Hello All! I am wondering about your success with PK Ring effects. I am on a constant search for the best vanishing apparatus that doesn't require an elastic cord up my sleeve or doesn't cost an arm and a leg . For me, while the PK ring is cool, I have a few issues: 1) It makes a distinct click when using a steel coin or washer, loud enough that is difficult to cover up; 2) How do I get rid of the vanished item from the ring, so I can show two empty hands? Am continuously practicing my sleight of hand to do natural vanishes, and getting better, but these days spectators are onto the whole "it's in your other hand" thing no matter how good you are. Yes, I do realize there is a ton of material out there and I'm constantly researching and practicing, but looking for some real-world magician feedback.

So, interested in any thoughts on the PK Ring tool - does it work well for you, and per my 2 questions above. And, any other suggestions for the most impactful and mysterious vanish, including ditching the vanished item / reproducing it elsewhere.

Thanks!!

Mine's one of my favorite tools, but I've never used it for the purposes you're describing. Not saying you're wrong to at all, as it's largely a matter of personal preference, but I prefer to just use sleight of hand for the vast majority of my vanishes. I seldom run into trouble with people thinking it's just in my other hand, for two reasons: 1) A lot of the time, even if it takes a quick detour through the other hand, the item doesn't stay in the other hand long enough for that to be a problem; 2) not to blow my own horn, but I reckon my misdirection and my scripts are strong enough to keep people looking where I want them to look.

I use my PK ring for more subtle applications, generally. These days, I use it for three things, and I hesitate to say what they are because two of them are very personal to my own work and one of them is a method that belongs to someone else (and unless you happen to buy this particular product--and it ain't cheap--you'd never guess a PK ring was involved).

As for vanishes, there's no one answer. It depends entirely on what you're trying to vanish, under what conditions, whether you need to get it back or not. For coins (or washers), I strongly recommend Bobo's Modern Coin Magic as a good resource. Pretty sure you can pick up a copy for under $10.

There are several tools for vanishing objects. What in particular do you want to do?

A goo old fashioned (possibly therefore better) way to get rid of a coin involves the participant holding what he thinks is the coin. If he believes he is holding his signed coin the whole time, you can do whatever you want. Why would he check your other hand if he thinks it is in his? There are several ways to do this. See Greg Wilson for some good, if gutsy, ways to ditch a small object for a vanish.

Patrick

I'd like to give my two cents too. PK ring can be used to vanish coins, but there are better tools to vanish stuff (for example good ol'  raven), but PK ring is better to hold or to steal stuff without spectator knowing it. I won't tell more about how or why, it should give your imagination a boost when creating effects.

The reason why I don't want to vanish anything with PK ring is because that specs would insist to see your both hands empty right away, which is fair IMHO. And because whenever I'm using PK ring, I DON'T want to give specs ANY ideas that my wedding ring is containing any secrets...

Thanks for your feedback all.

Yeah...the more I think about it and read your comments, I realize it's more about the ditching / recovering of the object effectively - or, per your point Patrick, doing a switch with the spectator holding an object - than the vanish itself (but I'm not at all minimizing the vanish here). To your questions on what I'm trying to vanish, yes it's coins, folded bills, small hand-held fits-in-my-palm objects. And like I mentioned, I do know there's a lot of good material out there.

Totally agree with your comments Cub about the PK Ring - and do see its value for things other than vanishing.

Bob - wonderful response, thoughts, and suggestions.

What's wrong with good old fashioned sleight of hand?

Danaruns, there is nothing wrong with good ol' sleight of hand, I actually like it more if the magician is doing the magic happen rather than gimmick. It's just that the PK ring makes those effects possible which couldn't be done without.

I have never had good luck with a PK ring and coins. I use mine to keep track of my gimmick when I do the pen through dollar, I also use it to activate the nut off bolt trick. That's about it. It's a nice tool, but not what the advertisers want you to think it is.

I don't betray any great secret to say that in one of the uses I mentioned above, I use it to anchor part of a gimmick to my hand so I don't have to actually grab it while I'm trying to do other things. I also occasionally use it to hold something at the back of my hand instead of in the palm. But in neither of those cases is the ring used to actually achieve the effect. It's just a tool I keep on hand to get things from point A to point B so I can get on with a different effect. As Jimhlou said above, it's sometimes marketed as a way to do super-visual magic, but in general, I've found it much more effective when used otherwise.