In essence this is a sharpie that will re-cap itself. Kieron has an amusing presentation about being the world’s no one one-handed sharpie re-capper – and then lifts it to the next level by doing it ‘no-handed’ with the sharpie and cap held in his mouth.

It’s easy to do – you can do it pretty much straight away. You’re provided with a gimmicked sharpie and materials for repairing it or making a new one (you could make it in other styles of pen with a little thought).

My hesitation about this effect is this. James Brown – who’s opinions I usually take seriously – says “you would be a fool to underplay this.” But I struggle to see how to ‘overplay’ it. It feels, to me, like a nice extra addition to a routine – an amusing bit of business – but not a stunning effect. Yes, Troy used it on his TV show, but I’ve watched the clip (see below) – it takes less than 18 seconds!

The only other small negative (and it is a very small negative) is that there’s a little ‘talk’ on the gimmick – which will hardly be noticeable in most performing contexts but is worth mentioning.

The DVD explains a few extra bits you can add to your routine. It details some switches – to help you incorporate it into, for example, a signed-card routine. It also teaches a kind of ‘cigarette up the nose’ type move but with the sharpie. Instructions are included for constructing or repairing your own gimmick but unless you’re really good at this kind of thing I would suggest just buying a spare!

I haven’t yet had a chance to road-test this with real people – and so it may be that the reactions generated are (as Kieron repeatedly insists on the DVD) out of all proportion to the ‘quickie’ nature of the effect. But until I have established that I remain slightly underwhelmed…

Frea-capped is available from Merchant of Magic (with thanks to BBM (who kindly supplied the review copy). £19.99

The post Frea-capped – Kieron Johnson – Review appeared first on Bicycle Cards.

We recently had the privilege of seeing James Brown lecture at our local Magic Club. The man is a genius and you should buy everything he sells! Seriously, here is someone who thinks deeply about his magic with fantastic results. Even if you hate the tricks (which you wont) you will learn loads from this DVD. Unfortunately Vol 1 is out of stock at the moment. Vol 2 is £26.95

I finally got my hands on one of the new USPCC 809 Mandolin decks and first impressions are very good. I will do a more in depth review as time permits, but these handle well and I prefer the back design to the original. £2.50 a deck at Merchant of Magic or £2.60 at MA Pro.

I remember the first time I saw Wayne dem this at a convention. Like most of Wayne’s material it is easy to do and entertaining. The trick looks to have gone wrong, but there is a comedy resolution. £15.00

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