Andy Martin

Good book to breathe a new lease of life into your Readers!

When you first start out in magic it seems you quickly go off using stripper decks and marked decks. I remember using a marked deck all the time before the age of 15. I also remember have great fun with Deland’s Deck, which of course is a combination of a stripper deck, a marked deck, and a stacked deck all in one. In fact I used to do all sorts of miracles with the Deland Deck. But I haven’t picked one up now for over 25 years!

At some point you figure these tools are not good magic and move on. Well Kirk Charles’ book Marked for Life reminds you that marked cards are still very useful and by mixing in sleights, non-reader effects, and reader effects you not only can create some huge miracles, but also you can keep the audience guessing.

This 95 page soft covered book spends about a third of the book going through various types of marking systems and its very interesting to see the different approaches various people take. I decided to give the bold, but easy, Ted Lesley’s Working Performers Marked Deck a shot.

Once you read this book you will start using a marked deck again. It has many wonderful routines that just are so much better with a marked deck. And providing you follow the tips and tactics mentioned in this book no one will ever suspect a marked deck is being used. I think that is the key thing for me: by combining the marked deck with other principles you can make a good effect into a complete mind blower that could not be easily achieved in any other manner.

The book is well written and researched and comes with a large bibliography of other areas to continue reading about marked decks. Many of which I’m sure you already have, much to your surprise. It may not be a classic book, but it does provide you the path back to an old friend that really should be in every magician’s toolkit.

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Beautiful, Small, Clever and Different!

This is a wonderfully clever little box that defies detection, even with the utmost of scrutiny. Plus its very beautifully made by Joe Porper himself.

Unlike the normal Lippincott box, this can be started off in the "closed" condition. The spectator can even hold it in their hands, and lock it themselves and hang onto the key if you so desire – though of course that would not make any sense if you were doing a prediction with this. It is a matter of a second to release it to load a billet or ring or anything small inside the box. It almost locks itself when you’re done! In fact, the one problem with this is that it locks itself too quick and you hear it talk!

This is a wonderful item and I’m sure it will become a collectible. As with all of Joe’s work, it is made to a high degree of precision and there is nothing else out there quite like it, which surely must appeal to both the performer and the collector in you!

Great Job!

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Unusual and Interesting!

This effect from Mikame Craft is very interesting and different. The method works well and the props are top notch.

Makes a good opener to a series of rope effects! This is an effect that is best kept for the stage however.

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A Beautiful Box and Routine!

This is the Viking version of this effect and is certainly better than the original. Although, it comes with a clean prediction of any card that the spectator chooses using the sword it has many other uses where a card box is required. It has a unique release mechanism for the transformation which means the box can be handled by the spectator before the transformation if so desired.

The only real downside with this effect as it arrives from the dealer is that the sword it comes with does not fit in the box! This is quite annoying because one of the real justifications of having the box in the first place is to store the knife, deck of cards, and prediction.

However, after a quick look on ebay I found this great little 6" sword that looks the part and fits the box perfectly. If you look at the original version of this box you’ll see how the knob on the lid has this big wide brass ring where the knob is, and on the newer version that does not exist. It’s this sort of attention to detail that makes George Robinson such a fine craftsman!

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Now this is a Coin Stand!

This is the finest Coin Stand I have owned. It looks deceptive, works very smoothly and has the unique ability to produce 4 coins back on the stand at the end! The holes drilled beneath each coin make the illusion even more convincing.

The coaster idea for making the coins appear in the glass is also a winner – not quite as effective as Copenetro or Hughes’ Coins in Glass – but given the simplicity it still scores high.

This was a real pleasant surprise when it arrived on my doorstep. Another really winner from Mikame Craft!

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Surprisingly well made for MAK!

This is a simple mini guillotine effect that is surprizingly well made for MAK. There are a few glue marks near the base – shades of NIck "Glue Master" de Palma, but otherwise a very well priced mini guillotine.

The problem with this mini version, as with the large 7 foot stage one is that I’m not sure how convincing it is. What you really want is a Guillotine designed where the blade tips are at the outside of the stocks too, and you see it fall through the finger. Then it would be a lot more convincing.

But played for laughs you can still have fun with this … and for the price its a bargain.

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Good old Howie!

Well this is something I have only see advertised on the site of the cuddly and honest dealer: to check this out and other exclusives that Howie is carrying. You won’t be dissappointed with what you find!

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This is great fun and really works!

Well this is way more than the old pin the queen trick. I did it on my kids over the weekend and they loved it. You can keep pinning the queen they cannot, and then in the end you ask them to close their eyes and they finally do pin the queen, but only because it has changed to one jumbo queen.

I love this trick!

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Chance Wolf has a wonderful line of Magic!

This is a marvellous effect from Chance Wolf. In fact, I don’t ever remember seeing a Children’s effect that visually looks more appealing to kids. The routine is also instantly recognizable as a winner. It deals with Already Been Chewed (ABC) gum which is icky enough to make even the most doubting child smile.

It is based on the old Square Circle, but has a number of key features that really hide that. In addition, the routine is so good and well thought out that it puts the whole effect into another league.

These are pretty hard to come by, but if you can buy one, you won’t be disappointed.

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Another Winner from Wolf’s Magic!

Another beautiful effect from Chance Wolf.

This item is to be redesigned this summer. I don’t know what the changes are but I do know this is a wonderfully unique effect that visually looks stunning, and plays like a scream too!

It’s a Do-As-I-Do effect, but with stacking cups. Try as the child may they never seem to get it right. Just as the kids are going crazy your secret little helper pops up and you can create even more thrills with a Run Rabbit Run type effect at the end. Where is that mouse?

I think this is beautifully made and looks wonderful. It makes a great follow-up to the ABC Gumball.

In a world of inferior props and old ideas, Wolf’s Magic is producing a very fine line of new and original magic. Keep up the good work Chance!

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