Slydinis Knotted Silks

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Slydinis Knotted Silks

Postby greedoniz » May 4th, '07, 13:59



The Effect

A classic of Magic! One if not the favourite effect from Slydini. Two white silks are tied together in a fair tight knot only to be instantly seperated, this effect is repeated with more double/triple, quadruple knots by the spectator only to be then instantly seperated by the performer.

The Blurb:

Learn a classic of magic from two masters— past and present

Slydini’s Knotted Silks Includes:

42 pages of Slydini’s annotated instructions including 69 photographs

2 custom made silks

DVD of Bill Malone performing AND explaining his handling of Slydini’s Knotted Silks
Now, for the first time, everything you need to add this classic to your own act is in one place. First, there’s instruction from the master himself as Slydini guides you through the routine step by step in the original meticulously written and photo-illustrated manuscript. Then, pop the DVD in your player to watch Bill Malone, one of the world’s greatest magicians working today, perform “Test of Strength,” his handling of Slydini’s classic routine, for an obviously baffled and entertained audience. Then get ready to learn as Bill teaches his routine in minute detail, complete with all of his own handling nuances. The combination of the written word and the visual medium of video have, perhaps, never been used to greater effect. Finally, there are the props—two silks of the exacting requirements for the routine, enabling you to have the right materials to begin the learning process immediately. The mystery and entertainment of the Slydini’s Knotted Silks is now within your grasp. The only thing missing from the equation—and a new generation of enchanted audiences—is you!



Cost

£23.99 @ www.dudethatscoolmagic.co.uk



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)

This is probably about a 2 - 3 but pretty easy to do the mechanics of the effect but to do it really well requires lots of practice

Review

Ever since first seeing a video clip of slydini performing this I have marvelled at how such a simple premise can be so magical and compelling. This is a classic of magic and I was surprised to learn that this has never been reviewed before.
In the package you recieve two lovely white slydini silks, a dvd with Bill Malone talking you through his version and a fantastic booklet which goes through Slydinis (in his own words) routine in the most thorough detail I have ever come across in magic intructions.
When Slydini wrote about the silks routine he then later came back to it some years later and in an interview with a fellow magician updated what he'd previously written. In what I think is a nice touch the publishers of this booklet have kept the original text for historical purposes and then added the updated notes within the paragraph in a different colour to show what was later added.
Both the DVD and the especially the booklet explain the effect so vividly and concisely that every nuance and problem you could encounter is covered.
I could quite happily say the instructions are pretty much best I have come across so far.
As for the effect itself if you haven't seen it then I urge you to hunt down one of the youtube type sites and find footage of slydini performing this as you really are missing out on something very special; not flashy or showy just very magical, funny and elegant.
This is something I am going to spend lots of time on getting as good as I can get it as I feel it is that strong an effect with a mundane everyday object that people can relate too.
After 20 minutes of practicing I tried this out on lil Miss greedoniz, who is very jaded about the magic thing as she's the tester for all new effects I'm learning, and she squealed with delight when the silks fell away from each other after being tied tight.
So in conclusion this is a classic for a reason and Slydini is one of the greats for a reason and I urge anyone with any interest in the field of close up or indeed stage magic who hasn't seen this effect to check it out... just dont buy it as I want it all to myself



Overall

I hate giving 10 out of 10 but I think I have to as it is pretty much perfect. The only let down is the warning to be wary of performing this in a bar.
So a big 10 from me

Last edited by greedoniz on May 5th, '07, 00:45, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby RobMagic » May 4th, '07, 14:19

A great review for a great effect, You can pick up the slydini silk explanation handling by Bill Malone on his Volume 1 DVD so you can maybe pick up the silks alone if you have that DVD and don't mind Bills Handling

For those that maybe want a few extra tricks as well, I might work on a review for that DVD actually as it's awesome

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Postby bananafish » May 4th, '07, 15:16

Nice review Greedoniz. I love this one too.

(At least I would if I could consistantly get the knots undone!).

:oops:

Probably about time I gave it another go.

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Postby mark lewis » May 4th, '07, 19:11

I am amused that there is actually a stronger version of this trick that hardly anyone knows about and it is nothing to do with Slydini. The ironic thing is that Lewis Ganson wrote it up BEFORE he wrote the Slydini one yet it is the Slydini one that has become the classic version even though the other one is actually more effective in many ways.

Another odd thing is that Ganson in the first non-Slydini version said that you must use COTTON handkerchiefs and NOT silk. Yet in the Slydini version he said the opposite-that you must use SILK and NOT cotton. Yet both versions essentially use the same method. Go figure.

And what is this mystery older version you may ask? I do not think some of you appreciate the great wisdom of the genius among you so I am not going to make it too easy. Seek and ye shall find.

However I shall give a clue. It is on pages 83 to 95 of a certain wonderful Ganson book which was published way before the Slydini one also by Ganson.

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Postby IanKendall » May 4th, '07, 19:21

I can think of a couple of possibilities, but I don't have Routined Manipulations, so I can't check.

I'm aware of two _other_ descriptions besides Slydini's, and several based on the more famous routine.

Would the initials CM have something to do with it?

Take care, Ian

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Postby mark lewis » May 5th, '07, 04:40

They would indeed. I have a suspicion he was better than Slydini with it.

