SPOON TO FORK by Mr Magic

As the name of the trick implies, you magically transform a stainless spoon into a fork.

A metal spoon is held vertically in one hand, with the back of the bowl of the spoon facing the audience. The fingers of the other hand cover the bowl and give it a rubbing motion.

Magically, the spoon is seen to have transformed into a fork. It can then be handed out for examination.

You receive a set of matching stainless steel spoon and fork, and a special gimmick. You are also supplied with a sheet of printed instructions.

What makes the effect so startling is that a solid metal spoon is transformed quite visibly into a fork, and then the fork is immediately handed out for examination.

Some performer may prefer to have the spoon examined by the audience before the change. The supplied ungimmicked spoon is meant for this purpose. The instructions teach you how to switch this for the gimmicked fork.

Spoon to Fork is easy to perform, and is suitable for stage performance. Because it is a very quick transformation of a spoon into a fork, this should preferably be performed in conjunction with other effects involving cutleries. (9/10 stars rating)

TARGET PRACTICE by Jay Sankey

Jay Sankey is one of the most prolific creators of magic effects. This Sankey’s creation called “Target Practice” was distributed by Elmwood Magic and is now available in very limited quantities.

The performer shows to the audience a card with a picture of a shooting target. This card has a small hole on it. The hole is outside of the target.

The performer says that when he was in the military service, he was a very bad shooter. He could hardly hit anywhere inside the target, let alone hitting the
bull’s-eye.

He shows 6 cards with the hole outside the target. He lays 3 of these cards face downwards on the table. The other 3 cards are placed face upwards on the table.

One card, the 7th card, is left in his hand. This card has the hole in the bull’s-eye. He says that this is what he should be achieving.

Using this card, the performer proceeds to move magically the hole in each one of the 3 face-down cards along the card and onto the bull’s-eye!

He gathers the other 3 face-up cards into a packet. They too, have the holes outside the targets. With a magical gesture, he passes the packet through his fist made around the cards. When they emerge from the other end of the fist, each of the 3 cards now has its hole moved to the bull’s-eye

The performer proudly displays all the 7 cards – they all have the holes in the target’s bull’s-eye! Being a magician, it is easier to obtain bull’s-eye than being a
military man!

You receive the 7 specially printed cards with holes in them, and an instructional DVD featuring Paul Richards of Elmwood Magic performing and then explaining Target Practice. You are also supplied with a nice plastic holder to contain the cards.

The entire effect is based on a popular classic trick. Using holes punched through the cards this takes this effect onto a fresh new presentation. The trick now involves
moving holes instead of a transformation. The effect is not difficult to do. There are a couple of moves required and they are taught well in the DVD. The trick packs small, can be carried in your pocket, and plays really big. (10/10 stars rating)

INFERNO by Joshua Jay

“Inferno” is a thought-of card in matchbox effect.

The performer approaches 3 spectators. He opens a thin match-box and hands out one match to each of the 3 spectators. He closes the match box and puts it in the care of one of the spectators.

He says that they are going to play a game in which they are going to burn all the cards in a deck of playing cards except one. The 3 spectators will make all the choices, including the one card that they will save from being burnt. Assume that this card is the Queen of Hearts.

The spectator with the match-box opens it and finds a folden card with a paper clip on it. She hands this to the performer. The performer slips out the paper clip and unfolds the card. It is indeed the Queen of Hearts! The card is seen charred with burnt marks along some of it’s edges. Everything can be handed out for examination.

You receive 2 match-boxes in their flattened state. You have to assembled the match-box cover and the drawer yourself. You also receive the special charred cards, paper clips, and an instructional DVD starring Joshua Jay himself.

The following are the plus points of this trick:

 Only one match-box is used throughout and it is in the care of a spectator.

 The spectator opens the match-box herself, takes out the clipped folded card and

hands it to the performer.

 The 3 spectators make all the choices of the playing card themselves.

 There are 2 methods of revealing the folded card – both of them are taught in the

video.

 At the end, the folded card and the match-box can be examined by the audience.

Properly presented, this effect looks like real magic. The choice of the playing card is

made entirely by the spectators. The match-box with the folded card inside it is in

the hands of spectator. Everything can be examined by the spectators after the

performance. (9/10 stars rating)

UPRISING

The write-up on the DVD cover says that this is an eerie slowmotion and impromtu card rise.

In effect, you can borrow a deck of cards. The cards can be shuffled. A spectator chooses a card and then loses it into the deck. The performer holds the deck in one hand. The spectator concentrates on her selected card. Slowly, and eeriely, a card rises from the middle of the deck. It proves to be her chosen card!

You are supplied with an instructional DVD plus a 16 X 16 inches black silk handketchief.

The black silk is for you to place over your hand that is going to hold the deck of cards. In this way, you are demonstrating that there is no direct contact between your fingers and the cards, as though this is of great importantance. However, it is a nice sight to see the selected card rising from the middle of a borrowed deck that is wrapped around with a silk handkerchief.

