release much more than I thought I would. Love how it mimics a classic stage illusion. I located a miniature hand saw online which I think adds a bit and contributed a nice sound effect to the sawing action. :). Below are links to a couple of videos of me having fun with it. Apologize in advance for how many times I utter the word classic in one of them 🙂
Review by Andy Martin for Locking Card Box by Milson-Worth
5 out of 5
This is Milson-Worth’s version of the card box and it’s a masterpiece. The cover is heavy duty, solid walnut construction with a distinctive look to it to stand out from the many popular models out there. There would be no mistaking that this is a Milson-Worth card box.
One feature that stands out is the cover can be freely handled as the “flap” is a lockable one, both before and after the transformation. Don’t recall ever seeing this added touch in the many boxes out there. The locking and release mechanism is cleverly built into the cover and entirely under your control.
As with the famous painted MW line, Lyn Johnson also demonstrates his skills with woodworking on this item and it ranks among the best I have seen. Definitely, one of my favorite MW pieces in my collection.
Review by Jon Wilson for Cleopatra's Jewelry Chest (Orrin's 3-in-1 Ring on Rod) by Limited Edition Magic
5 out of 5
Just received this the other day and what a beautiful trick. Not only are the workings cleverly designed, but also, it is a wonderful piece to have in your collection. It is also displays great. Just like the routine reads, there are no duplicate bracelets used in the trick, which just mystified me. When I first seen one of these up for bid at an auction, I wanted to get one. I can honestly say that I am very happy I found this one and very happy with the purchase and adding it to my collection.
Warren Hamilton’s Jo-Anne – The Improved Card Duck has been the Card Duck standard for many years. The paint job is amazing and the mechanism to pick the ducks is consistent and reliable.
Jo-Anne’s Country Cousin (featured on this page) (c. 1963)
The main differences with the original and The Cousin are:
Bright colored paint-job with much brighter and bolder eyes and lashes 🙂
Beautiful looking straw hat with metal clip so the hat does not fall off.
Small colored egg release on the base with lever to keep them in place until you are ready.
Otherwise the actual card picking mechanism is basically the same. Though I will say this Cousin is probably the most reliable duck I have ever tried. In tests I picked up twenty cards one after the other without a single skip or miss. That is one reliable duck 🙂
Performing Dickie and Jo-Anne for over forty years has helped me realize that it really doesn’t really matter what the prop looks like as most of the magic emanates from the performer. It does help if the duck can actually pick the cards smoothly on queue, but most of the other tweaks and improvements pale when compared with a solid routine and a charismatic performance.
This is true for most magic effects and why the best performers have relatively few actual effects in their repertoire because the audience wants to see the person perform almost regardless of what effect they actually perform.
That being said how could anyone not fall in love with Jo-Anne’s Country Cousin? 🙂
Review by Jon Wilson for Supreme Prediction Chest by Magic Wagon, GEM Magic
5 out of 5
What can I say about this little chest that I was on the fence about purchasing over a year ago? When the Supreme Prediction Chest came out, I was on the fence about purchasing it and by the time I wanted to purchase, it was out of stock.
I decided to finally purchase one I found available and I could not be happier! I should have take Andy’s review and the video Madison presented and got this piece when it first came out. Fast forward to 9/23 and a performance for 3 different groups of people after receiving this effect. The audience reaction is what tells me if a trick is really good and it makes me happy at the same time. That is what happened today.
If you can get your hands on one, get it. If your a performer or just a collector. It is well worth it.
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