Does anyone have these? They look really neat, and are found on the SFS website. I have the magnetic SFS shells, but would like another set of shells just for the fun of it. They're are 150 bucks, what do you guys think about them. Any owners?

here is a website description:
Tom learned at a young age how to make shell game from a real con man by the name of Deacon Dan and to this day each shell is hand carved by Tom Bartlett from a genuine American black walnut.
Black walnuts are smaller around than English, they are jut as tall as they are wide, they have a natural texture that makes them the easiest to grip of any shells and require less forward and backwards movement to load and unload, of any shells on the market any where.

English walnuts not being common in the south, the black walnuts may be more like the shells actually used in the south around the Civil War period and ideal for period reenactment.

Each set takes almost four hours of labor to create (a pint of blood in the making of every set). They come with three Tom Bartlett foam peas: two working and one "straight".

The pea has a new twist, the working pea and the non-working pea are almost indistinguishable from one another and are both soft and spongy but the non-working pea stays under the shell so it can be handed out with the shells and the secret will not be discovered.

Click here to view attached image.

I have a set of these and really like them. They are easy to grip and a little smaller which makes moving the pea a piece of cake. I got a set from Tom back before they were for sell on the SFS and never regretted it. all in all I would highly recommend them.

Bob Sheets showed me these at Columbus Magi Fest, I was in love. I tracked down Tom as I wanted to bring a number of these to Blackpool, I was right, they loved them too. Simply the best shells I have ever used. Each is signed also making them collectable as well. Beautiful. Funny when you have a feeling about something, I am seldom wrong. This is a labor of love for Tom. Once I called him, and was unable to get off the phone, I knew I was right. This is a guy who loves magic. Get them right from Tom.

I actually bought a few sets for myself from Tom after talking to Bob Sheets and hearing Bob rave about these. They are beautiful and I love the size. They are much smaller than a "normal" shell and thus are perfect to carry around and ideal for table hopping. They have a rough outside finish that really makes them look great. They work as like a charm. Highly recommended.

Tim Trono

Has anybody else used the Deacon Dan shells and formed an opinion on how they handle?

I ask as a guy who has bought a lot of shells looking for the right ones, and have long been settled on the SFS Antique Bronze as my main shells, and the SFS Street Shells for lightweight pocket work.

There's something about the Deacon Dan shells.........they call my name

As a result of my question above, I've got some VERY positive PM's from users of Tom's shells, so positive that I've picked up a set.

After reading various posts here on the Café, and doing a bit of thinking, I'm starting to postulate in my own head that shells for the game should be made from real walnuts.

I don't know where I'm going (exactly) with this line of thought, but having real walnut shells for the game is starting to make a whole lot of sense to me.

I think this might be stemming from the fact that I've made my (as much as I hate the word) "patter" as authentic as possible, and then I bring out a metal walnut shell?..........it seems counterintuitive to striving to be authentic with the presentation.

This "authenticity" has become more important lately than it was when I first started out working the shells.

What I'm not sure of is how the "authenticity" factor plays to the spec.......perhaps they don't notice what the shells are made out of at all.......something I'll find out as I start to use the Deacon Dan shells in front of folks.

This is my 7th set of shells, the rest being from the SFS and Black Fox inventory of fine products, and with the Bob Swadling shells and Al Cohen thimbles on their way.......addicted to the shells to be sure

BTW, I don't play any of this as a "magic trick", but rather as an attempt at an authentic demo (sans any exposure) of what it might have been like to run into an actual shell or thimble con in the day.

So far the only person I have seen who can really get away with metal shells is Whit. "I had these cast in silver. This game has been very good to me."

Coming from "Pop" it makes perfect sense.

Hi,
could you give the website adress please?
thanks,
Alex.

So true Dave...Whit can get away with a lot of things the rest of us can't just as a result of the fact that he's Whit and we're not

Having said everything I did in my above post, please be advised that I STILL TOTALLY COVET a set of SFS Silver Shells just like everybody else does!

I don't think you can ever have too many shells any more than Bill Palmer can ever have too many cups!! (BTW, Bill's 3-shell section of the C&B museum is a beautiful thing to behold for those who haven't yet seen them).

http://www.schoolforscoundrels.com

Bookmark it. It's probably one of the most important sites on the Internet.

I guess it is time I chime in. I’m not against blatant self promotion, it's just that I’m not very good at it and not at all comfortable doing it. Then there is the fact, that I can tell you these shells and peas are the greatest thing since ice-cream and it will certainly go in one ear and out the other, who ever heard of Tom Bartlett. Now you can see my dilemma of self promotion.

