Hi all.

I came up with a dramatic effect the other day but I don't have any idea on how it might actually be done. Or even if it can!

So here goes.

A card is chosen by a spectator, signed then returned to the deck.

The deck is placed back in its packet, then stuck with double sided tape to a large wooden target stood to one side of the stage.

The magician, moving the spectators to a safe distance pulls a throwing knife from his boot and takes aim.

The knife is thrown, a perfect shot! It stabs straight through the centre of the pack.

The magician goes to the target. Takes hold of the knife and the bottom of the deck and pulls the deck free. Tearing the deck and packet almost in two. While leaving the knife in the board.

But wait, there is something still stuck to the knife. It is, you guessed it, the spectators card with the knife still stuck through the centre!

Sounds good to me on paper, but can it be done?

Have fun

Duncan

Sure it can be done, but how?

I don't know!

card sword comes to mind...

It can be done if you are REALLY accurate at throwing a knife

I reckon I could throw the knife with enough accuracy. If not, then practise makes perfect so the difficulty of the throw isn't necessarily a problem. Plus there is also the possibility of using larger cards, though I would really rather not. Also, there is the possibility of using a crossbow with an accurate site instead of a knife.

The problem is keeping the signed card on whatever is sticking through while everything else rips off!

Any more thoughts???

Thanks all

Duncan

Dear Duncan,

I don't know if this is feasible or not, but why else have this forum?

I have been thinking for a while about a twist on the bullet catch: an arrow catch. In this effect, you need a gaffed crossbow that swallows the arrow at the instant that it is fired, and a gaffed target that produces an arrow mechanically where it is needed at the instant that the crossbow is fired. I think that if people saw the crossbow fired, heard the mechanism, and saw the arrow appear, their minds would "fill in" the rest and they would later swear that they saw the arrow fly.

Anyway, making a target the recipient instead of the performer makes it easier to gaff the target (and safer!).

I am sure with all the smart folks at the Café, someone will figure out how to gaff the target (the easier part, I guess), and the crossbow. Of course, if you could build this, you don't have to worry about your aim, either.

Yours,

Paul

You could put tape on the outside of the box and slip the card onto it, then tape it to the target. Once you throw the knife in, let it stay in the target, and pull the deck upward, shearing it and leaving the one card pinned to the board. Or maybe I'm not understanding how you want to reveal the card

Hi Lithis

That sounds EXACTLY the sort of idea that I needed. Well thought out

It is the sort of reveal I want to do. Pull the deck away and leave just one card. I will try and see how that works in the real world as soon as possible and let you know how it works out. I am in the middle of a tour at the moment so I won't have any time until the end of the month. But I will do it as soon as I can.

Thanks again from some very clever thinking

Duncan

Anything to help! Make sure to let me know how it works out.

hehe.

If your tape method works, I think I just figured out that I can do the trick with the card signed

Now I am REALLY excited!

Duncan

I believe the method that drwilson suggested has already been invented. I remember when I was like 8 or something I saw one of those magic secrets revealed shows, and they had a gaffed crossbow and a target that produced an arrow; but it’s a pretty cool idea. And I don't think throwing the knife at the deck of cards would be the greatest idea, because if the knife didn't hit the target straight on it could jab an audience members eyes out. And a deck of cards is kind of a small target to be throwing a knife at so it would be hard to hit it every time.
Night_Crawler

Hi Night Crawler,

You might be right about it being to small a target. But ANYTHING is possible with practise. I have actually done knife throwing in shows so I am used to doing it with an audience. It could be easily set up to ensure audience safety.

Anyway. I will come back to this when the busy month of March is over.

Duncan

Duncan,

Try an experiment. Place a cased pack of cards on a valuable antique table. Take a typical throwing knife and stab it into the center of the deck as hard as you can. Don't worry about damaging the table. You won't because there is no way that the knife will penetrate all of the cards.

