For years conjurors have been making canes appear and vanish, and even animate. Best performed on a stage, the use of canes had many drawbacks, including the possibility of injury to the magician himself.

Then in 1967 a man named Ricardo F. Roucau discovered a film-like plastic that totally revolutionized the manufacturing of magicians canes. No more injuries, and the canes could be produced at a fraction of the cost of metal canes. Now the name Fantasio is recognized the world over for his fabulous products, which are now used by top professionals in our art.

Enter Peter Loughran, a professional illusionist from Canada, who in conjunction with Fantasio has produced a kit which will allow your vanishing or dancing cane to not only perform the task for which it was designed, but will allow the added feature of a blazing flame of fire as well!

Peter recently sent me one of his The Ultimate Cane kits, and so I give you a few of my thoughts on his product.

Peter Loughran's The Ultimate Cane
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Effect: Magician walks onto the stage carrying a very nice gentleman's walking stick, or cane. Seen above the cane are flames of real fire!
The cane is casually tapped on the floor to prove it to be solid, when suddenly the cane becomes animated, dancing in motion back and forth with no apparent aid from the magician. The flames can be seen ablaze from any seat in the theatre.

Just then, the performer grasps the gleaming stick with both hands, and with the speed of lightning, the cane vanishes leaving behind two large black silks. No trace of the cane or fire can be found. It must be magic!

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The above description pretty much says it all, although one could just as easily display the cane with flames burning, then vanish the cane. The dancing segment is of course optional.

The kit that Peter sells is available in a variety of configurations. The one you might purchase will depend on whether or not you already own a Fantasio vanishing cane. Should you already own the cane, you can purchase just the gimmick and instructions, and away you go!

The package Peter sent me had the gimmick, instructions, and came with a genuine Fantasio vanishing cane. This particular package is available from Peter, as well as a kit which includes the black silks as well. I liked the fact that Peter gives you a choice, so as to save one from spending money on equipment you may already own.

I must say that the gimmick is very well made and constructed. In addition, with so many ho-hum products that arrive on the magic scene daily, I can honestly say this is a real inovative idea. Very refreshing indeed. Not only does the gimmick function well, but for those of you who perform the Vanishing Cane, I believe you will find that the addition of the gaff will actually help with the critical balancing of the cane itself. This makes the animation somewhat easier to control.

As with any items which make use of fire, I would strongly recommend using extreme caution in the operation of this device. Accidents can and do happen, so be very careful.
As a side note, you must be 18 years or older to purchase or perform this effect.

I like this, I like this a lot. My only complaint is the set of instructions which are printed in a very small type font. For us older folks, this makes learning a little more difficult. That aside, for the performer who wants to spice up his cane act a little, I highly recommend this!

My rating:

Available through your favorite dealer, or directly from Peter.
Suggested retail is as follows:

UC1 package: $20.00 + shipping. Includes instructions and the specially made gimmick. Supply your own Fantasio vanishing cane and silks.

UC2 package: $42.00 + shipping. Includes instructions, the specially made gimmick, and one Fantasio vanishing cane. Supply your own silks.

You can contact Peter directly at: peter@masterofillusions.ca

To visit Peter's site: Click here!

MASTER OF ILLUSIONS ENTERTAINMENT
97 BirchPoint Dr.
R.R. 2, Ennismore,
Ontario. K0L 1T0
CANADA
(705) 292-8947