Gary Michaels

First of all — it’s called "Copenetro"

I owned an original of this Kline effect in 1974 and was stupid enough to sell it a few weeks later when I needed the money for God knows what. I was 19 so what’d I know?

Last year I married a woman whose family has close ties to Bob (and he’s seriously ill these days), so I was able to re-purchase another original.

I’d bought two different versions on EBay — one that the cantankerous Hank Lee is putting out (terribly inferior to Bob’s work — it has a square base) and one that closely resembles the original: John Mendoza quickly informed me that it was an Indian replica… again, before I re-attained the "real" one.

To be truthful, the mechanism of Kline’s original isn’t 100% effective (in fairness, these are between 25 and 50 years old and probably should be sitting on collectors’ shelves, as mine is). Using the tongue depressor to "rig" the trick can take 20 minutes or more and even then isn’t foolproof. Coins occasionally get stuck on the way "out."

A friend of mine, Chuck Rygle of PA, is (very slowly) manufacturing a perfect replica, but as he has no rights to sell it (that belongs in Lee’s scary domain, as his are trash), Chuck’s in a quandary.

But his has a push-button to load the coins which is exquisite. Too bad he can’t sell it as a reproduction under the Kline name.

Were Bob not in such failing health, I’ve little doubt that he’d recognize the very clear improvement and would easily grant Chuck approval… and you could buy this item and really appreciate its beauty.

~g

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Not Actually an RnT Product but Nice

This effect was actually released by John Snyder, who joined Rings ‘n Things toward the end of their reign as kings of aluminum, brass and copper products.

It was released by RnT in their latter years (1977-80 or so — the company disbanded in ’80), under the auspices of Snyder — who eventually caused the downfall of Rings ‘n Things.

This was the only plastic item RnT ever sold.

A good effect using a Stripper deck.

A card is selected, placed back in the deck, which is shuffled by the victim, and placed into a plexiglass houlette with a perspex rod running through it.

The rod is flicked out and the deck falls the rest of the way into the houlette.

One card remains above the deck.

Of course it’s the chosen card.

Nicely made and an interesting use of a Stripper deck.

~g

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More Ickle Pickle (Steve Bender) Trash

I read a cool effect I’d never seen in Tarbell 5 (re-reading the classics is always a good thing!) using a Crystal Casket, a glass with a plasticene insert, a small cylinder to cover same and a white silk –the silk vanishes from the glass (sitting atop the casket) and instantaneously appears inside the latter.

This effect is designed for a much smaller Crystal Casket (such as the British firms — Repro and Supreme — were selling 25 years ago or so). Alas I’d lost my old 4" C.C.

After seeing Andy’s presentation of this effect in his video (seen here), I bought one of the Bender versions.

As expected it was overpriced (although I purchased it at cost) but worse, this is cheaply made: no hinge in the lid, it’s only held together with the mylar tape seen here, which will wear out if you’re performing it more than 50 times; plus the "latch" on the bottom which frees the spring load is literally a bent paper clip — and badly bent at that.

I’m not making this up.

Mine also arrived in Bender’s original box, well-packaged, and STILL had scratches on the plexiglass.

Absolutely unforgiveable for an item that sells for $60+ retail.

Try to find one of the older, well-made Crystal Caskets.

~Gary

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Best You Can Do

Caveat: Ron Bauer is a close personal friend of mine; I’m a regular member of his invitation-only Monday Night Roundtable posse in Lake Orion, MI, where many of the members have notebooks out, jotting down everything Ron says.

The guy’s the most gifted underground mind in our business: best friend of Don Alan until his death a few years back (and Milt Kort — no he’s not dead yet!) for 40 years, author, video producer, former serious associate of Louis Falanga (L&L Publishing — until the disastrous Don Alan book, which he was slated to write)… I could go on and on. But I won’t. Apart from revealing the fact that Bauer’s assisting me in writing the authorized Rings ‘n Things book with RnT founder Mike Brazill.

As for the effect:

I’ve been performing the original "Hornswoggled" from J.G. Thompson’s "My Best" since my mentor George Kirkendall taught it to me in 1974.

All of that said…

Ron’s handling is the cleanest yet — no bills are sliced from one end to the other for a spread where you have to watch how far you "spread" the bills — it’s a perfect update.

The patter is smart (and more modern), the preparation very simple, the reset instantaneous.

This is one superior effect which you will use, especially for table-hopping or impromptu. A steal at $12 or whatever Ron’s selling it for now. The bills you’ll use are $30 in real currency so add that to the price of the effect.

One tip: have the "prepared" bills in a money clip, along with some "normal" cash. It’s more convincing, especially impromptu.

Pick this up. And thanks for reading my ramblings 😉

~g

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The Best Yet

These have been going for $250 – 400 on EBay lately (as of 3/25/03)…

The RnT Liquor Bottles were more plentiful than the RnT Bubble-Up (7-Up copies) but both sets are very rare, meticulously made and are minor miracles.

The bottles are pure perfection. The tubes are typical RnT: nary a seam to be found, rolled rims and accents, Brazill’s exclusive epoxy-baked miracle finish providing protection that will out-live you (!), realistic labels (when found in mint condition, as mine are) — basically they’re perfectly made.

You won’t find any passe passe bottles better than these.

~g

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Underground Genius

Anything from Bauer is worth the price: I’m priveleged to be a member of this underground genius’s weekly roundtable in the far-north suburbs of Detroit (at which the folks frequently take notes while the master speaks); a former protege of Don Alan — his best friend, actually — Ron’s Private Studies take the given effect and explore it in-depth, playing mostly with the reasoning behind each move (the lesser man would call this “magic theory,” a concept which Bauer disdains — “it’s just a trick, for God’s sake!”) and essentially getting to the heart of it all — the audience’s reaction. This cat is the best-kept secret in magic today. Highly recommend Dowdy’s new site on Ron: http://thinklikeaconjuror.com

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