The Vault (David Penn)

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The Vault (David Penn)

Postby Sexton Blake » Dec 2nd, '16, 18:46



The Effect

The Vault (by David Penn, and therefore World Magic Shop - though it's Out Of Stock there at time of writing)

£47.99 From Dude That's Cool Magic
http://www.dudethatscoolmagic.co.uk/aca ... l#SID=5271" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank
(£34.99 at World Magic Shop, but, as I say, it's not available there.)
http://www.worldmagicshop.com/the-vault ... agic-shop/" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank

They say:

You casually place your keys on the table, in full view prior to sharing a moment of magic. A borrowed object such as a ring or a signed coin vanishes without a trace. Even though the keys have been in full view from the start, for the first time, with empty hands, you pick up your keys and show that attached to the keyring is a box.

You open it and inside is another box. You or the spectator opens this to find another box inside. They open the final box of the three to find their object!

The Vault is a precision made gimmick that allows you to accomplish this incredible effect without the need for complicated sleight of hand. Presented by Wayne Fox and created by David Penn, this is a truly impossible effect that you will always carry on your keyring.


I say:

What they say - in the blurb and Wayne Fox in the video trailer - is true. What you, perfectly reasonably, might think they're saying very possibly ins't. That's to say, the precise wording make what's said technically correct, but that's because they're careful to use that precise wording. 1) Consider what you think they're saying. 2) Consider whether this would be, by the laws of the universe, impossible. 3) If the answer to 2 is 'Yes', it's because of your answer to 1.

However, it is, IMHO, perfectly fair to say that, if you asked a spec who'd just seen the trick to describe it, they would say exactly what the blurb says. In the mind of the specatators, it will be perceived exactly like that. Which makes it (in the spectator's opinion - the opinion that matters), let's face it, a miracle.

Difficulty
(1=easy to do, 2=No sleights, but not so easy, 3=Some sleights used,
4=Advanced sleights used, 5=Suitable for experienced magicians only)

Probably a 2. You need one, basic sleight, but you do need to be reasonably dexterous in other areas - not very dexterous, but enough to be smooth and swiftish at crucial moments. Largely, however, it's performance skills that are needed, and the routining will help there.

Review

First off let me say that there are now two versions of this. One is black (opaque), the other is clear (transparent). On the basis of no experience at all - when I bought this only the black version existed - I'd say the clear version is better. The reason for this is, I'd guess (from experience, not of this specifically; of specs generally) that faced with the impossibility of what's happened many specs will come to rest on the only solution they can comprehend - that you somehow slipped the coin into the boxes as you were opening them. You can get around this by NOT opening them - by letting the spec open them herself - but there are reasons why, at least not for all the boxes, you might not want to do this. Having a clear box short-circuits the whole thing: Boom! Look - the coin's in the box, you can see it already. (Also, you know how infuriating it is for a spec to be happily convinced they know the method (at least partially, to their satisfaction) when that's not the method, and you've gone out of your way - being very slow, and open, at fingertips, having showed your hands to be entirely empty - to confirm this.

Anyway, the box choice aside, this is well taught by Wayne Fox on the DVD. Importantly, the routining of it is very good. It's been carefully thought-out and, again, is clearly explained. A thing that I'll mention is that you'll need to do the routine shown, or something pretty darn similar. This is because - and this is what makes it a good routine - it makes all the necessary actions motivated and unsuspicious. What I'm saying is, don't go thinking, "Great. I can be on the beach in my trunks with my keys on my towel, and I'll make the spec's coin vanish by simply palming it." The routine excellently conceals things you need to do, so if you change it you'll need to conceal those thing in a similar fashion.

How's the gimmick? Nice. It does the job it's supposed to. Worth £40? No... and yes... and maybe. Is a TT worth, say, £30? No. Is something - that you cannot get anywhere else or make yourself - worth £30 if it allows you to change one bill into another. with your hands visibly empty only inches from the spec's eyes? Yes. Maybe.

There are a couple of points it's hard to make without any exposure of the method. One if that you can get burned doing this trick by a (let's say unusually) observant spec. That's true of the majority of tricks, in a sense; but what I mean is that you can't 'control' this aspect. As an analogy: you can avoid getting burned while doing, for example, a trick that uses a pass by doing a better pass and/or doing the pass while the spec isn't looking (you fool); but you cannot skill, plan, think, or perform your way out of an (unusually, as I say) observant spec if you're doing the Princess Card trick. Vault will probably fly more often than the Princess Card trick - which, itself, almost always flies if the spec hasn't seen it before. You are not in 100% Sure Fire Land, however. The Vault, also, is less likely to fly with people who know you really well, in some respects (I can't say more without exposure). The second point is that the bunch of keys you normally carry could be an issue. It's not an issue with strangers - pull out any bunch of keys you fancy - but I wouldn't be confident at all about using it with my regular set of keys. This is a personal quirk that's all, but not an unusual quirk, I'd say; I just can't explain more without giving away the method.

Overall

Somewhat pricey, but a well put-together package. Ignoring the 'in deed if not in spirit' blurb and focusing purely on the effect, real world: it is real world - not a YouTube-only, pipe-dream sort of thing - and what it appears to be is flat out astounding.

8/10

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Sexton Blake
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Re: The Vault (David Penn)

Postby MrCat » Dec 3rd, '16, 13:26

Hmmmm intriguing! Great review, thanks :)
Think I should practice my old stuff before buying anything new tho!

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