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I bought some sponge balls from discountmagic to practice/learn with.

Firstly, I have no real problem with them because their purpose is just this - to learn with. They do that fine.

But from reading the Mark Wilson description of how sponge ball magic works, these were not the 'solid looking' sponges he mentioned. They look very much like sponges do.
Are there some other sponges that have a more convincing look?

My other concern was the cut. They were not particularly well cut round balls of sponge. One or two had a sort of seem. A line of sponge rising away from the ball, like a Mohican . When one sponge is shown to be another which had disappeared, this sort of thing can make it apparent that it is in fact another sponge.

Are there other, proper sponges which could be used if I wanted to perform with them?

I've got sponge balls from Wizmo Magic at 40p each. These are great as they look and feel exactly like the Goshman sponges. I practice with them but they are good enough to be used for perfroming. They are perfectly rounded and have no seams as you describe. On Wizmo Magic you only have the choice of red sponge balls, but for 40p you can't really complain! Plus I find they are better when you soak them briefly in water under a tap so they expand slightly - they are easily manipulated. In fact on nights out when i do magic i often soak them under taps in the toilets.

I'm not too sure what you mean by 'solid looking', sponge balls don't look like solid balls, they look well like what they are, balls made out of sponge.

I don't really like the sound of the 'seam' though, never noticed that before. I always use Gosh balls and have always found them very good.

the seams not that big an issue. Remember, its not that long ago, when people had to cut their own balls out of a natural sponge. they never matched.


I seriously doubt that punters actually inspect the sponges that close,

and if there turning up in their hands, its more the surprise element that gets them.
If its that bad, trim it off with a pair of nail scisors.

Mark Wilson says the idea of the sponge balls is that they have a somewhat solid look which creates an illusion over how compressible they really are.

By this do you mean that they just look a bit squashed in the wrong way? that they've obviously been compressed. Most people don't tend to comment on these things when I've performed with sponge balls. But if it does still bother you get some Goshmann ones. They usually keep the shape well.

Jobasha wrote:By this do you mean that they just look a bit squashed in the wrong way? that they've obviously been compressed. Most people don't tend to comment on these things when I've performed with sponge balls. But if it does still bother you get some Goshmann ones. They usually keep the shape well.

Well I took it to mean that they don't look like sponges.

I thought I did buy Goshman ones...

Spongeballs are always going to look like little balls made of sponge. I wouldn't worry about it too much, people aren't going to be thinking about it.

Its not like they see your balls everyday anyway. have you followed all the instructions on keeping there shape. Have you blown into your balls yet?

Jobasha wrote:Its not like they see your balls everyday anyway. have you followed all the instructions on keeping there shape. Have you blown into your balls yet?

I'd put that in innuendo if it wasn't so intentional.



I'm not worried, I just thought from the description that there may be something a little better available.

Like i said, it's for practice and learning.

on the topic of balls I was showing my lad aged 11 some moves but found the balls way to big for his small hands, any idea what the smallest Gosh ones are ?

FRK wrote:on the topic of balls I was showing my lad aged 11 some moves but found the balls way to big for his small hands, any idea what the smallest Gosh ones are ?

The only ones I managed to find were 2" and 1.5". For sponge balls, I don't imagine there are much smaller, but there might be a little.

I believe 1.5 is as small as sponge balls get.

You can get 1 inch sponge balls too, and mini ones for producing a load of mini balls for a finale. Goshman do 1" balls as far as i know, and you seem to be able to get different types, firm ones, which are still sponge-like, but keep their shape better than the super-soft ones.

I personally use 1.5" super-soft balls, and a child of 4 or 5 can comfortably hold 12 of them in their hand for my finale.

In well over 100 performances, I've had a few people squeeze the balls a little, as if to say 'ooh, they're soft,' but i've never had anyone question them.

If your lad is having trouble, get him to maybe try a different way of p**ming the balls, i use a simple finger p**m, and have never had any trouble. Like anything though, it takes a bit of practice to get everything smooth. The Sponge Ball Toolkit, and World's Greatest Magic Sponge Balls DVDs are both inexpensive and excellent resources in getting the best from sponge magic.

Yes, Gosh do make 1" balls. I know that Magic Nevin stock them