Does anyone know of a trick called the Pimpernel Wallet?
I read an ad for this in MagicSmith and it sounds interesting, but at $90.00 it's too much to take a chance on.
The effect: Spectator chooses a card and the magician bets money he can find it. The magician selects a card and opens his wallet and places it in a transparent window. The card in the window is not the selected card, but the selection is in a zippered compartment in the other side of the wallet. It's their signed card.

Anyone???

Yes, the pimpernel wallet is a very clever application for the card to wallet. The wallet is very well made and easy to use.

Terry, I have seen the wallet in action.I enjoyed the effect,but I also was put off by the price.Hank lee sells it under the name pimpernel notecase for $70.
http://www.hanklee.net/cgi-bin/quikstore......arch=yes
Viking magic sells a wallet which also uses a himberlike principle called the bronzini wallet for $55. I don't know if it will do the same effect but I suspect it will and am considering buying the viking product.
Harry Murphy seems to be the resident wallet expert and would be the best person to ask{pm}. oblique

I though I heard my name mentioned!

I am very familiar with Peter Starlet’s Pimpernel Wallet. It is a hip-pocket style wallet prop.

It is not a Himber even if you can perform almost any Himber effect with the wallet. It has a very clever application of a novel gimmick. I wish I could say more but cannot without giving something away.

The main strength of this wallet prop is a its use for a non-palm card to wallet. It is well made and a quality prop. It can be used for literally dozens of other effects (any Himber effect for example).

The second wallet mentioned, the Viking Bronizini Wallet reads as if it uses the same principle. The maker claims that the wallet “is a new and unique application of older principles which have been combined in a new manner creating a completely new wallet design which is being offered for the first time.” It is clearly less “classy” looking in the photo’s than the Pimpernel Wallet.

I have no experience with this wallet and cannot say if it is an improvement over any other of the no-palm wallets that abound on the market.

Viking quality is usually good and you will get the routine they offer.

The effect is basically the same, i.e., a no-palm card to wallet.

If it is a no-palm method you want then look for my earlier posting under No Palm card to wallets.

Or learn to palm a card and get the Viking Card to Wallet Plus and be able to perform a standard palm card to wallet and/or a no palm version (yep it is made to do both!).

Finally, before you invest in any wallet I recommend that you PM Café member Peter Marucci and ask him for his card to wallet routine. It is a NO-palm and does not use a special wallet.

Hope this helps a little.

Hi Harry,

What do you think gets a better reaction. The no palm routines and wallets or the palming type? Perhaps we are comparing apples and oranges here. Also, what is your personal favorite in regards to wallets and routines? I have been using the Real Mans Wallet and doing a palmed card to wallet for quite some time with much success. I am thinking of trying something new if it is strong enough. But My grandpa used to say, "If it isn't broke, don't fix it". Some suggestions would be cool. Thanks!

Arlen, don't become a wallet junkie! lol.
You said;
"I have been using the Real Mans Wallet and doing a palmed card to wallet for quite some time with much success."

You don't need another card to wallet. The Pimpernel Notecase is a good wallet, but overpriced at magicsmith.

re;
What do you think gets a better reaction. The no palm routines and wallets or the palming type?

Having used both types, I find the reaction is exactly the same for a card to wallet routine.

Peter's wallet, is decribed on his site here;
http://www.peterscarlett.com/html/produc......_85.html

Like a Bendix, it's a little bit more versatile.

Paul.

Kieth,
Your Grandpa was absolutely right! As to which method gets the best reactions it’s a tossup. I have seen great reactions to a kid doing David Regal’s “Special Delivery” (which I love) and saw a guy bust with a Kaps! It isn’t the method it’s the routine and the skill of the performer.

I tend to use the palm methods (I prefer the palm versions). I have never used the very well reviewed “Real Man’s Wallet.” I have heard a lot of good things about it. For a hip-pocket wallet, I use the Viking Card to Wallet Plus. I like the two-different-signed-cards-to-wallet-one-at-a-time routine. I also had it and was using it well before I heard about the Real Man’s Wallet.

My first gimmicked card to wallet was the one I made myself based on the Patrick Page model. I still use it. Otherwise, I have a couple of very elegant gentleman’s wallets that I will use.

If I am in a venue where I know the angles will be super bad and I know that my palm will be burned, I will use one of the no palm routines (I tend to favor the Switchback Wallet right now and have even pulled out my old antique “Reverse Osmosis” pouch).

