Hi.

I need some silks for some various routines. What silks do you think are the best quality?

Thanks,
Daniel

Daniel,

In magic, the best quality silks are the ones that work best for you. In printed silks, Rice and P&A are the top of the list. However, another fact of life in printed silks is that they must deliver your message. "Happy Birthday" won't work when it needs to be the "seven of diamonds". Richard Hughes will hand paint you a silk for a price. There are also a large variety of mass produced ones that are not very expensive and would give you more variety.

If you are doing trade shows and it must show your sponsor's name (Coors, Coke, Ford, etc.), they will need to be custom made. That is available in bulk too. I like to do the Slydini knot routine with them and let the customer keep one. (Usually your sponsor will gladly pay for your supply of them. A hundred 18" ones in one color silk-screening are about $5.00 each. That is about what most magicians pay for a plain 18" silk exactly like it anyway.)

Plain colored silks are a completely different ball game. Silk is graded by density (weight for area) by momme. Three momme is slightly heavier than a high-grade silk stocking. It is right where space is of the essence. I can get an 18" silk (3 momme) into a long TT. It will work for a color change, etc.

Most magicians’ silks available today are 4-5 momme and come from China. There are 13 standard colors. However, some from different dye batches do not always match. Yellows, pinks and greens are frequently the problem matches. Often that doesn't matter either. The 4 momme is much more durable and opaque than the 3 momme silk. This is the weight most professionals use for dove magic, body loads, knot tying, productions, etc. (My wife even has dresses made from the 36" ones in this weight.)

The six momme silk is about as heavy as a magician would ever really want. That would be for a Zombie Cloth, etc. Most Zombie foulards are not silk anyway. The heavy weights make the most sense for expensive printed silks because the extra silk cost is virtually nothing (About $.20/square foot). The artwork is the expensive part and heavy silk gives a crisper image and last forever. Silks are usually damaged rather than worn out.

Higher density silk takes more load space. That can be a serious disadvantage when using an "over weight" silk. It restricts the size of the silks you can use. Buying more silks and larger silks is usually wiser than fewer and smaller silks in magic. I also recommend always buying silks, even printed ones, in matched pairs. It gives you a much greater latitude of routine possibilities. It also gives you a backup.

Enjoy your silk magic.

Bob
Magic By Sander

A lot of what Bob says is correct but I must add a few modifications.

6 momme is a good thin silk that still has a good weave to it that will hold up. Most of the cheaper printed silk todays (or unprinted are 4- 5 momme) and they will wear out fairly quick.

8 momme is the preferred weight if you have the space to load it. It also best used on Blendos, sympathic silks, and 20th century sets where there is a lot of strain on the silk.

When I make up Zombie foulards for Dale Salwak, I use three layers of 8 momme silk. It handles much better than non silk products. The three layers insure backlight is not a problem.

Thank for your replies guys. Could you give me a link to some of the silks you're talking about?

I only really need silks in one colour. No funny pictures, signs or anything on it..Where can I get the Rice silks? They sound great

Thanks,
Daniel

http://www.silkkingmagic.com

My website is listed on the bottom of this email.

I hemmed and dye all the silks ( 6 or 8 Momme) to order myself. Let me know if you need more info.

I have 3 of Richard Hughes' 18" solid colour silks. I think they might be 8 momme. They are gorgeous.

I also have one of his 6' x 6' tie dye silks. I think it is 6 momme. Again, very nice.

http://www.hughesmagic.com

- Donald.

P.S. Besides Richard Hughes and Silk King Studios (Rice family name), there is also P & A silks: http://www.pasilks.com/

It would be really nice and very helpful if manufacturers could also include the weight of the silk on the label aside from the size.

All of Silk King Studios silks are 6 momme and 100% silk, except for effects made with silks or bags e.g. blendos, color changes, 20th Century. These effects are also made with 100% silk, but 10 momme is used in these examples.

Mrs. Crone, What momme weight were the zombie dragon foulards?

In answer to Mr. Hughes question above, the Rice's Dragon Foulards (Zombie Silks), which are sadly no longer available except occasionally on Ebay, came in two weights: Rice's Regular Weight Dragon Foulard, which was two 6 momme dragon silks sewn together, and Rice's Deluxe Foulard, which was two 12 momme dragon silks sewn together.

Thanks for the info.

Hi
I e-mailed several of you privately. I have been looking for a solid color (blue or red) about 18" x 18" silk about 8 mummy.

I use it for one of David Roth's coin production and vanish routines. I currently use a smaller silk that I got from a men's store but it's just too small. I have no idea what weight silk it is but it's heavier than those sold by magic stores. The standard 3 or 4 mummy silks are just way too light, and I can't find silks of a heaver weight in solid colors, let alone the right size.

Any suggestions.

I have replied to you with the prices. I would guess that the 8 momme would be heavy enough. Of course with all things it is subjective.

I made an error that I need to correct. In an earlier response I said:



What I should have said was:

Most magicians’ silks available in the USA today are 5 (five) momme and come from China. That is the weight that I use for most everything and my wife has dresses made from the 36" ones. (That's neat because the colors match your other stuff.)

Art silks are another ball game and are heavier. You are investing in the art. For dove productions, my guess is that the life of a 5 momme silk (24" is my favorite) is about 600 shows unless you are working outdoors. They're a bargain!

Bob
Magic By Sander

I have recently become the very proud (and satisfied) owner of one of Richard Hughes' Zombie Foulards. The quality of his work and the timely responses of his correspondence and shipping are superb.

Again, for those of you that might have missed it, the link to Richard's site is:
http://www.hughesmagic.com

Jonathan