I was not talking about GG's sticks with the locking screw.
I am talking about a standard set, which 99 % of the sticks out there are.
Even GG packs his standard sticks the corect way with the weight ancored like I talked about.
I have to say about all he sticks I have received, every one came in the mail, and some people just throw them in an envelope. I have received so many broken. Especially some of the older ones and some knocked out the ends, and strings broken and I had to fish around the package for the beads and parts. Some of the very old sticks over 50 years old have very old and thin string which needs to be protected. I still have many sitting here I have to re-do before I can take a picture for my photo slide show. Otherwise they would already be in my slide show.

I did get The TNT sticks thanks to this thread. She had the strings fully extended down the sticks and a rubber band holding them tight. Very good.
I have to say I recommend these sticks, they are a great novelty set and are open for many comedy routines. I can't wait to bring them into military bases, airports and schools.

ACE

I agree with you 100% about mailing or shipping. My understanding at the top was "storing" the sticks.

How can one see pictures of your sticks collection??

-=tabman

I worked a festival once (over 10 years ago, can't remember which one). They had a clown with Chinese Sticks in her belt. I asked about them and she said she carried them, but didn't really have anything to do with them. I asked if I could borrow them and showed her "The Emperor and his Jester" from "Kid Stuff" (don't remember which volume. She was impressed. Some day, when I have money to spare (ha!) I'm going to pick up another set and add them to my sad little street show!

They're easy enough to make. When I was doing the Silent Mora reproductions in bamboo, I made the working part of the sticks in some brass tubes and used 30/06 brass filled with plumbers lead for the weights. A little teflon on the weight makes them smooth as silk.

-=tabman

When I was in junior high school I made a set of sticks out of bamboo, and batteries for weights. I wouldn't recommend this, but just saying that they aren't hard to make.

Having said that, it's always nice to use quality stuff. I actually think I perform with stuff that I like. I practice more and perform more with stuff that I like.

Marty, that's a good point and many people are capable of making high quality stuff to use.

Im curious how you rigged the string to the batteries??

-=tabman

I don't really remember. I might have soldered rings to the ends of the batteries. I learned to solder when I was around 6. I played around with a lot of things, built a short wave radio when I was around 12 and helped my father assemble a Heathkit TV before that. I tried to build a double door die box then too, but it was a complete failure.

[
How can one see pictures of your sticks collection??

-=tabman
[/quote]


http://s474.photobucket.com/albums/rr110......lideshow

OR:


http://s474.photobucket.com/albums/rr110......tart=all

ace(THE STICK MAN)

Wow Ace, you're one of my new heros. What a wonderful collection. When I was a kid I had a pair of "Chinese Pencils." They were from P & L I think. Have you run into any of these. I looked through your pictures but if you ahve a set I missed them. Anyway, great pictures. Thank you for posting them.

-=tabman

Thanks for the comments. I have about 6 sets I have not pictured yet, including the TNT. My busy summer camp schedule has kept me too busy to photo and organize my new ones. I have 3 more sets of General Grant's coming in the mail. So I work doing shows every day, and before and after I still post here, man I must be sick, hehe.

No I don't have a P&L set. I am also loolking for a Kanter set. If anyone can help me locate either of these, that would be nice. I would also be interested in any other sets anyone might have that I can acquire for my collection.
Thanks in advance.

ACE

Posted: Jul 12, 2009 7:24pm
And...(I was just reading the topic here, to get on subject)...I see no reason why any of the Chinese sticks cannot be used on the street.

Just come up with a creative routine. Maybe everytime someone puts money in your hat(If you are getting tips throughout the show), then use the sticks as a running gag, stop the show and pull one string and the other goes up. It seems like if you get the right person, they might keep feeding you dollars to see if you keep doing the trick.

I would pick a sturdy set like the Brass General Grant, and probably a large Stage size set, as I tend to think the bigger the better when on the street.
The performers I have seen tend to have their props(such as cups and rings) in heavy metals and look all banged up. The Ping and Pong are real sturdy also and I think they can take a beating on the street, if one does not want to beat up a nice GG set. I might replace those ping pong balls(I actually got a second set just to replace the balls), unless you are doing the ping and pong routine.
I even thought of getting the hollow plastic golf balls for the country club gigs.

Be different, that is what gets the attention.

ACE in the street

Posted: Jul 12, 2009 7:37pm
Now I actually carry the brass General Grant close up set with me when I do close up walk around with no tables. At corporate events. I usually save it as a "story" trick after I've amazed them with cards and such.
They are small enough to carry in a pocket. Sometimes I wear an apron and they will fit in one of those pockets. They have a nice carry bag that comes with them. I put them in that after performing. I do the ending where both ends go up, and them I put them in the bag to end, and put them away. If they go in a pocket, the weights are at the bottom, and don't move as I walk around. When I pack up to leave, then I wrap the strings around the sticks and tuck the tassels in between the sticks to hold the string in place. They are also square and the weights are square, so they can't tangle easily. The string is strong. And the ends are brass tightly screwed in, I also think GG has stops in the sticks, so I don't have to worry about these breaking easily.