Of course, you could get around this problem by switching the original card box, for one filled with something like foam plastic or sponge. Assuming that you can hit this small target every time (which is necessary because missing would be a big downer) the knife would have to be deeply embedded in the target to withstand the force of ripping away (and simultaneously cutting through) the "cards."

Now, if you do succeed in all of the above, you still have the problem of getting the chosen card to stay impaled on the knife blade. This could be done. All it needs is for the double face tape to already be on the target and the chosen (and signed, if you like) card to be attached to the card case with a dab of wax.

Well, maybe I was wrong. I don't think so but if you do succeed, I'd like to know your final method.

Good luck,

Sid

The Arrow effect has been done - It was manufactured to duplicate the Effect of the old P&L Shooting thru a Woman effect. There was a ribbon attached to the arrow so that you "saw" the arrow penetrate the person and impale itself in the target, with ribbon streaming behind it and through the girl!

You pulled the ribbon the rest of the way through the girl as she stepped away from the target, proving that the arrow had actually gone right through her. The bow was a standard longbow, though, not a crossbow, and the arrow was quite long, instead of the short bolts they use with crossbows.

I had one when I worked with the late, great, Marvin "BUMA" Burger, dealer extraordinaire, and specialist in magical things, old and unique. We set it up and
"let 'er rip" with customers less than 5 feet from it and it looked great!

Don't know where you'd get one today - maybe from the used magic dealers, like Carrandi, Tad Ware, Stevens, Burger, Greget, etc...? Anyways, just a little magic history.

As far as the knife throwing thing goes, try this: Target is rigged with the finish you want already made up - in other words, the deck, with the card on the outside of the box, already penetrated by a throwing knife is on a part of the target that flips over.
(I can visualize this mechanism, but describing it is harder than drawing it, I can do that later if you have trouble figuring it out)

The reverse side of the target, actually the side they initially see, has a little shelf to rest the deck on. The knife is metal, and flat, so that the slit above the revolving section is not noticable (this is how the arrow illusion above worked, in part).

The duplicate knife that you throw is also metal, and magnetic, so vanishing it in the act of throwing it is simple. Attach it to your back (A magnet on your back under your shirt - leave it as you cock your arm over your head to throw, or on your pant leg as you come down and then back up to throw, etc...) and the rest is the spectators' perception - the assistant pulls the release as you finish your throw and the center of the target flips, taking the regular deck out of sight and the penetrated one appears.
The locking device so the pivoting piece is secure after the turn, the spring mechanism to rotate the section of target, etc. could be easily designed by any competent workman.

This is definitely workable! It is really a matter of the amount of time and money you are willing to invest...

Best, PSC

I'm bothered by the revelation - it seems impossible to pull a deck of cards off a knife in such a way that the cards are torn through - I could be wrong, this may look just fine.

In thinking about it though, I had another idea - how about doing Malini's card stab vertically? In other words, have a card selected and signed, returned to the deck and shuffled. Spread the cards on a table top and secure the cards by stretching saran wrap over the entire thing. (There is an antique table style where the base is a pedestal and the round top pivots to an upright position, this is the table that I'm envisioning...)

Pivot the table top to a vertical position and then step back, let the spectator blindfold you, throw the knife and remove the blindfold. Picture this revelation: You now walk over to the table and tear the saran wrap off, all the cards drop to the floor and there is one card impaled to the table by the knife!

Obviously, you remove the knife, card still attached, and turn to face the audience, revealing the correct card. Tear it off and sail it into the audience, causing them to break into loud and thunderous applause!

I like this idea enough that I may go ahead and do it myself! The good thing here is that there are no gaffs, (Well, maybe the blindfold, but nobody counts that, do they?) - though it does require that your aim be really good!

I can think of several ways around that too, (If you can hit the table, I can make sure you get the right card...) but let's stick to basics for now. I haven't tried the Saran Wrap thing to hold the cards - you may have to modify the way they are held in place if that doesn't work.

Anyway, that's enough for now - I'm gonna let you guys work out on this a bit...

Best, PSC