Since the deck can be borrowed, the deck is not gimmicked. You are therefore not supplied with any gimmick that can be secretly added to a deck of cards.

The card rise is carried out by pure sleight-of-hand. You need to know how to control the selected card and get it ready for the move. The move is not easy to executive. You need to practise a lot to get the knack of doing the move. This is a worthwhile sleight to learn as it enables you to cause the chosen card to rise from the middle of the deck without the use of any gimmick. This means you can perform Uprising anytime anywhere where there is a deck of cards.

In the 45 minutes DVD, Richard Sanders takes you through the technique in great details. He shows you how to do Uprising using one hand and using two hands. Richard also teaches multiple card rise where the selected cards rise one card at a time. Finally, Richard shows you the various advantages of using the supplied black silk to do Uprising.

As a bonus, Richard Sanders teaches you the “Thought Of” card rise. The performer riffles the narrow ends of the deck and the spectator merely remembers one card she sees. She does not articulate this card nor physically takes it out from the deck. Yet, that very card rises from the middle of the deck. This move is like a bonus technique/force that you can use in your other card tricks.

Animations with a deck of cards such as rising card and haunted deck are always visual and considered most magical. If you are willing to put in the necessary effort for practising the move, you will have in your hands a great visual effect that you can perform at a moments’ notice without having to resort to any preparation or gimmick. The card that rises can be made to come out of the deck slowly and at a controlled pace, giving a most eerie effect to the card rise.

Highly recommended to card magicians who like sleight-of-hand.

Recommended

SEARCH ENGINE PEN by Jeff Prace

The “Hot Rod” trick, as with most paddle effects, is visual and quick, and this captivates a spectator’s attention. I still perform my “hot rod” trick using a clear plastic rod and 6 embedded colour gemstones. Ladies love this trick because it involves jewelry. The rather contrived colour force is quickly forgotten when all the 6 gem stones visually changed to the one she selects.

Now, Jeff Prace gives even more reason to perform “hot rod” – it involves the world’s most iconic search engine, Google. This beings the magic up to date. Using a pen also makes it look innocent and impromptu.

You display a pen with the Google logo, which comprises 6 letters in 5 different colours – both the “G” and “g” are in the same purple colour. A spectator chooses a colour and magically all the letters in Google change to this colour. The pen can be shown on both sides.

You receive 2 Google pens, one with the forced colour on both sides so that you can secretly switch for this pen and hand it out for examination, if required. The other pen consists of purple Google on one side and the multi-colour Google on the other side. Included is a sheet of printed instructions which explains everything you need to know about performing the effect. It covers the standard paddle moves, the usual force as well as an alternative force, and the switch.

It also mentions that the cover of the pen is deliberately made in purple colour. This enables you to perform this effect in 2 phases. In phase 1, you bring to the spectator’s attention that coincidentally (or is it?) the cover of the pen is also of the same colour as her choice. In effect no 2. the entire Google word changes to to her selected colour!

However, there are 2 downsides to the pens supplied. The first one is that the “G” in Google does not look like a “G” – it looks like a “C” because it does not have the “tongue” on the bottom of the letter. Secondly, the yellow colour of the second “o” is too light to be seen properly against the white colour of the pen. You may have to find reason(s) to tell the audience when they ask on either one or both of these “defects”.

Despite these 2 imperfections, I would love to perform this trick. The imperfections do bring down the rating of this wonderful prop. (7/10 stars rating)

HOLE by Michael Chatelain

Michael Chatelain has a reputation of coming out with direct yet impossible looking card effect using gimmick that is not easily detectable.

This is the first effect in the series. A red back card with a circular hole cut out in its centre is shown and examined by the spectators. It is then hinged to a card taken from a deck of cards on their short edges with a sticky circular label. The 2 cards can be opened like a landscape book. Because of what is about to happen, the label is first signed before it is fixed to the 2 cards, to make sure it is the same label at the end of the trick.

A card is taken from the deck and also signed. This card is inserted at right angles between the 2 hinged cards. Its signed face can be seen through the circular cut-out in the red back card. The entire “sandwich” cards are shown front and back to ensure that everything is what it should be.

Slowly, the sandwiched signed card is brought to the hinged edge and then it penetrates the hinged label! The hinged cards are undone, and everything can be examined by the spectators.

You receive a hole card, a specially gimmicked card, some sticky circular labels, and an instructional DVD. Bicycle cards are used, and when ordering, you should specify whether you want the gimmicked card to be of red or blue back. In the DVD, Michael also describes how you can construct a simpler form of the gimmick yourself.

The penetration of the sandwiched card through the label hinge is clean and direct. This makes the effect seems so impossible that no amount of sleight-of-hand can duplicate it. The effect is guaranteed to wow any spectator. (9/10 stars rating.)