Jimmy, the Fredi up tip is good, but if you're looking for a perfect match, you might be disappointed. Not many have found a good size or color match the first time, and it seems he doesn't accept exchanges.

You can read reviews about it here

Of all the hundreds of TT's in his collection, the one I see him use consistantly is the good old plastic $3 model. I don't know the brand, but it's somewhere between the hard plastic and full rubber TT. I don't think they're Vernets. Denny and Lee's usually has a drawer full of them. As inexpensive as they are, you'd be better off combining orders as the price is certain to be less than the shipping cost of a single TT.

Thank you Dave.
This is more like a trial purchase, I couldn't resist for its realistic look.

For a realistic look I moulded my own thumb then cast it in rubber. I had to mess about to enlarge it but am happy with the result.

Check out the selection of thumbtips at Daytona Magic...it's perhaps the widest out there. They have Japanese, Italian, soft, hard, small, large, metal, etc. I'm sure you will be able to find something that will serve your purposes.

You can not go wrong with the Darwin Books...as for the tip to use??? that is up to you and what effect are you doing. The plastic tips work very well with silks and paper billets, the vinyl tips I like for salt or liquid vanishes ect... Silks tend not come out of the vinyl tipos as smooth as the plastic. I also like the finger tips by vernet. Good Luck

Later & Out
RJ

A search on their site revealed 3 types of TT, and with a minimum order of $10 and shipping of over $5, that's a little expensive for trying out a TT!

Yep. Go to http://www.elmwoodmagic.com. Search their TTs and pick the rubber one. That's it. I've got a few. As I understand it, that's the one Gary is using on that 3 DVD set. Not sure who the maker is, though. I think it may be Royal Magic...but don't quote me on that one!

Guess I'm one of the lucky ones. I got a Fredi Up tip, (a medium, pale caucasian one), and it's a beautiful fit and the closest thing to my actual skin tone than anything else I've got or seen. I've only had it for about a month now, but I absolutely LOVE that TT!

Thanks, but again, shipping of $5.00 for a TT costing $4! Still, it's nice to find a source. Perhaps I can find something else to buy, although I'm financially-challenged at the moment.

Darwin's Encyclopedia totally changed my perspective. When I first got a thumb tip, I actually viewed it as a limited-opportunity prop. It's currently a staple in my repertoire - I have one in my pocket right now, and every day.

Ditto. I got a couple of magic kits as a kid and one about 8 years ago. In every case, they were cheap, thin and didn't fit well. I discarded them as useless for anything but vanishing a silk...and with the ones I had that were practically see-through, I didn't even think that was feasible. I'm not so sure when the turn-around occurred, but it was within the last three years or so. I started carrying a TT in my jacket pocket. Then I bought the Darwin DVD set and I was glued to the set through all three DVDs the night they came in the mail. Starting that next day, I have carried a TT everywhere I've ever gone. ...Work, church...even in a swimming pool. The possibilities are endless. And just when I think I can't learn anything else, I see another video with a different theory on handling or think of some new twist of an old application and I'm off and running again with creativity.

Just a little over a year ago, I was discussing some tricks I was working on with another magician friend of mine. One of them involved a TT. He made the comment that it was good that I came up with a way to use a TT other than vanishing a silk because, (in his opinion), the TT isn't good for much else and at least I would get my money's worth out of it. He found them useless. A few weeks ago, I was vacationing in his home town and spent quite a lot of time with him, (we are good for each others' creativity...like iron sharpening iron). We were taking turns doing illusions for the wait staff in a restaurant and I did a bill switch. Though he had seen Copperfield do the same thing on television 20 years ago, he hadn't seen it done up-close before and was just as floored by it as the wait staff I was performing it for. He knew how it was done...but he'd never seen it done so smoothly close-up and he'd never bothered to learn it. He asked me to teach it to him. After spending a week with me, he has changed his opinion on the TT, as well.

Vanishes, productions, torn/ripped/burned/cut/broken and restored effects, feats of mentalism, bill switches...the possibilities are endless. If you're a magician and you don't carry a TT with you at all times, then it is my personal opinion that you're missing out on a world of amazing magic at your literal fingertips.

Milbourne Christopher had a couple of books out well before Gary Darwin, titled Tips on Thumbs -- maybe two volumes?

Also, Salvano had some incredible work on the TT available from http://www.stevensmagic.com

Think OUTSIDE the TIP...

Can't believe no one has mentioned the best book out there - "The Tipnician"?

Best, PSC

So what is everybody's favorit thumb tip for a bill switch?

Classic Vernet or even a Vernet Soft, (the Vernet soft TTs are "soft" enough to be comfortable, but hard enough to do the bill switches well. ...And they have a slightly larger load area than the classics). In fact, the only time I use a classic Vernet is specifically for the bill switch. If you're going to use the TT for any other effects in addition to the bill switch, I'd recommend the Vernet Soft. If you just want to do the bill switch, then go with the Vernet Classic.

I also like the Thumbs Up! hard TT for bill switches...but I like to flash my hands as empty and that particular one is quite a bit darker than my own skin tone, so it sticks out to me, (though I've never gotten caught). The Thumbs Up! one is made of PVC and has 'pores' on it; which allows you to apply stage makeup to the TT to match your own skin tone. The cost of that particular TT and the hassle of applying the makeup isn't worth it. ...So I stick to the Vernets for bill switches.

Is that too much info???

Not at all...thanks!