Hi everyone,

I am a recent proud owner of a disecto arm chopper and am trying to think of a funny, not too scary presentation for it for kids. Or maybe I'm being too optimistic and you think I should keep sharp(ish) blades away from children? Any suggestion or ideas would be greatly appreaciated.

I'm hoping you guys may be able to spark my creative juices.

Adrian

Adrian, there are going to be people that jump on this thread and state "You should NEVER perform cutting tricks for kids!!!" Never ever, the golden rule, rules rules rules!!!! Me personally, I throw all rules out the window when performing for kids except the rule "have fun."

For years and years I have performed disecto in my kid shows BUT not for the real young ones. Not for day care/pre schools. When performing for b days I do not perform it for 4, 5, 6 year old birthdays. I USED to perform it for that age and sometimes I still do if there are more older kids and adults in the crowd, but mostly I reserve it for the ages of 8 and up. You will have some young kids cover their eyes when you perform it.

You say you are looking for a funny, not too scary presentation but the fact is, it IS a scary trick and no matter how much you play it for comedy, it IS a danger trick and to the young mind it IS scary.

I have a lot of funny one-liners. I use a bowl with a fake bloody hand. You can make it as funny as you want but when it comes time to perform the penetration, like I said, to kids it IS scary.

So, why do I perform it? I have always liked that "element of danger" in my act. Two questions kids always ask "Are you going to pull a bunny out of your hat? Are you going to saw someone in half" .

Have fun . . .

You will be relegated to the deepest pit in Hades for using this with kids!*L*

OK, now that it has been said, you can give young children nightmares with this, and lose business. I think it could be a blast with 8 y/os, but I wouldn't do it with ANY younger kids around. The problem is most 8 y/o parties have younger siblings around too. The other issue is if some mom thinks it is inappropriate she will probably warn everyone she can about you.

Because of this, I decided not to use it on kids, period.

I then used a MAK Disecto on an adult at a birthday party, and the blade grazed him, drawing a fine cut (yes, blood). It was no big deal to him (thankfully) but I freaked. I still remember the feeling, like my stomach dropped out . . .

Never used it again.

The "trick" to using Disecto safely every time is to be certain both the front and back swinging curved pieces of wood that hold the wrist in place are locked securely.
You really must study how this is accomplished. (There is a right way and a wrong way.)

Of course, you always want to select a helper with a thin wrist> most big strong men will have a wrist that is too large.

Julie

The best way to use a Disecto is to put it in your closet and leave it there.

Jim

When we first started I used lots of material like this - I think it was down to my Roman Catholic education, always being in Church looking at statues of suffering, and being taught about torture and Martyrs during the English Reformation. I still have an interest in the macabre - but would never ever dream of doing anything relating to amputations, spikes in arms etc. at kids shows these days.

I agree, the best way to use these sort of props is to lock them in a cupboard (or sell them!)

:) T.

I own an old Abbott's Disecto. I disassembled mine, reworked it and rebuilt it. It works exactly the way I want it to. I haven't used it in a kidshow, but I could manipulate the presentation to make it cartoonish, so it's funny without being so scary.

>>The best way to use a Disecto is to put it in your closet and leave it there.

That is were I keep mine,,,,

The BEST ARM CHOPPER on the PLANT is Choppo! by Jimmy Fingers. No Gimmick! Can be examined before during and after the routine. Nothing to find and extremely deceptive!
http://gimpysmagic.com/choppo.html

For the right age - if the kids can take it - it is a GREAT trick.

In the book "Professional Magic for Children" from David Ginn is a great routine for this trick.

The most important thing here is, Right Audience! I am very careful about where and when I perform my Arm Chopper routine. If done right with a good presentation for a good audience, it brings the house down and I get lots of applause! Cheers!

I do my finger chopper routine in every kid's show. Never a complaint. The kids and the parents laugh the whole time.

I ask which kids want to do the scary trick. Multiple hand go up. I pick one and explain to the crowd how dangerous this trick is. Then in a very obvious stage whisper, I tell the volunteer "its all fake don't worry." I do this a few more times.

Then I explain that I don't want the parents to be worried so I will explain how it works. I tell them one side of the chopper is very sharp and I use it in my kitchen.

I then explain that the other side is for the magic show and is perfectly safe. And I can tell which side is safe because of this sticker. The kids can see that there is no sticker. I then notice and start to look on the floor for the sticker. Then I say "Oh well the show must go on. At least I've got a 50% chance. And if it doesn't work the first time we'll just use another finger.

I don't know if it can be explained in text but the kids are laughing the whole time. The "get" what is going on.

I do pay a lot of attention to the volunteer. If they seem the least bit worried I tell them they can now decide if they want to do the scary trick or the funny trick that comes later. If they want to do the funny trick I send them back to the audience and get another volunteer.

I do love danger magic, but my concern would be other adults objecting. Chances are they won't tell you to your face, but they will tell their friends and not hire you again. Some young children are very timid and dangerous magic will scare them too much. I do a dangerous magic show for 8 and up, but never younger.

Do a Cafe' search for Grant's Safari. It's a safe and fun approach to a "chopper" routine for the wee ones.

For many years I used a Mak French arm chopper for family shows. I did ask myself why so many patients were so willing to have their kids come up as the volunteer but I would go into the audience before the show to explain. I have on the other hand have a kid freek when a balloon popped.
John

Ha ha! I used a loud ( compressed air) horn in my shows - kids loved it. The last school assembly I did two students started crying after I blew the horn …. I quit doing it but it’s a sad comment on today’s youth