Hi Ladies!
I was away from the Magic Café for a couple of weeks due to computer problems, and what a nice surprise to find this new forum here when I returned! I have done nothing but soak up every bit of info and advise I can from this web-site since the day I joined. And thanks to this new forum, you girls have given me the courage to write my first post. Most of the posts on this web-site are logically from men, but I find that a bit intimidating sometimes being a woman and someone new to magic.
I have been studying the use of thumb tips and was wondering which one you would recommend for a woman with very small hands. And what do you do about the fingernail issue? Any advise would be greatly appreciated. I hope to find some new friends here.
-Lorna

Hi Lorna

Its always nice to see a new lady of magic join the Café and even nice to see some threads being posted here in the new forum for the gals!!

As for a thumb tip I use a standard Vernet thumb tip and I do keep my nails relatively short so I don t have trouble keeping it on. As for size it does not matter to much if the thumb tip is a little big since it is never really suppose to be seen by the audience, however if your trouble is even the smallest of thumb tips keeps falling off then I would suggest a trip to your local magic shop if you are lucky enough to have one in your area and see if you can find a fingertip...Not sure exactly what they are called as I have never used one myself. Its the same as a thumb tip but if made for your finger instead, so you may have more luck finding something that fits you better.

I hope that was so help and welcome again to the Café

Mina

A little moleskin or plaster can soften and cozy metal ones.

A finger tip is the correct term. And a finger tip can devastate people who are familiar with Thumb tips!

But, they do make smaller tips for this very reason.

I have yet to find a proper fit for a thumb tip. I have even tried a finger tip. All are too big. A friend told me if I go any smaller then it would be almost pointless for obvious reasons. My hands are the equivalent to a child's so I can totally relate to you Lorna. I am sure there are ways around this, but as a beginner, I'm not quite sure what to do.

Oops, sorry everyone. The last post was actually from me, Magic4ewe. Didn't realize my hubby was signed on to his account.

~ Kristen, (Magic4ewe)

I can't use tips because of nails.

I am taking a hand into a local nail technician next week to have acrylic nails added so I can use it with a seance cloth. (I bought the hand from Thailand - Derek Rutt - and it is small - matches my short stumpy fingers - maybe they do smaller tips also?)

We can of course modify jewelery to replace tips to a small degree. Years ago older ladies sometimes wore rings with a tiny hidden compartment under the gem where they hid their 'medicine' - a pill. I used the same idea to create space in a bracelet. The first one was a dud because the rhinestones were held in claw settings and everything caught on the sharp claws. However I discovered a bracelet of fairly large (hollow) beads does no attract suspicion at all if it complements what you are wearing.

Hey Lorna ,
Welcome to The Café. I too have small hands, so I can totally relate. I have seen women deal with this issue in a myriad of ways. Play around and see what works best for you. Here are some ideas...To make the opening tighter, you can use skin colored adhesive bandages inside the TT.

Also, if you want to try to size a TT, I have heard that putting it in the freezer will shrink them, and heating them will stretch them out.
Luna Shimada carries both the Vernet and the Japanese rubber Thumbtip. You might try the Japanese rubber TT. Just a thought as it seems more fitted to me.

http://www.magicalvisionsllc.com/isell/r......all=true

Hope this helps. Best of luck.
Peace Beth

As Mina mentions, the TT should not be seen, at least fully seen, by the audience.
A strip moleskin around the inside opening can help keep it from falling off.

Be aware that the TT not supposed to cover the entire thumb and should leave room for the load. There are times when my Eclipse TT is so loaded for a production that I need to hold it on with another finger.

If the TT is really small then the load will have to be tiny.
For really long fingernails I thought that cutting a slit for the nail to go thru might have been an answer. Then I realized the object inside might peek thru.

I'm glad you ladies got your own category. Congrats!

