|
|
kissdadookie Inner circle 4275 Posts |
I've just spent the whole day playing around with my new Igniter. It's a gorgeous piece of kit. From playing around with it I've gone through 2 batteries and a book and a half of flash pads. The Igniter has been exactly what I was looking for throughout the past few months but held myself back from purchasing it sooner because of the relatively high cost of the Igniter. I wanted to be able to produce fire from my finger tips and ignite flash paper amongst other things invisibly and to be able to show my hands empty and clean afterwards. The Igniter does EXACTLY this. The gimmick is extremely small and compact while the hookup is very simple and does the job perfectly. The routines given are excellent and the included alternative to Hot Leads is awesome and even better in my opinion than Hot Leads except for the bit about reset as Hot Leads is automatically reset as long as you have business cards prepared and in the case. I like performing the business card on fire with the Igniter worlds more than using Hot Leads as with the Igniter the business card just combusts. There's no explaining it as it really just combusts without any trace of the heat source. I have yet to try igniting flash cotton with some sparkle additive but I will experiment with that very very soon when I aquire some flash cotton and sparkle additive.
Ok, enough gushing about how spectacular I find the Igniter to be and on to a few quirks. The first quirk with the Igniter is the instructions. It really leaves a bit to be desired as from the get go I was scratching my head about how to afix the battery to the clip as the instructions had stated that there was some sort of clip that held the battery which was connected to the bigger clip while in the package I only found the big clip and no smaller clip to attach the battery. After contacting Mr. Pace the problem was solved (thanks Jim!) which is a testament to customer service as I have bought 3 of Mr. Pace's products and he has helped me extremely well with all three products. The instructions should be fixed in regards to the clip and the battery. The second quirk I have with the product is the reel. The reel is a locking reel but getting the reel to lock or harder yet, staying in locked position, is ridiculously difficult. The slightest jarring would disengage the lock and Igniter will reel itself in. I have found that positioning the Igniter closer to the wrist helps a lot as it is much easier to reach in and obtain the Igniter and bring it out into play this way than to have the gimmick locked at a position closer to the wrist via the locking function of the reel. My third quirk is battery concern. The reason I drained two batteries in one day I believe has to do with the fact that I connected and then disconnected the batteries a few times. Each time I found the time for the Igniter to ignite the flash paper became longer and longer. I'm not an electrical kind of person but I think the reason the batteries drained so quickly was because each time you disconnect and connect the battery it drains a considerable amount of juice from the battery. I did it for safety reasons as I did not want the Igniter to automatical go off. Now I have a fresh battery installed and I've placed a stopper on the switch to prevent accidentally triggering the device. If what I believe of the battery draining is true then I feel that it should have been mentioned in the instructions but then again Mr. Pace may have never encountered this issue as he may never had taken the battery out and installed it again and again like I did. I'll know for sure tomorrow morning when I check if the Igniter still ignites with the current installed battery. Overall I give the Igniter two beaming burnt thumbs up! One burnt index finger down though due to the lacking nature of the instructions. Anyhoot, thanks Jim! Love your products and you have REALLY been courteous, knowledgeable, and overall you stuck with each of your products as if they were you newborn babies. Can't wait to see what you bring to the magic community next! - Steve |
evolve629 Inner circle A stack of 3838 Posts |
Great review, Steve! Thanks.
One hundred percent of the shots you don't take don't go in - Wayne Gretzky
My favorite part is putting the gaffs in the spectators hands...it gives you that warm fuzzy feeling inside! - Bob Kohler |
gfcal Regular user 118 Posts |
How does this compare to Rick Haslett's Shazam or Flash it.
|
Daegs Inner circle USA 4291 Posts |
I love the igniter!!!!
Personally I don't have any problems with the locking aspect of the reel, but I also the "inside jacket" rather than any sleeve hookup that might make the difference. I only use it twice and even then only for performance of a few effects and my batteries last plenty(if you really went through more than a sheet in a day heh perhaps it could get drained faster that way. all in all a fantastic fire effect that is silent, retractable and surefire... I'll never go back to flint wheels or things that leave your hands dirty again! |
kissdadookie Inner circle 4275 Posts |
Shazam is something different entirely. Shazam is an improved version of the flash gun. There's no ditching with the Shazam.
|
kissdadookie Inner circle 4275 Posts |
It is a sad sad sad day. My Igniter died and I've only practiced with it about a dozen times. Haven't even used it in performance yet. I love the unit but the wire seems to be faulty and has broken off from the gimmick.
|
Daegs Inner circle USA 4291 Posts |
How rough were you with it? How did you store it? Yes, the wire is exposed so you can't throw this in a case, but if you use the included carrying case I've never had any issues with the wire...
I've been using mine for over a year now and I think Jim's still using a unit for like 2yrs-3yrs.... if it is faulty its one thing, but if it was rough handling that's another. |
kissdadookie Inner circle 4275 Posts |
I was never rough with it. I believe that part of the wire was faulty to begin with as it wasn't sleeved properly and it came off. I'm sending it back to Mr. Pace though and I have no qualms with him as he stands by his products and I am extremely appreciative for that. Mines did not come with a carrying case. It came in the paper packaging box. I think the wiring was faulty from the beginning as it appears to have a bad connection and thus batteries would last me less than 20 uses before they became weak.
|
Nicholas Spade Regular user Cincinnati Ohio 123 Posts |
I made one of these my self. Not hard at all and cost me only 20 bucks.