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Postby mark lewis » May 5th, '07, 04:42

Sorry. I made a mistake. Or Kendall did . The initials were not CM. They were C.E.

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Postby Farlsborough » May 22nd, '07, 14:57

Could anyone tell me if these are "rip-stop nylon" silks? I thought I'd found a bargain on eBay (how often do you hear that... :roll: ), because an american magic shop was selling penguinmagic slydini silks at a very good price, and I quote:

These are the highest quality Slydini style silks ever made... These silks were created specifically for the knotted silk routine as made famous by the great Slydini. They're crafted from the finest imported parachute material.


Well, they arrived today and though they seemed pretty tough at first after a small amount of practice they are already starting to ladder and look patchy in some places. As far as I'm aware, you're supposed to be able to get people to pull hard on them so I don't think I'm subjecting them to unreasonable wear and tear - I don't have long nails either!
Also, whilst they do feel fairly smooth, in some directions the nylon-on-nylon seems to cause quite a bit of friction - infact as I type I've just tied a knot that won't come out.

I'm really disappointed in these and it *almost* put me off wanting to do this routine, but instead I'm going to bite the bullet and order some Steve Draun ones because if anyone makes a quality product it's him! Moral of the story - be wary of eBay and Penguin Magic, especially in combination, and you get what you pay for!

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Postby greedoniz » May 22nd, '07, 15:03

The slydini silks I reiceved are made from this parachute material but I havent yet had one tear.
They do stretch out of shape slightly when pulled very hard and the fibres of the material do ladder although it is very VERY slight. More a matter of the pulled material making the nylon fibres seperate slighty.

yes as practicing this you will find that sometime you happen to knot it tightly. However if you do the 'move' before it is really made tight you should be ok.
Hope that is of some help although I am still working on it myself and thanks for the heads up on getting other silks as I'm definitely be buying more

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Postby Farlsborough » May 22nd, '07, 15:21

Yeah, the Steve Draun ones look very nice. Big, bright and fairly indestructible. Also, I think the edges are heat sealed before they're hemmed, unlike these, because even though they're hemmed there are nylon threads starting to come loose at the edges :?

These were about $20 including shipping to the UK, the Steve Draun ones are about $30... not really enough to quibble over!

Cheers though - your tip did help a little actually!

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Postby Rufio » Aug 16th, '09, 11:22

Just reviving this old thread: I'm interested in the magic knot / knotted silks / Slydini silks effect.

The first, Magic Knot, which comes with white silks is the cheapest: I think it's made by Magic Makers. I appreciate that the original Slydini's Silks or the Worlds Greatest Magic series would be most comprehensive due to the DVDs and / or instructions (i know the Slydini version has 42 pages of notes), but being lured by the cheaper price of Magic Knot, my question to those who own this effect and specifically those who may have used or seen Magic Knot be performed, is whether Magic Knot allows you to ask the spectator to tie the knot themselves?

For instance, the description of Magic Knot simply refers to the knot dissolving, but does not refer to spectators tying the knots themselves. For me, I like the interactive "challenge" aspect of this, and if Magic Knot does not allow you to do this, or if it is not covered in the instructions then I'd rather not purchase it.

Also, I have bought from Magic Makers previously and found their "refer to our online tutorial" approach both lazy and not detailed enough". With the knotted silk effect I'd expect a DVD or detailed instructions, and was hoping anyone who has Magic Knot to clarify the level of tuition provided.

Thanks

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Postby greedoniz » Aug 17th, '09, 13:56

Although I am not aware of this "magic knot" dvd and silks set and the quality of them I would personally stay away from cheap versions of this.

Intead I would personally go for :

Worlds greatest magic knotted silk DVD:

http://www.dudethatscoolmagic.co.uk/aca ... gic__.html

and the silks too:

http://www.dudethatscoolmagic.co.uk/aca ... Silks.html

As far as Dvd goes I found the Bill Malone explaination to be very thorough by covering all the aspects of the effect that can go wrong and how to deal with it.

As stated I have not tried the magic knot version but I think it would be hard to beat the indepth teaching that Malone gives. This is presuming the footage on the dvd is the same that is on "Bill Malone On the Loose" set.

The version I own is this one:

http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=7135

It is expensive but you get the original notes by Slydini (very comprehensive), the bill malone dvd and a great set of silks. I would say this is the best option.

Edit: I have just seen that TM's very own Tom Lauten is currently selling the latter mentioned silks set on the stuff for sale thread

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Postby lozey » Aug 18th, '09, 19:54

I bought the scalves separatly as I already had Malones dvds. I found that the knots just wouldnt come out in any way, so I ended up abandoning the routine. Shame really, as its very beautiful

Last edited by lozey on Aug 19th, '09, 11:40, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby mark lewis » Aug 18th, '09, 22:10

You don't need special silks. It works with virtually any silk you buy in a regular shop. Just hunt around and you will find something even in Yorkshire.

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Postby TedTalon » Sep 2nd, '09, 01:21

mark lewis wrote:You don't need special silks. It works with virtually any silk you buy in a regular shop. Just hunt around and you will find something even in Yorkshire.


I found a cool selection of Silks on a members online store It's under the supplies section

Maybe that will help if you can't find any to suit your liking. There silks they can't be expensive to ship?

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