Does anybody do this effect (by Cornelius)?

I'm wondering what y'all thought the pros and cons of it are.

I've got a pen through anything that should match the bendable pen, and was thinking of incorporating them both into some sort of routine - but I don't have the bendable pen yet and therefore don't know it's limitations.

The effect of bending a pen was published by Les Johnson in England many years ago, with a standard Bic pen. Cornelius appears to have come up with a different version.

I think I'd have to see this done before buying, I think it would come across more as a puzzle.

Paul Hallas

Check the clip from Hank Lee http://www.hanklee.net/hankievision/index.html

I think the pen is very clever. It is quite easy to do as well.

Thanks Bernard! Those clips are excellent! But I'm still curious if anybody on this forum actually performs this trick. What are its strengths and weaknesses?

David,

I actually own one but have only been in the "playing around with it" stage at this point.

I don't really have a routine yet.

I have also just got one but have only performed it twice. Went very well each time. The apparatus itself is very well made, and short of letting the spectator take it home to dismantle, really is examinable.

The only query would be how long a life the pen will have, as I get the impression that performing the effect puts the prop under strain. I may be wrong, hopefully someone who has used it a lot can write in.

Paul, presented bluntly yes, it would be just a puzzle, but it is such a good prop that it can have good potential to be made into a routine. When I did it, I started with the old rubber pen visual gag, teaching them how to do it - with the pen itself.

Then I went into this effect, with a bit of pk topic patter, and it went over very well. Nice thing is they did not ask to examine it as they had already handled the pen before.

I think it'll stand up to thousands of performances as you really aren't bending it severely. Just don't bend it far enough to put a kink in the barrel.

Also, do the bending using a single finger. It helps sell the idea that it's not a strength issue.

I have the bendable pen and the penomenom booklet.The black pen I got with Penomenon I can spin on a table with ease so I figured I could do the bendable pen and then make the same pen spin but the bendable pen would not spin.I guess the bendable pen must be slightly heavier due to the gimmick.O well another thoughtup routine unworkable.

Another magician I know uses the Bendable Pen prop all the time. He has routined it well and it is always well received by those he is performing for. I've seen him perform it first hand and in some cases it really freaks laypeople out. Like so many props out there it's not the prop itself but how you present it that makes the difference.

Buy it. Recommended!

When I had it demonstrated for me by a local dealer, I thought it had potential but there were two things definately wrong with the effect.

1)It made a noise very noticable and a give away to the method. I suppose it could be covered up with some loud patter.

2)Another thing that could give away the secret is that the pen has a red tip on the bottom, yet the rest of the pen is black...hmmmm. Why it wasn't made with a black tip to match the rest of the pen I will never know!

Anyway I wasn't that impressed, but performed by the right person might have changed my view and I might have bought it.

P.

Colour the red tip with a black marker.
That's what I did. I agree with Peter that the red tip is a bit obvious.

Just for a divergent opinion, I have seen the effect and played with the prop, and in my view the effect is underwhelming.

The pen bends a little -- but hey, it's a plastic pen and the bend isn't permanent. This effect can't compare with something like bending a spoon or a coin (which is easy to do in the spectator's hand if you just think B**o S****h.)

The pen is just kind of lame.

Jerry

Better see it yourself. When some like it and others don't, it's best to eyeball it yourself.

You may see something in it others don't.

Im totally with Jerry on this one...
If the bend would've been permanent, then we're talking. But now it isn't, major weakness. You use two hands, not good. Plastic is bendable, I've tried to perform it in a good context, both as someone suggested with the "rubber pen" gag, got a moderately good reaction, but people DO believe it's a gimmick pen. Quiet possibly they give you their own pen to bend.
I tried some other presentations, but the fact that it is a gimmick is somewhat obvious.

As it unbends you loose the realness that a spoonbend has. It comes through as optical illusion at best. I do believe it's "too impossible" to bend a pen and when a spectator examines it they can't find anything wrong. They believe there's a button somewhere, they just can't find it.

I can't see it as anything but a puzzle and I have a hard time believing that the audience can perceive it as anything else...

Just my thoughts.

Mine lasted about two minutes in a bar. Don't perform this for drunk people!!!

I have been performing this effect for 3 months now and it gets better every time!. I see that Penomenom was mentioned and YES it does spin - you need to get another "device" to make the "spin" even better - your hands can be further away and it works with the bendable pen. If you do this effect smoothly your victim will NEVER find anything - plus you can repeat the effect again straight away with a little handling. I love it and tied together with Penomenom it's a great opener.

So...in the end is this trick penomenom worth it?
Or I should rather go and buy myself tarbel vol 7?

I heard it's examinable, but almost everytime they say examinable, it's gimmicked and I think this make no exception!

Just bought it few days ago, yeah it's examinable. Though just wonder where can I find more routines for using the pen?