Just ordered this cup from rnt2, very much looking forward to receiving, I assume this cup will take the fab fruit as a final load?

I am not much of a fan of aluminum Cups; however the KB CC is a good one, you should like it... give it a good polishing and a coat of wax before you use it. I have found that the satin finish aluminum Cups start to tarnish quite quickly with use.
The Fab Fruit will load with no problems.

Have fun with it,
Bruce

Hiya Daren,
I polished your cup with Mother's Aluminum Polish prior to shipping it today. I don't apply waxes to our metals unless the customer asks for it, but Bruce is right that a wax will reduce tarnishing.
Since it will hold a baseball or a cricket ball, it will hold Ammar's Fab Fruit.
Thanks for the order and I'm sure your will enjoy this cup.

Great thanks, looking forward to receiving it, now to work on my chop cup routine

Posted: Jan 12, 2012 3:29pm
Whats the best way to keep this looking in good condition, I am in the UK, or will this tarnish nicely anyway?

In my experience, aluminum doesn't really tarnish like copper or brass does. It just gets spotty from fingerprints.
You can shine it with pretty much any metal polish. I buy Mother's Aluminum Polish from the auto supply store, or you can find it in the automotive section of grocery stores and hardware stores in the US. I don't know if Mother's is available in the UK, but you should definitely have something comparable. Again though, "aluminum polish" is not really necessary. I sell Maas Metal Polish and it does a great job on aluminum as well as copper and brass - any "metal polish" should be fine for aluminum.

Do you all think the size balls of 1 1/8 inch balls are suitable for this ken brooke cup, I notice on the site that there are 1 3/8 inch balls which obviously are slightly bigger, so wondering if the larger balls would look better with this cup, or do you think it does not matter?

Daren:

The maximum size of the ball you use should be determined by whatever is comfortable for you to hold in your hand. If you can't close your hand completely around a 1 3/8 inch ball, then use a smaller one.

Also, bear in mind that color is important. Consider your close-up mat as your stage floor/backdrop and your jacket and shirt as your backdrop. If the ball won't show up against them, change colors.

If you use Maas, Simichrome or Flitz on that cup, there is a wax component in the polish that will protect the metal.

Or you can use Renaissance wax, which is available from woodworking shops in the UK. It's expensive, but a small tin will last you a very long time.

Daren - do you have a link to this chop cup please?

I wasn't aware of anyone selling Ken's cup these days.

Cheers fella.

Here is the link

http://www.rnt2.com/index.php?dispatch=c......y_id=184

Francis

Thanks Francis

Cheers for the link.

That's definitely the design marketed by Ken. I just wonder whether 'Rings N Things' have permission to market this (and use Ken's name) given that copyright and manufacture of Ken's magic is held by Paul Stone - I didn't read that this was the case within their marketing blurb?

The original Aluminium cups sold by Ken were excellent - check with Paul Daniels who uses one to this day in cabaret (on Ken's advice when many thought that the Chop Cup was just a close-up trick).

One little point I should add regarding the climax of a Chop Cup (or any cups and balls routine). The emphasis upon the final load produced SHOULD NOT be dependent upon the SIZE of the item used. I've noticed a lot of dealers over the years focus upon the fact that (e.g.) "the diameter of our cup(s) enable you to produce a tennis ball". Gents the SIZE of the object ISN'T important.....It's the UNEXPECTED APPEARANCE that is important. To this end, focus upon your misdirection and loading technique rather than using something that you can't handle effectively.

Doubt it? Watch the Paul Daniels routine and see the reaction he gets with a tangerine and a smallish lemon.

The US sales rights belong to Joe Stevens, this was set up between Paul Stone and Joe Stevens exclusively. RNT II has had permission from Joe Stevens to make and market the KB chop cups. You'll find them for sale by Stevens as well.

Jake is correct. Stevens purchased the rights to all the Ken Brooke material for making and selling in the U.S.A.

Received this cup today together with some chop balls and monogrammed bag, it is a thing of beauty!!!!!!!!

Jake/Pete,

Thanks for the clarification.

I was aware of the link up with Joe Stevens & Paul Stone (that dates back to around 1982 if I remember rightly). Really pleased that the set-up with R n' T is kosher.

Just looking out for my hero - KB.

Glad you like your cup mate. I think Joe Stevens still sells the Ken Brooke routine - it's well worth checking out.

The Ken Brooke routine is what Paul Daniels started with.

Daren, I'm happy you are pleased with the cup. It is a terrific cup.
Merc Man, like Jake says - I make these for Stevens and offer them in our store within the arrangement I have with Stevens.
Also, I always include in a cup's description information about the maximum size load that a cup will accommodate. This information provides a magician with a gauge as to how large the cup's capacity is. What the magician chooses to throw into the cup is up to them, but I want them to know that they can throw in a load a large as a baseball (as is the case with the Ken Brooke Master Cup) if they choose to. Many guys choose cups based upon what they want to produce from them. The gauge certainly helps in that regard.

Fair enough but being English, I haven't got the first idea what the size of a baseball is!

I'm also quite certain that Ken never used one.

I use the fab fruit for final loads, lemon and lime! just getting to work on my chop cup routine, partly danny tongs and partly mine own bits added, about 5 phases in total

It's easy enough to find using a search engine. However, it's even easier when a cup nut who has more balls (load balls) than anyone else simply posts the sizes.

A standard baseball is 9 inches in circumference.

There are also 8.5 inch balls, 8 inch balls, 7.5 inch balls and some smaller ones called St. Louis corkballs. Softballs are 11 inch circumference and 10 inch circumference.