I've started practicing the Needle Through Arm and I have a question. I've put a very thin coat of vaseline on the needle to make it slide easier, which is a note I think Harry Anderson mentions. It does slide easier, but it seems the antiseptic doesn't do it's job as well. If I don't coat the needle, I have a heck of a time getting it to slide easier. My question is, has anypne else had this problem and if so, how did you fix it? Any help woul dbe greatly appreciated.

WN

Hi just use some hypodermic needles that slide real easy.

Use less vaseline. Wipe it lightly to remove more excess, then use it.

Howdy, Neighbor!

I love this effect. I performed it for a bunch of tough motorcycle guys, and had one get sick and have to look away, almost passing out! I coat mine with a lot of vaseline- and wipe off the extra. Just make sure the gaff hole doesn't become overcoated or it won't work- take a toothpick and make sure its clean and flowing after applying lube. I sometimes throw a light coating of lube on a thin strip on the arm where it will run with a small paintbrush (I also shave the arm in this spot without making it look too obvious). When I wipe off after the effect I use a large white hand towel (which shows the contrast of your lovely blood to the audience), and I rub over the arm really well which removes all of the lube. I don't make a big deal about them inspecting the arm later, I just show a spectator or two that there are no holes in my arm and no damage. I have created a duplicate needle out of wood and wire, which I switch out for observation after "wiping" off the gaff with the towel- dumping both in my case. Use a good handtowel and rubbing alcohol- never had a problem- at least 40 performances. If the needle gets gooped up, I boil it gently which removes buildup. Rinse throughly after each practice and performance. Good luck- everyone really thinks I'm a freak!

All notes, graciously accepted. Thank you very much! This helps out tremendously!

WN

Gaff hole? Don't tell me you're faking it!? Ah geez..... you know- ah ferget it, I'm tired. Hey Neighbor, quit while you're ahead before you make the good guys look bad.

I agree with you Nipp, if you are on this page then you should not have to fake this sort of stunt. Suck it up and do it for real, the pain will make you a better performer. Actually I don't know if that is true but it is way better than faking it and you don't have to worry about vaseline.

I don't want to use hypos, and I made my needles out of 300 series stainless TIG wire. The bad thing is they are really sharp, yet the skin on my forearms is so tough that it won't even make a mark on the skin. There is obviously something wrong here, but I'm not sure on what I'm doing wrong.

Facade, TIG wire? That stuff's a bit too soft of a metal to use, don't you think? You should try to get your hands on some old antique hat pins, the LONG ones. They're a higher carbon steel that will work better. Hypos cut the flesh on it's way through, tapered hat pins don't, so there's less chance of bleeding. 300 series also has a high nickel content so you may want to avoid it. Look for 400 series in the mid 30's to 50's (440 is nice). Moisturize your skin at the puncture site to help pre-soften the tissue.

Luck!
TMFGN

Do a search for prolapse needles. The fakers never get it!
Slim

Nip, Yeah I had a bunch of stainless tig rods at my welding shop that wasn't being used. I was thinking about trying to heat treat them, but with my luck I'll probibly melt them.

Thanks for the help nipp.

Slim, Prolapse needles? Do I have to go through a vet supply store for that?

Thegreatnippulini and Caveat Lector,

Thanks for the encouraging words. It is cooler to actually pierce your skin, but I think it's funnier that you have the audience convinced that you did only to find out you didn't.

"... if you are on this page then you should not have to fake this sort of stunt." I apologize. I wasn't sure where else at The Magic Café to ask such a question.

WN

Where else, could be over in the bizarre magik section.

but around here, people do froun a bit on the gaffed stunts becuase it cheapens the real risks of doing ungaffed stunts.

give it a try, you may like it.

Sideshow has always been a lot of things. Not long ago, there was a thread about all the acts that might be considered sideshow. Some of them were stunts, but by no means all of them.

Some are gaffed, some are ungaffed. That there are alternate ways of accomplishing something, is a salute to creativity and downright b*llsyness. The audience doesn't know the difference, and many times, they don't care, as long as they're being entertained. If you do these things just for yourself, you can afford to ignore the audience, as it's only a form of emotional masturbation. But the reality is, this is a business. If the audience likes our shows, we get work. If they don't, it doesn't matter what we do.

In this business right now, however, there are a number of folks who want to brag about how everything they do is real. So what? It's far more important to know how to do a show.

Me? I do real things and fake, though I expose the fakeness, so as not to take away from the real. That's just a choice I make. It becomes part of the show.

Some folks do things like the Brahmo Thread Mystery, and try to convince the audience that the whole schtick is real. But we're different performers. What works for one of us, may not work for others.

Magic has always been part of sideshows. Let's welcome those folks who do it. If they do it well, it makes us all look good. If it's done badly, it just makes the rest of us look better.

http://www.altavista.com/web/results?ita......mp;kls=0

Heat treating the steel isn't simple as it seems. The best way to harden steel is to get it to a high yellow, then very quickly quench it in vey cold brine. The higher carbon steels will shatter if you do it wrong. 300 series is quite low in carbon and very malleable, so a hardening quench is a good answer. Annealing is the opposite, it requires the slowest cooling possible, letting it cool from 1/2 hour even! This softens the metal almost like a really hard clay. These are methods I use in my hobbying of blacksmithing, it's my little way of forcing my will upon the 3 dimensional world.
TMFGN

Yeah, I know a little about heat treating when I was making my own knives a decade ago. (just stepped back into a little bit of it, when I have the time now)

It is just trying to heat treat something that small though that will be the annoying part.

Bladesmithing is my thing too. Right now I'm in the process of making my own Damascus steel for knife making. E-mail me if you want to talk about stuff, it's slightly off topic here.

TGN