My first cups & balls were water glasses covered with brown shopping bags, and $1 dollar bills crumpled tightly into balls. This idea is right from "Stars of Magic"
Dai Vernon Chapter. Years later, I got a set of Danny Dew " Paul Fox Cups". For them I liked the red knited balls 1/2 inch. I do this so I can nest the 3 balls togeather in the center cup. The small balls are a better contrast to the final load balls. The final loads are so strong, every one forgets about the size of the smaller balls. At least this is my opinion, and ...

Mike Rogers baseballs, but they'll be getting rare.

I like to use those little fuzz balls you can buy at craft stores. They are cheap, come in different sizes and colours, and have the ability to squish like sponge balls.

I have found an interesting ball that is just fine for the cups and balls, and extremely cheap to boot! It is sold as "ice balls" and it is a reusable ice "cube" that comes in assorted colors. I just bought 15 for 0.10 euros each, look at them at:

http://www.ascotti.org/magic/graphics/cb_ice_balls.jpg

1. rolled dollar bills (Stars of Magic, Daryl)
2. sugar packets with McDonald's styrofoam coffee cups
3. mini corks or corks from wine bottles
4. rolled foil with plastic cups (Penn and Teller)
5. rolled napkins, newspaper clippings, or other paper

these are some ideas for impromptu balls

alleycat

I still stand by my Fakini 1" silicone balls for general use. I haven't experienced any problems or hang ups with them and they make the moves almost effortless because of the 'grip' they provide.

I find them easier to handle than the crocheted balls that come with most sets.

Thanks for all the ideas on impromptu ball substitutes though. Now you have all gotten my brain into a different gear to rethink my current routine.

I prefer the 3/4" red crocheted balls because I use red sponge balls as my final loads including a sponge ball that don't fit into the cups.

I have used the colorful striped balls you can get in the cat department at about any store. They are nice but more than one won't fit on a cup so they don't fit my routine any more.

the best balls I ever have seen are the one from Auke van Dokkum from the Netherlands
http://www.cupsandballs.nl

I ordered them today ,
there is a little waitinglist , but I tell you , it's worth wile

Balls? I use bullets.. .38 special to be exact. With silver casings.

I admit that I used a Morrissey set for practice until I came up with the dummy loaded rounds.

I use red crocheted balls for my routine. I like them for reasons others have listed: they don't talk, they are quite visible (especially against my dark green close-up mat), and they handle easily.

However, I've heard a lot of good things about the Mike Rogers mini baseballs, and I'm considering using them, if they are still available and they aren't too expensive.

Emily B.,

The Mike Rogers balls are still available. Check with http://www.ammarmagic.com for details.

Robert Bloor

Thanks for the info, Robert!

I've been hearing comments about their lack of availability (in this thread, actually) and I wasn't sure.

Emily,

After Mike passed there was some time that they weren't being made at all.

I purchased the last set of 7/8" that Michael Ammar had in his shop.

Not long ago they began offering them again.

If you can't get a set, you can also get baseballs from Gary Animal & Gazzo over at Magicpitch.com

Robert Bloor

Jim Riser makes a great set of balls that don't roll away... check http://www.jamesriser.com

I use the mini baseballs when strolling, and chili peppers in my close-up show. Both work well for the wand spin and they are easy to load. Use your immagination and you can come up with many items to use for loads to make your C&B routine unique.

I just did a show for my kids birthday party and after reading all the posts I deceided to use kumquats( look like oranges but the size of a grape ) used big oranges for the final loads.

i want to use a tennis ball as my final load and thought that using tinny tennis balls, similar to the baseballs for the routine would be neat. but the smallest i have been able to find are 2", has anybody seen smaller ones, 1" at most, anywhere?

I use homemade monkey-fist balls made of thin suade strips. Made them about a year ago. The core is a very small - 3/8ths or 5/8ths inch - crocheted cork ball.

You can practically throw these things into the cup and they won't talk. They are also a little heavier than standard cork balls.

Couldn't ask for anything better...takes a little bit of time to make them though. Mine have 4 rounds of leather strip and are right at 1".

sd

I searched and found some 7/8" balls. Problem was they were black, slightly tacky, and resistant to paint. After much trial and error I found a paint that not only adhered but wasn't tacky. I found that silicone Fakini included was too tacky for stacking routines.

I use my home-made sponge balls.

because the only storage case for the sponge balls that I use for the cups and balls or individual sponge ball magic are the cups

hope that wasn't too confusing.