Sincere thank you to everyone for your warm welcomes and terrific suggestions. You've given me lots of new ideas, I don't know where to start I'm aware that the TT isn't supposed to be fully seen, which is why I guess I just need to be comfortable enough with the fit so that I don't call attention to it or flash it the wrong way. The bracelet idea is brilliant! And thanks Beth, I'll check out the Japanese TT. I passed a circle of magicians at a magic show last year, and being the nosy girl that I am, I overheard the words "custom made TT" Anyone know of such a thing?
And thank you to Steve Brooks and Eva's brilliant suggestion for this forum.
-Lorna

Hi Lorna,

I too had trouble finding one that fits being cursed with kid size hands. Luckily I found a TT that was child sized that fit. I even painted the nail to match my nail polish..making sure of course I choose the same color when performing. :O)

Chrystal

>>waves to Mina, good "seeing" you again Mina!

You're very welcome Lorna. Anything to help out one of the girls. I haven't ever heard of a custom made TT, but I'll ask at the Diva site and see if any one there has heard of it, or where you can buy it. I'll also ask my Dad.



Well, it took a bit, but I did ask at the Diva site if anyone had heard of a custom TT. Luna Shimada said that George Proust in Paris makes custom made thumbtips. She said they take a mold of your thumb and mix paint to match your skin tone. She said the cost is about 100 dollars. Which really is a lot for something no one sees. Still it's interesting to know, and something I had never heard of.
Peace Beth

The Japanese TT's are the ones for me. They are the same color as my skin and the size is perfect. My hands are as long as most guys' hands, but my fingers are slim. I also have a TT from Jimmy Yoshida which is small and somewhat translucent. These are really hard to find and I think they also originate in Japan.

I don't think it is really necessary to use a custom TT. If you are using it effectively, it should not be visible to the audience. I always heard the story of Slydini doing lectures with a simple silk appearance and vanish. The jaded audience of magicians would mumble and scoff at this magical legend doing an easy beginner trick...until the end of the vanish. At this point he would flash the TT by holding his hands in a revealing position. The TT was made of shining silver chrome.

Has anyone ever tried taking a Vernet Sixth Finger and cutting the tip off and using it as a TT?

I have never done it, but I have suggested it to others before.

Randi

Hey Randi,
We used to advise young magicians to cut down a Vernet Sixth F when I worked in the magic shop. Then I tried it myself and it did not work so well because it is pretty stiff and skinny. It is not tapered like an ordinary TT so it does not stay on well and it does not hold enough. Maybe it has worked for others. Maybe I am all thumbs.

Speaking of adjusting TTs: I have tried to shrink TTs with boiling water and freezing cold. It simply does not work. That is why I have always used Japanese TTs. They are beautiful, but hard to find.

Makes sense Autumn.
I never suggested it to girls, it was for the kids.
It may have fit them.

But I also always thought, "but what are you going to be able to fit inside it?"
I really hated working at the magic store!!!
You turned into a crook.

Randi

There are times when I can't use a tip because of the size of silks used. There is a solution. Use the gimmick from Silk to Egg and steal it with the thumb instead of the finger. It will stay in the palm without trouble! If you will use the good ceramic egg in Brown it is less likely to flash too! I've even found that the added weight makes it easier to ditch.

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

Sophie Evan's "Rules of Thumb" DVDs have a section on making your own thumbtips. It isn't difficult, and you can make it exactly as you need it.

Sophie also always had polished nails glued to her thumb tip to match her own nails.

Do you guys grow your nails? I always resigned the fact that magic is like playing a guitar or playing netball you can't do it with long nails. Esp. when I have a passion for flourishes. Just doesn't work with talons...

I've had inch long nails for almost 3 years now - and you can do anything with them - ONCE you are used to them - and that takes a while - your hands change completely with them.

I tend to dive in the deep end so I had acrylics while I grew my own - if I had to start afresh I think I would do it in stages to get used to them more gradually.

However now it's as though I've always had them - anything I could do without them, I can now do with.

Destiny