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I saw a guy on TV several days ago that gave me this idea: using needle through arm on a spectator as a mentallism effect.
The guy on TV did it in kind of a weird way but my idea for a routine was this: pretending to hypnotize him and then with his eyes closed walking him through a dream while in real life "inserting" the needle into his hand (like "you are walking in the field and a butterfly lands on your wrist" and saying that while putting the needle into place and so on) and like that doing a full needle through arm routine on the spectator.
Now, I know the works of needle through arm, but I never worked with it so all I know is in theory. Now for all the prep work you can have an explanation, both for what the spectator actually feels and what the audience think he feels (with the whole hypnosis and guided dream idea), but my main concern is about how much time the RC should be rubbed on the spectator before inserting the needle, because if it's a matter of 10-30 seconds with some blowing on it, all is good and you can cover it with some patter and cleaning the needle, but if it's a matter of 2-3 minutes then it can only be done with a stooge, and that just takes the whole point out of it.

So if there are people here that have some experience with the needle through arm effect I would be happy if they could share their opinion about the idea and about the problem I mentioned.

Derren Brown did this to Robbie Williams in his last TV series.

Oh yes now you mention it Mandrake bit of bondage involved to if i remember rightly. Didnt he use two or 3 needles

For some unknown reason it was done on top of a scaffolding tower at night. Most peculiar.

Maybe they was waiting for a lighting strike....

If anyone was going to get struck by lightnening I wish it was Robbie Williams!!

I think you would have better conditions working with liquid latex/liquid skin (or whatever it is called). I got a small tub of it from MagicBox a while back, and I can see how it could be used to achieve the same effect as Derren Brown managed, although it would be a good idea if you were to use a different presentation. Might not be such a good idea to attempt it on a scaffolding tower every time you perform it

I saw it done on TV by an Israeli mentalist, and he used the original needle and RC (I could recognize the bottle on the table actually^^) that come with the kit, so it CAN be done in the original method.
The only question, like I said, is how long does it take after you rub the RC on the arm before you can insert the needle.

iummydd wrote:The only question, like I said, is how long does it take after you rub the RC on the arm before you can insert the needle.

According to my instructions - "......Let it dry, it takes approximately three minutes. You are now ready for the performance."

moonbeam wrote:

iummydd wrote:The only question, like I said, is how long does it take after you rub the RC on the arm before you can insert the needle.

According to my instructions - "......Let it dry, it takes approximately three minutes. You are now ready for the performance."

I just saw Derren's performance on Youtube, and even though it was done on a small tower outside (which would obviously speed the process) it only took him about 50-60 seconds until he inserted the needle, and it doesn't look like any editing was done.
So I wonder, if I blow on the RC after rubbing it on the spec's arm and letting it dry for about 60-70 seconds will it be enough so I can perform it even in room environment.

If you were going to perform this on stage, you could just do it. No-one in the audience will know the method so cleaning the area would seem to be nothing but a bit of theatrics. The spec would notice nothing but the swab. With false starts, patter, jokes, etc. the three minutes would pass quickly.

What about the cleanup? How the hell do you clear off the RC?

With a wet-wipe?

The prescribed method which is also a natural reason for introduction is to use a 'surgical wipe'. However, the RC needs a solution which dissolves it.

This gives not only the required concontion, but also the natural and justified reason for using it—to 'sterilise' the wound.

As for the chemistry, that's something I don't want to diviulge

How you do it isn't really a difficult question. If you were going to sterilize an area of skin before (or after) a needle when through it, you'd use the same liquid as you would to remove RC from skin.

Why you'd bother is a different question. Isn't the fact that you are peforming this on a stranger an obvious sign that you never intend to stick a needle through any body part? When I've seen the routine performed, it always gets the best reactions from people who think that the magician is actually going to/actually has pierced himself.