I like to go to thrift stores about once a week to buy out of print games, and this week I hit a thrifting bonanza that should create some interesting magical possibilities.

I found not one, but TWO complete sets of 'magnetic cards.' These are produced for playing cards outside where the wind might interrupt a game. Anyway, the name is a misnomer, at least for the two sets I found, as the magnets are actually in the board. The cards are shimmed, and of course that means they're perfect for performing a wide range of magic tricks. Each set included two full decks of shimmed cards. Best of all, I only paid $3.38 for the first set, and $2.88 for the second!

So if you spend any time in thrift stores, keep your eyes open for old 'magnetic card' sets.

After some experimentation, I've found that though these cards are a bit heavier than standard playing cards, they shuffle and manipulate well. A spectator would likely notice that an entire deck is too heavy, but not one card or a small packet.

Neodymium magnets love these things. My neo finger rings work great with them. I am also using a small, thin neo disc magnet with a pair of cards to perform some pretty impossible spin and slide manipulations. Afterward it is no problem to stealthily slip the magnet from between the cards and finger palm it.

I think I'm going to get a lot of use out of these shimmed cards, and I've got four full decks of them for about the price of one!

Great find. Hoe come the thrift stores, etc. where I live never have good stuff like the things reported here all the time?

Oh, well. I really don't need shimmed cards anyway. I've started making my own shimmed cards and there is virtually no extra thickness. I've made up lots of single cards as well as shimmed DF and DB cards.

If anyone is interested in purchasing a shimmed card (normal, DF or DB) let me know via PM.

That should read "How come the thrift stores..."

I've discovered a neat little trick with these. I'm going to go ahead and post it here since it's really more of a manipulation than a magic trick.

Use any two of these cards and a 3/8" thin neodymium magnet. Display the cards as normal, then sneak the magnet between them. You can then hold one card and flip the other in a semicircle and perform other tricks. Just experiment. If you keep the card surfaces parallel, the magnet will automatically position itself to an overlapping area, up to and including a very small area with the two cards overlapping only at one corner. (The effective shim area in these is edge-to-edge.)

As you get the feel for them, you will discover the angles at which the magnet will stick to one card instead of the other when they are separated, so you can show either as ungaffed. At any time during your routine, you can easily slide the magnet off and finger palm it to show the cards a normal.

I've accidentally impressed myself with some of the impromptu moves I've discovered with random moves!