I have seen one or two performers do this, and I love the purity of it: the performer, the rope and nothing else. There's a logic to it as well: if you can restore it magically, why not cut it magically?

Are there any published routines that may point me towards making my own version?

Thanks

Ross

The grandfather of that type of routine is George Sands and the booklet (still in print) is “Sandsational”.

You should check out Aldo Colombini's Tight Rope routine. A fantastic routine with over 20 effects. (The rope is used over and over again)

And, if you cut a rope without using scissors or a knife, what is the first -- and only -- thing the audience thinks?

"The rope is already cut there!"

I've seen dozens of magicians do this and half them might as well hand out the instructions to the trick to the audience, they tip the method so much; the other half are mediocre at best.

They probably think they are doing wonderfully, because of the applause. They don't understand that it's called "pity applause".

Not using something to cut the rope may satisfy your search for purity but it won't do much for your search for bookings after a while!

cheers,
Peter Marucci
showtimecol@aol.com

Kind of strange folks would buy off on restoring the rope, but you are correct, the cut whether done by them or done yourself, still must be done to satisfy the human mind. They have to see the scissors or knife to know it really happened, but for some reason they won't think twice about you restoring it.

Sawa has an interesting take on this in Sawa's Library of Magic, Volume One published by Kaufman. He has a rope that that he shows (and it really is only one length!) and then really cuts it with just his hand. It's VERY nice!

I too have wondered about cutting without a scissors. Yet in my version of Daryl's routine (a staple in my repertoire) it goes "unnoticed".
By the time it happens the audience is so "confused" by seeing the unbelieveable that they accept anything at this point.
So it seems to be a matter of when you use it.
From sunny Florida

I often agree with the things Peter has to say, but never so much as with this particular opinion. If you don't use scissors or a knife (I prefer an old-fashioned switchblade, btw) you are clearly telling the audience that you had two pieces of rope to begin with.

As for Zambini's suggestion that the audience is so "confused" by this time they don't even notice the non-cut cutting... Dai Vernon said: "Confusion isn't magic.", and he was right.

Regards,
Thomas Wayne

Blimey! What a lot you learn in these forums! It's certainly an interesting point that Peter Marucci raises (as usual), however, I recall the reaction of a (non-magician) friend when we saw this performed and he was amazed - he certainly didn't conclude that it was already cut. It was his reaction in fact that made me wonder about trying my own routine without scissors.

Perhaps I'll give it a go, and come back to say how it went down.

Ross

Perhaps I should have used "entertained" or
"involved" instead of "confused".

On the other hand, perhaps not. The definition of confuse is:
1 archaic: to bring to ruin
2 a: to make embarrassed: ABASH b: to disturb in mind or purpose: THROW OFF
3 a: to make indistinct: BLUR b: to mix indiscriminately: JUMBLE c: to fail to differentiate from an often similar or related other.

Well... at the risk of offending the spirit of Dai Vernon, allow me to paraphrase his famous (and oft referenced) maxim:

1) "To bring to ruin" is not magic.

2) "To make embarrassed" is not magic

3) "To disturb in mind or purpose" is not magic

4) "To make indistinct" is not magic

5) "To mix indiscriminately" is not magic

6) "To fail to differentiate from an often similar or related other" is not magic

Pray tell, Zambini, which of these paraphrased dictums do you dispute?

Regards,
Thomas Wayne

I do not know the context of Dai Vernon’s statement that you quote.

I purposely included all the definitions of “confuse.” If the Professor’s statement was in the context of definition #1 or #2, I whole heartily agree. If it were in the context of #3 – 6, then I respectfully disagree.

In magic we do disturb the mind. We do
“throw off” cognitive reasoning. We do
“throw off” our senses (ex: Tarbell mentions we get people to hear with their minds).
We cause our audience to accept as true or valid what is false or invalid (the definition of deceive).

The start of this thread was the question of not using a scissors to cut a rope in a rope routine. It still seems to me it is a matter of context. In Daryl’s rope routine, (which I hope we can all agree plays well and is entertaining) by the time the cut is made by using your fingers in a scissors like manner – well away from the rope – the audience is so “confused”, deceived, and entertained that they just go with the flow, laugh and applaud.

From sunny Florida

A "proof-search" if ever I saw one.

TW

Cutting the rope without scissors or a knife
does not fly for me either, although I have seen many do so.

I have been struggling with this recently too. It seems a waste to cut up a perfectly good rope and throw it away but I REALLY do not like the look of doing a karate chop and the rope is suddenly cut. I would not buy it in a Jackie Chan movie and I do not buy it in a rope routine.

Some go with a non-knife routine in order to save rope.

I do a rope routine with "magic cutting," in which the knife is quickly waved at the rope, which is instantly cut. I think this passes just within the credibility line.

Saving rope is definitely a good reason to do a non-cut cut and restored rope.

It is funny, I do not like most of the
"magic cuttings" I have seen, and I do not like sucker tricks, but I do like in Aldo's Mama Mia routine where the helper ends up holding the short rope to tie. He pulls it off well.

I use my fingers as scissors in the routine that I do. There's a way to tell if people know what you did -- they'll start whispering. Instead, people gasp when I do it. There's a few right ways to do it and many wrong ways.

Hi,

Cutting a rope without scissors is surrealistic comedy, you should get laughs not applause.

Don't perform it to save rope, forget about the insignificant cost and charge more money instead.

Yours faithfully

Dan Kirsch

Good points Dan and Alan. The reaction is what is important.