I've practiced with the locking GG sticks, but it takes a little too long to remove and replace the locking screw when trying to perform my particular routine.
I was trying to take them out as I introduce my story line, and then put them back when I ended my story, but I don't have the timing down.

Maybe with more practice, If I extend my story, I could lock them and hand them out. But then again, no reason to run if you are not being chased. No one has ever asked to handle them, they are already in the bag when I say the last line of my routine. Out of site, out of mine. The last line gets a laugh or a groan.

Then I move on.

ACE

My set of GG close up sticks has arrived and were immediatly put to use. They are very versatile for many venues. I bought this set mainly due to their size. My street act is built on the principle of travelling light. I do not use a table.

As they are smaller I use them somewhere before the middle of my act when I am still building a crowd. I use a patter that is interactive so I am connecting with the group. I think they are too small for a larger crowd.

I have them in my inner pocket in their carry bag with the weights at the bottom or if I perform in a T-shirt in a pocket in my bag. I have found a way to handle them when I take them out of the carry bag so I can retain one of the tassels with my left hand holding the bag so they come out with one tassel and string out. This way I don't have to wrap one string around the stick and I am reset when putting them back.

I am in the preliminat build stage for prototyping a set of NO TILT sticks. I fooled Joe Berg with mine. I have modified two sets, one Kovari and one Owen to be NO TILT. I was probably the first to use teflon in stick and suggested it to Kovari, who immediately lined his stick with the teflon.

You can see my routine on the Stevens video/dvd.

stay tooned

Pete,
What is the title of the Steven's dvd? Also, I've been wanting to ask you something else (off topic!) do you know of any video on the jumbo three card monte routine? Thanks.

Jim

You are absolutely the person who told me about it many years ago.

Thanks again,

-=tab

I just received some new General Grant Sticks and he had them packed with a twist tie through the top hole of the stick where the string is, through the weight and out the bottom hole of the stick. This kept the weights from moving.

Pete: I want to be the first to get your new sticks! Let me know when they are available. (I did watch the DVD, but I am all thumbs and can't cut a straight line.) I'd rather have something professionally made by the originator!
And thanks for all the info and advice you gave me on my collection.
I believe you told me to use the teflon spray inside my Owen sticks, and now they slide almost too fast! No, actually perfect.

ACE

Posted: Jul 14, 2009 12:57am
And to mention one set of new locking General Grant Sticks I just received: you take the screw out the back and put it in the front, and it only takes about 3 twists, so I should be able to do this during the performance. The older-new ones I have that do this as mentioned above takes about 15 to 20 little twists. They are still great sticks. Just different.

ACE

Ace, Pete, does Teflon spray work better than spray silicone? Does it stain or otherwise mark the cords?

Will this set be as demonstrated on the DVD or will be both sticks be modified?

Ballpark price? Estimated arrival time?

First: I didn't use Teflon SPRAY but thin sheet teflon.

Second: I am working on making them like the set I used on the Stevens Video but incorporating a few new tweaks and possibly the Benson addition.

Debating on round vs. Square. Thoughts from anyone?

Benson thought that the square stick done in wood (or in his case wood contact paper) was best. He said that a round stick sort of tipped the method in that people thought of round being a tube and hollow and think of a rectangle stick as being solid.

I use both and it doesn't seem to matter in terms of reaction.

Interestingly General Grant mills his weights so that there is very little surface area actually touching the walls. Those surface areas have sheet Teflon pressed on. My old Zanadu sticks simply had plastic tubes inserted inside the real bamboo sticks. They worked like a dream. One of my kids is still using that set. It has seen over 25 years of constant use. He has his eyes on my Grant set. His kids will probably be using my Grant sticks decades after I’m long gone. I’m not giving them up until then that’s for sure! Heck I may just take them with me!

I could not find thin sheet teflon, and someone told me about the spray( I thought it was Pete, but I can't remember). The stuff I have is "CRC Heavy Duty Silicone Multi-Use Lubricant". I got it at ACEHardware(no relation!) I used it in my Owen set and they did not hurt anything and the sticks work like a dream now.

Square Vs. Round: Square are easier to hold. Some round sets have one flat side to make them easier to hold together(Owen). If the weights are square in a sqaure sticks, they seem less likely to tangle. I have a set of round ones, and the plastic tube inside is square with a square weight inside the round sticks!

ACE