Hello everyone!

I am in search of a product that produces about the same amount of smoke as a puff from a cigarette, and is suitable for stage performances. I came across Smoke from Anything by Finn Jon but unfortunately it is out of production. I believe ultrasmoke uses chemicals that can potentially corrode your sleeves in the long run and bringing chemicals into the country can incur high tax charges.

Are there any products that you guys might have came across that do not pose the problems listed above? The main intention is not to magically produce smoke (though that can be a bonus), but to have an alternative to smoking on stage as from where I come from, smoking is very much frowned upon. However, it can be prepared backstage when nobody is looking.

I'm not sure if this would meet your needs, but there is a way of producing smoke that is on a Tony Andruzzi tape called Bizarre. This may not be enough smoke for stage, but the items required are in any house. It has also appeared elsewhere on the net. I have not tried it, but I believe I have read about it elsewhere on the Café. Hope this helps.

I remember seeing a smoke device a while back that was under development for use with the Raven coin vanish. I'm not sure if it was ever sold. It looked a lot like one of those squeeker toys but you could squeeze it for a quick puff of smoke. However, it probably uses similar chemicals.

Sometimes I use Daniel Garcia's Warning concept for an invisible cigarette routine, but I don't know how unhealthy this is. He might have pulled it off the market but I'm sure you could find it somewhere. I like it because its completely impromtu, only requires a match.

A squeeze-bulb filled with just a little bit of baby powder or talcum powder can produce the effect. You have to mess around a bit with the opening of the squeeze-bulb to cut it to the right size, but if done right it looks pretty good. It is obviously a very safe way to create "smoke", but be careful where you aim it as it will show up as powder if it hits your clothes and they are dark. Also, if you have too much powder loaded it will clump on the way out and fall through the air. The opening of the bulb affects this too.

There is also the Electric Mini-Smoke machine. It runs on a 9V battery and fits in a shirt pocket. Has an on-off switch. I think it works pretty much like the old model train smoke stacks work in that there is fluid and a heating element. I own one and it appears very safe.....

http://www.ronjo.com/page/R/PROD/comedy/minismoke

Dorian

Trevor Duffy's "Smokey Magic" may be close to what you're looking for. It might be a little weak for stage viewing, but if you do a search in the Café, someone posted a Youtube video of themselves using it-- you can see if the smoke is visible enough for you.

- Frank

Here you find a old stock treasure.
These are last and limited pieces you find from the original Finn Jon gimmick here:

http://www.egelo.no/?product=smoke-from-anything-finn-jon

Each one is made by Finn Jon himself in Norway!

Tried Pure Smoke by Ellusionist?

Ugh.

You may want to try the DIY Misty Smoke Pen found in chapter 4 of the book: Prestige Pen Projects by S. Evans.
You can make the "flameless " pen for less than $20. it's designed to secretly deliver a puff of smoke when needed.