Hello,
I´m a T.T.beginner and I feel I´m gonna love this tool but I wonder if it isn´t a bit dangerous in strolling and restaurant situations considering the short distance between gests and me.And there is also the side view (the profile view) problem .Should I keep the T.T.for other situations where the T.T.would be more invisible?
thanks,
Fernando

I use my TT in closeup situations and have never been caught
A good rotuine will never allow the TT to be seen or even suspected. For example, I have a friend who does a routine with a Red TT, people are never aware!
Its all about practice and timing. Getting a nice routine that flows and doesn't pause/stick when doing "sneaky" things.
You want the routine committed to memory so that you don't have to keep looking at your hands etc
I suggest getting a DVD on the subject matter. May I suggest one of the following:

http://www.penguinmagic.com/product.php?ID=912
http://www.magictricks.com/videos/dvds/dvdthumb.htm

Please note I'm not suggesting you buy from these places. The links are only for demo purposes

Done properly a TT will never be seen.
Most times in effects it is behind the hand or just partially in view.
Just forget you have it on and be casual.

Oh, and one more for luck

http://www.alakazam.co.uk/

Scroll down for the Pat Page Secret Seminar DVDs

Thank you both. I allready own Darwin´s dvd´s set.there is a lot of interesting material in there but I find difficult to build a routine with it because you have to prepare the T.T. at the beguining of each effect,and the routine doesn´t flow as I wich to.In other words,the effects does not build in the preciding one in a soft fashion.I need some advice on this matter.
thank you again,
Fernando

TT is a tool.
Some resetting will be required for bare hand production effects but not for small vanishes.
Use the TT for producing a silk and then use the silk for an effect or..
do an effect with sting, an elastic band or other small object and vanish them.

Doing one TT effect after another just don't work very well.

I sometimes think the TT is even better at close range. With a properly choreographed routine, it's harder to focus on it.

That´s what I thought Jaz.So I can conclude that relying on a t.t.for an entire routine is not doable.unless...
unless I keep a number of t.t.´s preset,like a cowboy with the bullets on a belt arround his body.Mabe there is in the market a kind of t.t. holder for this porpose.but I never heard about it,its just an idea.
Fernando

TTs are perfect for close-up. Only problem I find is quite a lot of people know about them...

You're right but, what is it they know? Many people people who have a basic interest in magic know the basic tricks.
When some folks see the well known handling for a basic silk or cigarette vanish a TT become suspect.

But there are different ways to use a TT and certain TT effects that will not be suspect.

The first time I saw a magician many years ago he performed an effect with the thumb tip I think he was using silks or summin after the show I tuggin on his coat beggin for him to teach me somthing in private he said yes and he said you wanna know how I did that thing with the silks I was like yeah yeah he said I used this he pointed to his thumb I was like huh?he said yeah I use a special thumb I said where is it is it invisible er summin he said as a matter of fact it is then he acted like he pulled his thumb off and put his hand behind my ear but when he opened it there was nothing there then he opened his other hand there it was like a freaky side show gimmick he said keep it you'll know what to do with it.I took it and put it in my pocket and when I got home I started experimenting with my new toy thumb before I knew it I was making the vegetables vanish at the dinner table...and that's all I have to say about that...

Actually there are plenty of alternative uses for the TT like balancing a card on the back of your hand / on the head, bill switches, that don't require the TT to be in view at all.

Some years back, I was at a dinner party at which the conversation got around to those buffoons Penn and Teller. They had just had a special on TV on which they exposed the working of the TT to the lay studio audience and had the studio audience do the vanishing silk for the TV audience.
Needless to say, with ZERO rehearsal, it was fully apparent how the trick was done.
And the guests at the dinner party commented on the tip.
Yet, less than 5 minutes later, I blew them away using nothing but the tip.
How?
I simply did something other than the vanishing silk!
Lay audiences may know about the workings of some things and be familiar with a few sleights (like the pass), but they also tend to think in a linear pattern (or, to use the latest 'buzz phrase', they think inside the box).
Think -- and act -- a different way and you, too, can "bring the house down".

So the moto is: "keep away from the standart and you´ll be protected".
thanks for the tips.
One more thing: there´s so much instructional material about TT that makes difficult for one to choose. I allready own Darwin´s dvd, and like to purchase more material(books included)to have an idea of the full potencial of that tool.Any suggestions?
Fernando

Quart, just get that little book by Milbourne Christopher: 'Fifty Tricks with a Thumb Tip'. Chock full of great ideas.

Check out Jay Sankey's Fan Mail. It's a cool trick based on a bill switch.

Thanks for the tip todsky.

Mengst, where can I check it?
Thanks,
Fernando

It's on his DVD "Front Row Sankey."

It's certainly worth learning how to use a TT properly.

There are many different things that you can do with it!

If I ever meet John Cornelius then I will thank him for this wonderful contribution he has made to the world of magic,

Simon

So you mean John Cornelius is the inventor?
Fernando