Electric touch once again made my self 35 bucks. And the best thing is something goes wrong with it, I built it so I can fix it. I don't consider these things magic they are technologies, the application at our end is where the magic begins. There is some serious over pricing, what a joke. I realize time and effort went into the design, but come on the price of the parts to make these things is dirt cheap and I did not even buy in bulk. It is a small market but this is an insult. Sorry if I upset any magi out there, that is not my intension. This is getting as bad, if not worse than gas prices. Basically what I am saying is I don't consider this devices magical secrets in the same sence, so the same pricing should not apply. |
Aaron Smith Magic Inner circle Portland, OR 1447 Posts |
I highly suggest that you do NOT attempt to make any of these items yourself. Jim has been a good friend for many years, so I have seen first hand what goes into producing his effects. He is a master at what he does. Creating one of his fire items without the proper knowledge can result in serious injury. Jim has ALWAYS been a stand up guy, if you ever have a problem with your unit all you have to do is contact him. He will make you happy. The Igniter is a fabulous effect, as well as almost everything Jim puts out.
|
Nicholas Spade Regular user Cincinnati Ohio 123 Posts |
I agree with you. You should know what your doing before doing anything with fire or electricity for that matter.
You can harm your self, But if you know what your doing go for it, projects are great fun and can save you money. As far as Jim taking care of you and his customer relation, from my own experience, I beg to differ. I purchased a Phoenix fire it was defective. I contacted him, he told me to mail it to him and he would fix it. I mailed it and notified him it was on its way. Weeks went by, I messaged him and he never answered me. So that was the end of that. Naturally I won't buy another of his products again. |
magicians Inner circle Teacher and Legend 2898 Posts |
The concept of ignition using a hot source is not invention, it is innovation.
In the 70's, there were many devices that were battery operated and ignited flash paper in the hand. Making such a device is not a violation of intellectual rights. Making the same device as Pace, would be. I recently saw Jim Pace lecture and saw the ignitor and found it to be elegant, but definitely not original.
Illusionist, Illusionist consulting, product development, stage consultant, seasoned performer for over 35 years. Specializing in original effects. Highly opinionated, usually correct, and not afraid of jealous critics. I've been a puppet, a pirate, a pawn and a King. Free lance gynecologist.
|
kissdadookie Inner circle 4275 Posts |
It's still to this day the only truly practical way to do such a thing. His Inviso-Flash is WAY more reliable because of it's low-tech method though. I highly recommend that (but keep in mind it's not as elegant and smooth looking as the Igniter, due to a certain physical manipulation one must do, but this is quite easy to block).
|
Rizzo Inner circle East Coast 3349 Posts |
I think the BIG picture most here miss is this: Once an idea is seen or heard about especially in this country, then its whoever gets it out 1st, whoever makes it better, whoever sells it for less. This is the reason there are spies/plants in every computer firm, marketing firm, military etc. Its been this way for a hundred years. Look how hard Coca Cola had/has to work to keep their ingredients secret, top secret or there would be a very accurate other Coca Cola(basic example)for us to drink. If you are lucky enough to release it 1st, there is not anything that cant be duplicated for less. Go to Canal St in NY and buy Coach Bags,Modavo Watches and on and on and on.Finally, how many "new" products come out all the time which are nothing more than old products, most still available redone with a colorfull name and package? I do not didagree on ethics, whats right etc as I believe in honesty. I just think its easy to speak about right and wrong but I do not know anyone, never have who at 1 time or another did not end up on the other side of what they preach against. If I spray roughing fluid on a card or 2 and personally entertain some co workers with a great card effect that's still available for sale and marketed many years ago by a professional magician, then what? Has anyone NEVER done this? Is it the same or I am way off base with the original debating posted above?
|
Rizzo Inner circle East Coast 3349 Posts |
Kissdadookie. Well said and I am 100% in agreement. Pure common sense really which is funny cause why do we call it common sense when its so rare these days.
|
randallmagic New user 34 Posts |
Not quite understanding this igniter. I purchased it from Jim and just got it. There were no instructions with it. Lots of fun trying to figure out how to put the battery in and such. There was no screw in the screw hole??? Don't know if there is suppose to be one cause there are no instructions.
Mine just smells bad when activated, no red hot *l*w device to light the flash paper and there is a metal tang over the *l*w device. I emailed Jim but have not heard back. It has only been a day so far, so I'll give him a few more days. But reading through these emails and finding one person who says he never did respond isn't encouraging. I think he lives in Portland, Oregon where I live. I would be happy to go see him to explain how this thing is suppose to work. The VCD that came with it is no different than his website video (since I ordered it there, no point in sending it, I thought) and doesn't show the same looking product that I got. So if someone would like to help out, that would be great. Feel free to PM me to talk details. Or if Jim comes here hopefully he can respond here. I think the item is great, but just would like to have these questions answered and get this baby working for me. |
Cartman New user 19 Posts |
Would leaving the battery in be ok or would that make the battery drain faster?
|
saysold1 Eternal Order Recovering Cafe addict with only 10798 Posts |
Very old thread!!!!!
Creator of The SvenPad Supreme(R) line of aerospace level quality, made in the USA utility props. https://svenpads.com/
|
The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » Tricks & Effects » » The Igniter by Jim Pace review by Steve (0 Likes) |
[ Top of Page ] |
All content & postings Copyright © 2001-2024 Steve Brooks. All Rights Reserved. This page was created in 0.03 seconds requiring 5 database queries. |
The views and comments expressed on The Magic Café are not necessarily those of The Magic Café, Steve Brooks, or Steve Brooks Magic. > Privacy Statement < |