I have been told to go with a metal appearing cane rather than a plastic one. Is that right? I intend to make it appear by stroking the silk not by releasing it into the air to snap open.
Thanks.

Jim

I suggest you get the Appearing Cane from Loftus. It does not need oil, and it has the spring release; the best of all worlds. It looks great and has a silver knob. Very fast!

Loftus is a wholesaler, so you must make sure the dealer sends you the Empire brand.
The dealer I know has this is at: http://www.stoners.com

Thanks a lot, wm!

Jim

A good metal appearing cane is better than plastic. I recently bought a Mahka Tendo Appearing Cane and I love it!

Regan

They are excellent, aren't they, Regan.

Dave

I have a Mahka Tendo and its deffinitly one of the BEST!!! I LOVE it! Just go on the Seo Magic site and read my review, you will see how satisfied I am about the cane.


Raphael

How about the possible benefit of getting a stainless steel one so you don't have to worry about rust? Thanks.

Jim

Jim, did you read my post, the Japanese model and the one I suggested do not need oil and thus the likelihood of rusting is not a worry any longer. Of course if you live in a high humidity area, do not keep them in a sealed state when not in use and keep them out of water. They will last a long time. Yes, the benefits of the 21 Century have hit magic products as well. Both these models are coated steel, I do not know if it is stainless, but if you know anything about stainless steel, it will rust also, if not properly taken care of. These 2 models are not made of the old black spring steel. The Empire model is silver metal covered with the black surface of some kind.

Yes!!!!! I'm pretty sure Tendo canes are faiirly rust-resistant. The outside is painted with something that should help prevent rust also.

I have been using an appearing cane for over 30 years.

After all these years I have found that people don’t know what it is anymore! I have heard more than once, “I love the thing that you did, where you turn a handkerchief into a STICK” or "Where did that STICK come from?"

Why would you want to make a STICK appear? I think that we are still re-living the days of old and forget that men don’t wear hats or carry walking sticks anymore as the norm.

Ray,
I've mentioned before that when audiences see either the silk-to-cane or the dancing cane that they think it's an oversized magic wand. When tuxedos replaced white tie and tails as the public's concept of "formal attire" a lot of what we as magicians adopted as symbols of our art became a little archaic. On the other hand, since the cane to silk is more an interlude than a feature of any magic effect, it surprises me that the audience responds to it as much as they do. I use a standard 20th century silk routine where the yellow silk becomes a cane and the silk reappears between a red and blue one. So the main effect is the 20th century silks, not the appearing cane.

I know that a lot of performers disdain the use of a classic change bag because it looks like a prop and does not have anything like a real-world counterpart. But I've always felt that it makes perfect sense that magicians use apparatus that only magicians would use. After all, there is no real world counterpart of a magic wand. And although most prestidigitators would prefer to change base metal into gold by using sleight of hand rather than something like a change box, the closest thing history has ever had to real magicians--the alchemists--used a massive oven called an athanor in their quest to change base metal into gold.

In the Old Testament, Yahweh accomplishes some of his magic just by speaking, as in "The Lord said: Let there be light." But he did not say "Let there be man!" Instead he chose to form dust into the image of a man and then breathe life into the figure. I'm sure if he wanted to, he could have said "Let there be man!" But for that particular miracle he chose to use a slightly different modus operandus.

----- Amado "Sonny" Narvaez
P.S. Isaac Asimov wrote a very illuminating chapter about the Book of Genesis in his _Asimov's Guide to the Bible_ that goes into detail about the original Hebrew text for the Creation that points out that there's a significant difference in meaning between the Hebrew words "create" and "make." He pointed out that the word "create" suggests that something is created out of nothing, whereas "make" means to make something by using raw materials to produce something new. There is, therefore, a difference between the statement "God created man in His own image" and the statement "God formed man out of the dust of the earth."

Noone has ever called my walking stick a magic wand. Why, because it is used as a Walking Stick. I think some magicians just do not like real magic. If a performer acts like it is a cane the audience will relate it is a cane. Producing and then swinging it around like a wand, they will call it a wand.

Canes are used today and not just by the injured or elderly. I think magicians must get away from the computer and go out in the world and see there is a world out there besides in your little area and group.

Use the cane as a cane after the production, it will register with the audience. Magic is considered a performing art for a reason, because you have to perform as a magician.

[quote]On 2009-09-15 17:00, wmhegbli wrote:
Noone has ever called my walking stick a magic wand. Why, because it is used as a Walking Stick. I think some magicians just do not like real magic. If a performer acts like it is a cane the audience will relate it is a cane. Producing and then swinging it around like a wand, they will call it a wand.

Canes are used today and not just by the injured or elderly. I think magicians must get away from the computer and go out in the world and see there is a world out there besides in your little area and group.

Use the cane as a cane after the production, it will register with the audience. Magic is considered a performing art for a reason, because you have to perform as a magician.
[quote]

Where do you see men using canes?

You might want to walk around the mall and take a look around and see how many men are using canes.

I do position the stick as a cane once produce to try and give it a purpose and look like a cane. Then again I guess I will have to get away from the computer and go out in the world and see there is a world out there besides coming here to the Café where it is just a little area and group.

Maybe one day I will be as enlighted as others here at the Café because I really do not see guys walking around using canes unless they are old as dirt.



Ray

To quote the Bard: "That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." Applied to this discussion, one might paraphrase and say "That which we call a wand by any other name would be as magical."

One of the web definitions for "wand" is "A stick or staff used to perform magic." That seems to allow a lot of room for interpretation. For instance, the staff that Moses used to turn the waters of the Nile to blood--or that he cast down and changed to a snake--could by that definition be considered a wand. But I doubt that many people would have called Moses's staff a "wand." And he probably used the staff to help him walk around while leading his people out of Egypt on their quest for the Promised Land.

And hasn't this discussion about kids calling the appearing cane a wand been addressed on the Café before? In the end, to quote the Bard again, I think a lot of this discussion is "full of sound and fury--signifying nothing."

-----Amado "Sonny" Narvaez
Postscript: It's interesting that a "magic wand" closely resembles a band conductor's wand. Come to think of it, the stick a conductor uses to direct an orchestra can produce quite a bit of magic...

As stated above, I use the appearing cane in conjunction with another illusion, in my case the Shadow Box, and I have never had anyone think of it as anything else than a cane. Probably because I use it as a cane...walking stick... through out the Shadow Box illusion. It also fits the Steam punk clothing I wear on stage.

I will say that I have had my assistant practiced the appearing cane, mishandled it, and it sliced her hand open to the tune of 6 stitches.

I also use a Mahka Tendo cane and it work just amazingly well. I have never had any problems or issues with it. It really is the way to go.

Kyle