5 Stars

This is another effect invented by Magiro that Howie Schwarzman sold, through his Limited Editions Magic line.  The Ring on Sword Illusionette is actually Magiro’s Cleopatra´s Ring. Magiro sold these nicer versions to Domenico Dante who ran Progetto Magia in Italy.  Howie, then purchased them, renamed them and translated the instructions.  Although Magiro was not mentioned in the instructions, which is a common practice in magic, he did sell them initially to Progetto Magia so all is right with the world 🙂

Whichever version you have it is a wonderful effect. The method is quite unique in the world of Sword Thru Ring effects though it does take a little practice to make it smooth and you are not as free to show the items as in some other effects. In particular neither the sword nor the ring can be examined.

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One of my favorite Alan Warner effects is Mini Mental and I still think it is one of the cleanest and cleverest pieces of mentalism that Alan (or anyone else) has produced.  In 2016 Magic Wagon released their Elite Premonition which took Alan’s idea and made it easier to perform. The great German craftsman Will Wessel also created his wonderful version called Colored Number Blocks.

Back in 2019 Thomas Pohle released what is probably the cleverest version of all – The Ultimate Block Prediction. It is different from all of the above versions and is easily the cleanest and most perplexing I have seen.  No matter how closely you look everything looks 100% above board – you can look from all angles there is nothing to see and nothing to hide.   And yet no matter which order of blocks and numbers the spectator chooses the magicians prediction is always correct. 

This is Color version which has been improved again and produced in even more limited numbers. It improves on Thomas’ previous version in these way:

• in addition to predicting the numbers chosen by the spectator – the reveals also match the color of the block!
• more importantly – the construction of the blocks has been upgraded.
• it’s possible to reveal them with the numbers written in your own hand on a white backing written in the same color as the block.

Even if you are familiar with the other versions, you will likely still be fooled by this version. You will marvel at how smoothly this bad boy operates – it is amazing! 

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David Regal’s Color Changing Knives are a custom-made four knife set that really deliver 🙂  I’ve owned dozens of sets of knives but I must say how very impressed I am with these new knives from David Regal.  Not only are they a perfect size at 3″, they are a good weight and have a good heft in the hand without being too heavy.  And the routine is perfect and logical with a novel climax that makes sense.

Also the very useful online video that comes with the knives is perfect.  David cleanly and swiftly takes you through all the possible moves you could want and he teaches them so well, most of them don’t even seem like moves or sleights.  If you are just getting into the color changing knives, this is really a great routine to start with but even if you are a seasoned professional there is enough here to keep you happy and thinking.

And at $125 they are also priced well too, a really wonderful package you should not miss out on 🙂

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This is an overlooked beauty from Alan. Firstly this is not a drawer box, although it looks like one and could easily be confused for one. It uses a method that I have not seen in any other Alan Warner piece and in fact I can’t think of another prop that uses the same method.

What is clever about this effect is that instead of switching one thing for another as a standard drawer box would do, it allows you to add the coins to the existing card and single gold coin. What this means is you could have the card or coin signed or you could do more with less space. Once you see it you will notice what I am talking about. But when I opened this up I was very pleased to see the new, clever, and very deceiving method.

Of course it looks colorful and beautiful too so if you were looking for a neat item to add to your collection and you missed this the first time around, this is it.

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Magic Wagon items have become very popular over the last few years. Mental Case is from their early days and was produced by Tony Curtis and it utilizes the strengths of Magic Wagon for creating beautiful clean boxes coupled with the clever and devious thinking of the amazing Steve Cook.

The Mental Case box has several custom features that make this a self-contained and clean prediction of any of the five ESP symbols boldly displayed on the top of the box.  Although this uses multiple outs,  each revelation is almost as strong the next and you’ll leave the spectator quite convinced you knew precisely what they would choose. 

There is almost no memory work and once you try it a few times you will quickly remember what to do – all of the revelations are quite striking. Not to mention this box just slips in your pocket and is ready to go.  This is all thanks to Steve Cook carefully thinking through the revelations, including:

• The only card in the window.
• The only card in the lid.
• The only card turned face up.
• The only blank card.
• The only card to penetrate the box.

This is one you’ll love the look of and actually use 🙂

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Created by Nick Ruggiero and Rich Bloch from an idea by Woody Pitman.  This is another of the amazing effects created by Nick and Rich in the early days of Collectors’ Workshop and for some reason has not been remade since George Robinson took over, and so they are quite rare now.  Although the effect is similar (particularly to the spectator) to CW’s other coin routine, Coin Classic, this method is very different.  There is no deck of cards between the glasses and the glasses and coins can be minutely examined as they are not gimmicked. 

There is a sophisticated mechanism involved that makes the whole thing work, but in looking at the props you would never guess and it creates a very effective and deceptive presentation.  A little audacious to be sure, but some of CW’s best items are.  This is one that will most certainly fool them and with a little practice to get the timing right you’ll have a real treat on your hands, and you’ll love the method too 🙂

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Wow, these weights are really amazing and beautiful!  They are made of solid brass, look and feel perfect and come with a clean and entertaining routine that is taught perfectly by Bob Sheets and Glenn Morphew.  The weights are even nicer than the Jim Riser ones which were the gold standard for many years. Just amazingly solid and there is no way you can spot the gimmick, it is perfect (I can’t pick it out from the line-up without looking first) 🙂

The routine created by Bob Sheets and Glenn Morphew is also one of the best Matrix routines I have seen and Bob & Glenn clearly spent months refining and improving it.  It is taught perfectly by Bob Sheets and Glenn Morphew (in separate sessions) on the included 53 minute DVD. They have made it as easy as possible to perform and it is funny and entertaining too.

If you ever wanted to perform a Matrix/Chink-a-Chink routine this has it all:

• Beautiful Solid Brass Weights
• Perfect seamless gimmick
• Clean and Entertaining Routine
• Clear and Easy to Follow Video directions from both Bob Sheets and Glenn Morphew

Just watch Bob’s performance and I think you will look at this classic effect in a whole new light.  Amazing, funny stuff 🙂

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When I first saw this a few years ago I missed getting one primarily because I was happy with the wonderful Cesaral Spirit Bell (I even brought one of each!).  However, I recently picked up Death Toll and am very pleased that I did.  Although the Cesaral has a bunch of extra programmable features they are only any good if you plan on using them, and most of us use a Spirit Bell to ring the bell unattended, and nothing else.  This is where Death Toll excels.  Not only does it look 100% genuine, the bell is very clear and loud and you can actually see the plunger pushed. It looks wonderful!

Death Toll is extremely authentic looking too.  In fact when I first received it I thought there is no way this is not a real bell retrofitted. I looked into it further and found out that Taylor Imagineering had these built from the ground up just for this effect.  It also uses two standard AAA batteries, and even the top bell can be removed to see all the innards inside – there looks like nothing going on except the ringer.

Death Toll comes in two versions: the Bright Finish (featured on this page) and the Antique Finish. Although I often go for the antique finish, in this case I went for the Bright Finish as I have mainly seen bright and shiny bells at all the hotels I have visited.  Both versions are the same otherwise and they all sound amazing.

The remote works perfectly and you can ring the bell about once every second, you have to wait for the ringer to fall back before it can be rung again, which is just like a real desk bell in fact. There is also an extra toe switch that you get so you can operate this 100% hands free.  The toe switch plugins into the remote so you don’t have to have wires going all the way up your leg, just tuck it into your sock. I’m pushing it down as I write this and it works perfectly.

Unless your routine actually needs the advanced programming capabilities of the Cesaral this is my new favorite Spirit Bell,  I love it 🙂

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