Marvelous,

Try a bit of ladies powder cover up. Match it to your own skin. It works very well.

Some of you need to get into coin magic, before ripping on the SS. It is a coin tool after all, no one said that it would instantly give you skill in coin magic.

A lot of coin magic consists of being "dirty" nearly the whole time. You learn to be able to show your hand "empty" with real half dollars and hide them from a spectator the whole time!!!!

If you can go through a routine always hiding a coin, then it will be a lot easier to hide with a SS. And there are many applications besides the bend. If you spectators are asking why it's closed and such, work on your presentation and handling, because there are many members on the board that make it look natural and get away with it a lot. If you keep your hand in motion, no one will detect the thing.

-erik
PS Arlen, just wondering, but how thin can you make the SS's? Is there any chance of getting an Expanded shell SilverShifter? just a thought....

Arlen,

How are things going regarding the production of a current circulation british SS coin (e.g. a modern 50p coin)? I keep checking your site but still no update. When will they be ready for purchase?

Thanks

da5id,
Don't hold your breath fot the UK to be using euros. We are far more likely to be using dollars first! Fact is that the British economy does not need proping up by joining a single currency. Anyways, that's not really an issue at hand.

The older 50 pence pieces have not been in circulation for several years now, and are NOT legal tender. If you pull one out of your pocket for ANY reason you just look stoopid that you didn't trade it in at the bank in time! For someone to do a trick with one rather than with some regular (i.e. in circulation) coin would be suspicious to say the least.

Thank Arlen for making the SS available in current coinage by sending him some cash and buying one.

Does anyone else wonder how much money's worth of trick coins European magicians have had to replace?
m101

I think the coin is beautiful, but not practical. You bend the coin. So what, it's not their coin you're bending. Magic needs to make sense and this doesn't.

That's an interesting point, MagicChris. I doubt that many tricks can be said to "make sense" in isolation. Surely that comes from the routine and presentation.

For me, though, the Silver Shifter is an ideal utility prop. I use it as the fourth coin in a Hanging Coins routine and it works wonders.

When I use the "bend" feature (which I do sparingly), I do it as the climax to a metal-bending set and it makes every bit as much sense as any other trick in the routine. I don't necessarily borrow every knife, key or nail I bend either.

MrCyNic has a nice take on using that coin. I guess I was .looking at the video and wondering why I would do it. The video had some bad hand movement, also.

You have to be extremely careful with this prop. with an expanded **** you don't. Doing magic for a living, I like to use items that can take some wear.

Chris

I saw this effect and have to say that the ad is very misleading and the gimmick is not as good as the hype. I know a bit about latex and make up effects and the lot and I believe there to have been a better way to do this. Perhaps the magic shop I know of got a bad batch and they sent them back right away. Not happy customers at all.

All in all who needs a new bending coin when the simplest of sleights is needed to entertain and impress. Perhaps we should turn away from the capitalism side of magic and get back to what's important hmmmm?

Just a thought.

Marshall,
I just called the distributor and there have been no returns of the SS from a magic shop in Chicago or any shop for that matter. On the contrary. All the shops that have received them, have been very happy with the item as well as the vast majority of all magicians that have purchased the item.

I realize that not every effect is for everyone. I have worked very hard making sure customers were happy with their SS purchase and in two cases only have replaced the SS unit with a new one. The quality of the product is my main concern. All know by now how to get a hold of me if they are having a SS problem and they know I will take care of them. I feel your comments are misleading and just plain false.

The SS advertising is what it is. Some honest text and a video of the SS being demoed up close with no cut aways or edits as I have been seeing in a lot of the demos these days.

It is a straight forward offering and was not hyped at all. The ads were placed like any others and samples sent out to some of the finest coin workers in the world.

Remember, all Steve Brooks and I set out to do was come up with a cool visual way to bend a coin. The real coin workers decided there was much more to be done with this item and started talking about it on the board. Is that hype or the sharing of information? I think it is the latter. After all that is why we come here. To share information.