I tend to use whatever I need to pull off the effect. The signed card to wallet or the signed bill to lemon is central to my act.

Speaking of Viking products they also have another card to wallet called "Any card to wallet" in which any thought of card appears inside the wallet.

The “Any Card to Wallet” is really just a dressed up handling of Eddie Joseph’s “Premonition” The wallet is huge with strange proportions. I don’t think that it adds all that much to the Joseph trick.

Instead of “Any Card…” buy Kenton Kenepper’s “Klossal Killer” You get almost the same effect and you don’t have to carry two decks of cards or need a gimmicked wallet.

Thanks guys for all the good advice. I love the card to wallet and have many of the ones you have mentioned. I still like my RMW the best.

I did come close with the “Hip Shot” but find it not to be very practical. Too many zippers and it is about a quarter of an inch too short to be effective. The card is not easily pulled out and often slips back through the “you know where”. It is so close to being the perfect wallet for me too. Bummer! I do like the breast pocket version I have and use it when I wear a jacket.

As for the CWS “Any Card to Wallet”, I have it and have little use for it. I got one on eBay and all I can say is, "Glad I did not pay full price for it". It is very over rated in my opinion. Most CWS stuff is. I hope George can fix the problems with many of their items. I was told that is why he picked up the line.

I think I will stick to my good old tried and true palmed card to wallet. As you may know, I am the owner of Arlen Studio, so maybe, I'll put my idea of the perfect signed card to wallet together and market it in the future. It will have to be a really good one as there are already so many out there.

Best to you all and Happy New year. Thanks guys for all the good advice.

Sounds like Billy McComb's "Thought Explosion" wallet that Supreme used to market.

Arlen, I see my warning about you becoming a wallet junkie was too late, you already are, lol.

Paul.

What is the preferred hip wallet (that can really be used as a wallet) for himber routines?

Wow!! try drinking from a firehose. As being new, I find my self being drawn to wallet effects. I like the way I can reach and produce from an innocent or unecpected area.
I am studying and practicing palming and sleights, and am proficient so far.

If you have lets say, THREE WALLETS to work from or to choose from, what would they be?

I am listening carefully... Thanks...

Terry

I enjoyed the Pimpernel wallet for awhile, but found it became too worn after only a short time. I've used the Mind Spy wallet also, but it wasn't veratile enough. Hip Shot is a good wallet also, but I found it wasn't that versatile either. SUC II, Stockholder, Himber and Bogey are great wallets also, but I really wanted only ONE wallet for these many great effects.
Today I use my own wallet creation/adaptation that combines 5 priciples for all of my favorite effects. (It's the only wallet I carry today, and it does ALL of the above AND MORE!)
So in short, I recommend searching stores for a suitable wallet that is easy to modify for your own use. (I found mine at Staples for 40.00) It was easy to do (but time-consuming), it looks classy and professional, and it can do soooo much!

You can get small Himber type wallets that fit in your shirt pocket anyway, but to get hip pocket style wallets that offer a switch facility then the Pimernel wallet as discussed or The Shogun Wallet that Al Cohen used to put out are the first that come to mind.

Paul.

I want to be able to place a dollar bill into an "empty" wallet, and open it later to reveal a particular card (the dollar bill having vanished). I know the Himber is perfect for this, but a hip-pocket style is what I want.

I just looked at Hank Lee's description and drawing of the Pimpernel wallet. It doesn't seems right. Will it do what I want? If not, any suggestions (I couldn't find the Shogun Wallet)?

Check out my wallet-for-sale on the site - under the heading of "card/coin/ring/watch-to-wallet"

ESPMAGIC,

I couldn't find your link. Can you please provide the exact url?

Terry

Dr.Mage,go to Hank lee's site.Under search type in, Sho-Gun Wallet.IT costs 22.50. I have one It is a hip pocket style.The secret is different than a himber but it will do the same effects.oblique

Going back to the original thread, the Pimpernel Notecase has a completely different modus operandi than many of the alternative card-to-wallet routines around.

One of the main 'selling points' for the fearful is that no palm or 'steal' is involved. It's a genuinely fumble-free action. The method is brazen but completely invisible.

Also worth noting is that Peter Scarlett marries the card-to-wallet with the Dark Card routine which provides a hugh unexpected kicker at the end when the spectator's signed card changes colour.

Paul has rightly pointed out that this hip style wallet is overpriced in the US and at the end of the day, does it really matter which 'vehicle' is used to achieve the overall desired effect?

As for us wallet junkies...