Andrew Pinard has good instincts and was the first one to contact me about selling the Deacon Dan shells and has sold them here and around the world, to some very high profile magicians, but many of or most of them are to busy doing magic to post here or any where else. Bob Sheets got a set of my shells from Whit Haydn and Chef Anton and has been using them and showing them to other magicians, (His tour schedule make him look like he has to have clones.) and I can not thank him enough. (Believe me I have emailed him, sent PMs and I don’t think he has had time to open one of them yet).

I also want to thank Craig Dickson for making time to post here (This guy is a mover and a shaker too.) and say such nice things.

Tim Trono liked them so much he bought several set for his own use and took the time to post praise also.

I certainly don’t want to forget Wolfsong, he is the first person to buy a set of my shells and like the rest of us loves the shell game and the Deacon Dan shells.

The con man that showed me how to make the shells from black walnuts, never did a kind deed that string were not firmly attached, and that’s about all I’m going to say about that for now except, I may get the best end of the deal yet.

I love the shell game as a magic presentation and I’m still trying to get one of every set I can find. I have many SFS, La Maggiore, a set made from lids off of vodka bottles lined with some kind of hard putty, givenme by another old street hustler and lot more, much too many to list.

As you may well have expected I’m very, partial to the Deacon Dan shells and when I do my shell routine these are the shells I use. I have developed a few moves, that as far as I know, can only be done with these shells, because of the shape and size and I’m working on a way to share them.

I can not thank everyone enough for all they have done, but I can give you links to your favorite seller, not in any particular order:

http://www.threeshellgame.com/shellshop/......ory&id=1

http://www.chefanton.com/scoundrelsstore/shell_game.htm


And me: bartlett50@cox.net

Respectfully,
Tom Bartlett

Tom's Deacon Dan shells showed up in my mailbox a couple of days ago, and I"ve had quite a few hours playing around with them.

I've got to say right up front that these shells are pure magic. They handle like a dream, and have a look to them that you only get from real walnut shells.

The finish on the inside is amazing, designed to last a lifetime, the workmanship on each shell is over the top. I can only imagine the amount of "hand tuning" that goes into each shell.

I've got quite a few (not all yet, but there's still time!) iterations of the SFS shells, Black Fox shells, Andrew's shells........and they're all great shells. Tom's Deacon Dan's though are REALLY different from the rest in terms of size and feel.
They're unique.

Tom's shells are smaller than all the rest of the available shells on the market, and being smaller there are some things that can be done with them that are difficult to do with the larger shells. ANY of the moves that challenge your fingers either due to shell size or shell weight will benefit from Tom's shells.

Whit Hayden has posted elsewhere that he thinks this is the Golden Age of shells, and that even a few years down the road the amazing choice of shells we've got today might not be there.
Getting Tom's shells won't result in a wholesale change in the shells I own..........but these shells will see a lot of use, carried around in the nice leather pouch Tom supplies with them.

I can easily see Tom's shells becoming my main shells, although the SFS metal shells remain a choice where a weighty shell is required for certain moves, and my SFS street shells will be the ones that go down on sloppy and wet bar tables (Tom's shells are too expensive to get soaked in beer and not quite as "drink proof" as the SFS Street Shells).
Andrew's and Black Fox's (Frank's) shells are really too big for my hands, but I collect shell sets and they're both important and beautiful examples.

Tom's "Deacon Dan Shells" are a beautiful set, and I think they join as a unique addition to Whit's "Colorado Silver Shells" and Colin Rose's "Venetian Shells" in the useable, rare and beautiful category of top of the line sets of shells.

I got a set of this Gems and I'm really happy with them, I keep them in a well secured case to protect them but they seem that they could last forever, they handle like silk with that natural grip they have and it is really easy to load and unload the pea,this pea has a very nice look as well and one can play with the audience by letting them to try to fool you with the non-working pea,and then a simple switch and let's have some fun.

I highly recommend them.

peace.

Mano.

I'm confused, are these carved from walnut wood, or are they actual walnuts. Forgive the question, I'm just a little confused. Also, the theshellgame website shows a picture of them as being fairly red in color, while the SFS website has a picture that displays them as being dark brown. Can someone describe their color to me aswell? Thank you

They're real walnuts.
They're a mid-brown color, not red.