It is interesting to see that most of the negative reviews have been made by kids or those who had the gaff tipped to them before the demo, or by those who have never even seen a SS before.

I have preformed the SS countless times to date. In many cases, two or three times for the same person. I have never once been called on the gaff. Most just look at the bent coin in their hand in the end and try to bend it back.

SS is not the easiest trick to perform, but it is nowhere near the hardest either. The handling, routine and gaff will only take you so far. A big chunk of the effect rests in the performers hands literally. If your technique and performance style are lacking, then you may well blow the effect.

I make magic for real experienced Magi not kids just starting out. I apologize to the very few (and I mean VERY FEW) kids out there that have real magic chops. To date there has never been a complaint about SS from an experienced coin worker. In fact, many think the bend is the least you can do with this.

"I know a bit about latex and make up effects and the lot and I believe there to have been a better way to do this."

I have been a make-Up artist for over 15 years and have worked with most all of the biggest effects houses in the business. Latex has not been an industry standard for years now. Silicon and a few other agents have pretty much replaced it.

To my and many other minds, there is no better way to do this short of putting real pixy dust on a real coin and poof, really bending it.

Perhaps you should work out your own gimmick and handling and see how well you do? Then you can see how hard it is to come up with an effect that will please the majority of the people the majority of the time.

"Perhaps we should turn away from the capitalism side of magic and get back to what's important hmmmm?"

Unlike your comments and opinions, magic and the props that help to create the illusions are very important. Capitalism has nothing to do with it in this case.

Lately, I have heard "Man Keith, You suck! The ad says there are no switches with the SS! What gives?" From two people. I thought if two people are wondering this, then more may as well. Better sort it out. The ad actually states there are no "funny" switches with the SS.

What is a funny switch? It is a switch that leaves a hand to hide a coin with no other purpose. Just hanging there or one quickly shot into a pocket after coming away. A hand with some serious potential for heat from the wiser in the group. A basic switch is coming away from one hand to reveal a switched item all the while hiding the original object in the retreating hand.

That does not happen with the SS. All the magic happens in one hand at the end. The retreating hand is left completely clean front and back. Every component of the effect is left in the palm up hand showing the bent coin in the end. If anything, there is an addition made. Again, all that is started with in the beginning is still in sight of the spectator in the end. Nothing was switched into the other hand. I came up with this method because I have always been uncomfortable with the so called dirty switch. The ad states "no funny switches" and that is correct.

The video demo shows the handling for all to see. I do not see were the ad could be construed as misleading. With the SS, you can do every thing the ad says it can and more.

Marshall, there is an art to reading magic ads, as those of us who've been around for awhile appreciate. The ad disclaims funny switches. When I saw it, I had to smile, because, short of actually bending a real coin, or being able to dematerialize the original coin, of course, there must be some sort of switch. The ad merely claimed that the switch (if there is one) would not be funny. I suppose that could mean it would make your audience cry or "boo", but it would not make them laugh at you... Or, as I suspect, it probably means the switch (if there is one) is not unnatural. Or, perhaps, it means something that I have not even pondered yet. I did not, however, feel the description was dishonest or misleading.

My short experience with SS has been good. I'm not a great coin worker, but SS has been fascinating. I find myself playing with it, thinking about new things to do. Sometimes, I decide that the more conventional, sleight of hand method, or a different gimmick, would be better. Sometimes, the SS itself saves the day, and is the best method. The point is, though, that SS has encouraged a lot of thought and creativity. If it did nothing more, I'd feel I'd have gotten my money's worth.

Marshall, I think the strong implication here is unfair to Keith. I have done business directly with him. In fact, the only contact I've had with Keith is as his customer. I can assure you that in those transactions Keith's concern has not been primarily in sucking out as much money from me as possible. In fact, he has been incredibly generous, both with his product and his time on the phone to explain, clarify, and listen. As an example of Keith's approach to business, just look at his money back guarantee... a true rarity in magic.

I would encourage you, and others, to do business with Keith. He produces quality products that reflect a lot of thought. He's also trustworthy and concerned about more than lining his pocket.