The Ring on Rope is a wonderful trick when done properly. After magically putting the ring on and off the rope a few times in most routines I've seen magician with ring on rope cuts the rope using his fingers like a scissors. I personally thinks it's a dead give away that the rope was not a solid piece in the first place.
While Cruising on one of the Royal Caribbean ships last summer, I attended the magic performance where the magician did a fabulous ring on rope. After he pretend to cut the rope with his scissors finger, quite a few spectators sitting nearby made comments on how he got the ring on the rope and most of them were right on.
This just my take on the finger cutting.
Tricky Ricky

This is better discussed in private, in Secret Sessions. I'm interested in the topic because I'm getting ready to release an e-Book on Wiz Kid lessons involving ropes and washers, but don't want to discuss it out here in public view.

Coincidentally, I have been thinking about the same thing lately. While I believe it is kinda humorous to cut the rope/string with your fingers.....spectator thinks, "Aha, held together by magnets"

I have been debating on using a pair of really dull or plastic scissors to fake cut it.

TrickyRicky, I have always never liked the fingers as scissors. The only way it would be magical would be if the rope was fully shown, then the finger cut action made. At that time, one half of the rope would fall to the floor, or drop, the magician left with half a piece of rope dangling from each hand. Now that is magic.

I remember Steve Dusheck had a rope effect with the rope separating, I will have to dig it out and take a look at it again.

When done right, there are FEW THINGS as entertaining as a good Ring and Rope routine.

Amen---except for the finger cutting,read my post.
Ricky

I don't care for using your fingers to cut the rope. I agree, I think it basically gives the method away.

I don't know if he still does this but David Williamson, in his Ring & Rope routine, cuts the rope with his fingers. In an otherwise great routine, that's the one part I dislike.

When MAN invented SCISSORS, it was no longer necessary to cut rope with your fingers. IMO, the only magicians that use their fingers to cut rope are those who don't have the necessary digital skills to use scissors.

"Ghost Rope", as described in The Wizards' Journal #1, apparently has a "ghost" cut the rope in two. Wiz Kid Qua-Fiki took it a step further in an adaptation of a Robert Harbin C&R cord, shown HERE: https://vimeo.com/145756046 in which he combines elements of the Ghost Rope restoration after actually cutting the rope in two, as described in The Wizards' Journal #30.

I would argue that David Williamson has the necessary digital skills to operate a pair of scissors. I'm not sure why he uses his fingers in his Ring & Rope routine, but I'm sure if you asked him, he'd have a valid reason.

In all due respect to those who have posted and responded to this thread, I have right in front of me a copy of George Sands Sandsational Rope Effects.

I received this booklet from George on Friday the 13th of August, 1993 at the Abbott's get-together. For those who aren't "in the know" MANY if not MOST of the Rope Routines performed today had their beginnings with George Sands seminal work as published in his books, including his Sandsational Rope Routine, which is a Classic.

The Sandsational Rope Routine uses "finger cuts".

Who am I to argue with George Sands? While he and I were discussing some of the finer points of this particular routine, George shared with me that, in his experience, "finger cuts" are STRONGER, and get a stronger response from the audience than scissor cuts. This is elaborated on in page 29 of this book as follows: PATTER: "All magicians cut a rope with a scissor. A real magician would cut it by magic." George then says: Exaggerate this. It looks funny and gets laughs.

Just think about this for a second..........if the topic here was "Best Ways to Perform the Floating Ligtbulb".......who could argue with Harry Blackstone Jr.'s presentation?





















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Hi Doug...I was just kidding. I usually add a "hee hee" to the end of the sentence. to indicate it's only a gag. I inadvertently forgot!

i always use scissors. though.

Hi Rainboguy.
Do you think that the audience believe that you cut that piece of rope with your finger?
Tricky Ricky

When I lived in Minneapolis a lecturer came through town that apparently did magic from town to town as he traveled around the country. The highlight of his lecture was the bit where a wind up toy stomps over cards and stops on the chosen card. He claimed it was his best trick. And then he told us how to get a really good reaction from the trick. It was so good; he had to do it all the time. He said that after revealing the wind up toy found the card, he turned all the cards over to show the method. That really got a great reaction, “THEY REALLY LOVED IT.”

Now this is my opinion however I hope people will not regard this as gospel because of some reputation I might have. And, though I respect seasoned performers, I do not recognize the comment, “I have done this for the last 50 years and it kills them.” I have found in my studies that the more an audience understands how some effect works, the more they respond. This is contrary to what most magicians believe. The point here is that if you want to be a strong entertainer, do magic that people can understand how it works. If the audience is really deceived they will not respond. The bird cage is an example. At one time I opened my act with the vanishing bird cage. At first, I was stunned when the audience did not respond. They sat there staring at me. I thought I had failed. After the show, while waking around, people would stop and ask, “Where did the bird go?”

I have always cringed when a performer cuts the rope with finger scissors. If it is presented as a magic effect wherein the rope is demonstrated to clearly be solid and the rope is cut with fingers as a demonstration of magic, I see that as fine. But as part of a routine that depends on an extra piece of rope; that is lacking. But I hear the words, “THEY REALLY LOVED IT.”

Got it!

Look into Mark Tams Slice with a Twist routine. The way he cuts the rope with his finger looks very good.

Ted

I guess it depends on the "Story told after." Do you wish them to say, "That guy really entertained us with a lot of silly stuff."

or, "That was astonishing. I hate to say it, but magic is the only explanation."

Sands created his routine for the audience of that day. Today's audiences is different.

Yet, I was doing rope effects long before 1993 and have never done an effect based on his routine.

I will not argue with Sands - but his approach does not limit or define rope effects either. Certainly not for me.

It might be true that most performers do rope tricks based on his model. This is a reason for me NOT to do them.

I strive to create condition under which magic happens. Sometimes a rope is involved. I avoid any action that might dilute the illusion.

Juggling looks good. So does a naked breast. What do they have to do with magic?

As mentioned above, Ricky's post got me thinking, and I did dull a pair of scissors and now use them to cut in my routine.

Personally, for me, it is much much better. I've got enough funny stuff in my routine that I don't need the finger cut business.

The actual effect (magic) is stronger now as I have done what I'm actually suppose to be doing....and that is cutting the rope.

It means carrying another small prop....but it's worth it, for me.

Different strokes for different folks, but I think Ricky brought up a really excellent point to think about and consider.

Don't give up on good magic because you saw on a forum that someone saw a trick that they didn't like and they say they heard others explain the trick.

Finger cutting (in the right hands...(sorry, could not help myself)) is beautiful.

Some excellent magicians cut rope with their fingers.

Just don't suck at it. I use real scissors, and I actually cut the rope... maybe I'm doing it wrong?

David Williamson does a ring & rope routine using finger “scissors” and it’s wonderfully entertaining and magical. He shows it in his Penguin lecture.

If you’re getting th to believe you can pass a solid ring thru rope, why is cutting a rope with fingers any less magical?

Quote of the day!