I am looking forward to buying a set of these as soon as I can fit them into my budget. In the meantime, I took a stab at making a set of my own out of black walnuts. I am extremely pleased with the results, but I still want a set of the "real deal"
Don't be deterred by the price, after carving out a set from real black walnuts, I can say the job is worth every cent of the $150 Tom charges. These nuts are the toughest *&^%ing buggers I ever dealt with. He's not exaggerating much about that pint of blood!
Tom, what would you say to a swap? My nuts for yours?
Like Tom, I am collecting shells. I have a set of La Maggiores, as well as a set of the Black Fox Turtles (Both of which are great, BTW)
I also have some sets I made from English Walnuts (so much easier than Black Walnuts!) including a set that's weighted.
Now I'm trying to locate a set of Karl Norman's metal cup shells.
I love the size and shape of the Black Walnuts. You won't go wrong buying a set of Tom's "Deacon Dans"
Don
PS, re: the color, I bought a 5 pound bag of Black Walnuts when I was making mine, and there's quite a variation in color, varying shades of brown.

I am a big fan of Deacon Dan's shells, and use them quite a bit. They handle very well, and have a high side that makes it easier to grip. They also work very well with the Perfect Pea.

I have always felt that the smaller the shell, the better the impact. There is less distance for the pea to travel, and in comparison to the shells, the pea is bigger in the spectator's eye. The pea is the star of the show, after all, not the shells.

As to authenticity, I don't think that is much a problem. "Lucky Jim" Thornton made himself rich in the 1840's and 50's with a tray hung from his neck and three round brass cups the size of walnuts. Before him, most sharpers used thimbles.

Thornton used a blackened cork for a pea.

In Leadville, Co, in the 1880's, there was a sharper (Nutshell Jim) who used shells cast from solid silver. It inflamed the avarice of the miners as well as ticking them off (they knew who he had taken the silver from) so that they wanted a little revenge. All this made his work easy.

The fact is, that eccentricity is rampant throughout history. Realism is often gained by surprising choices.

The problem with a lot of re-enactment types, is that they look for what is familiar and conventional, and true authenticity is often found by avoiding stereotypes.

From looking at the people performing in period, you would think that everyone in the 1880's either wore a top hat or a cowboy hat, or a gambler's hat.

I look for props that are surprising and unique and "suitable" for the period, then find ways to justify them if necessary.

Audiences are always most suspicious of real shells that are puttied and finished--much more than they are of solid plastic or metal shells.

By the way, S4S chose not to manufacture any handmade walnut shells. The amount of time and effort is not in keeping with any price that we could reasonably expect people to pay. $150 is cheap, and I don't know how Tom can produce them at that price for retail. Four hours at $20 an hour is already $80. Without any cost for the bag, materials etc., the wholesale price should already be near the current retail price. They really should sell for much more. It must be a labor of love on Tom's part. Don't wait too long to pick them up. He may wise up any day now--probably the next time he burns his thumb with the moto-tool.

We use the Deacon Dan shells in some demos of our new magnetic Sharper pen on our soon-to-be-released-but-please-don't-ask-when Volume II of the Shell Game Series.

The Deacon Dan shells are demonic when used with a magnetic cigar (available from S4S) or our Sharper pens and a magnetic Perfect Pea.

BTW, magnets were used by street sharpers in the thirties...

Don't let conventional ideas of the past limit your vision.

That's an interesting observation. I have not noticed this, but will keep it in mind in the future. Thanks for the tip, Whit!

I have always puttied the shells I made myself, based on Jack Chanin's instructions in "Hello Sucker", as well as Tom Osborne's book and the Frank Garcia instructions. I like to use epoxy putty because it hardens into a virtually indestructible surface.

Notably, Gary Ouellet's "Supershells" routine recommends unlined natural shells. I always wondered why, and perhaps this is the reason.

I find lined shells to be marginally easier to work with, requiring less movement of the shell to get the "trick" to happen, but this is a poor bargain if I am exciting suspicion with them. I will definitely be watching for signs of this in the future.

Don

I thought I had bought all the shells I would ever need and now I see I may have to make another purchase. These Deacon Dan shells look awesome. I, too, have quite a collection, and I use various routines everywhere I work (just used my "borrowed" ring routine with the shells in the Close-up Room at the Castle and it played great). I've bounced back and forth on "authentic" looking shells and the more novelty ones (the Black Fox turtle or beetle shells). Whit's comments on the size of the shells makes sense.

Don, you asked about the Karl Norman shells (which are really small little goblets - and I do mean small - about a US quarter diameter). Bob Swadling out of the UK makes a set very similar out of aluminum. I've been using these recently at the bar I work. They're fun to use as there are a number of moves that are kind of cool you can't do with normal shells (stacking the shells, for example). You can order direct from him or maybe Hank Lee's (he carries a lot of Swadling's material).

Great work on these shells, Tom. I look forward to getting a set.

Thanks Doug, I'll look into the Doug Brewer Shells
Don