I just picked up this gimmick the other day and am astounded by its pure simplicity to use. This was a beautiful idea to come up with. The price is expensive (aprox. $40 U.S.) but is made to last a lifetime. It fits easily into your deck and can be made to work with any brand as well in just a few minutes.
Imagine being able to do the classic bill in lemon effect without having to switch the torn off corner. Another thing is that it allows you to tear a corner off of a card the exact same way each and every single time and with proper handling you can even have the spectator finish the tear to make the effect even stronger.
I purchased this at a lecture given by Dan Garrett and in his lecture notes and performance at the lecture he performed an amazing effect he came up with called "Torn and Re-born."
The effect: A card is "freely selected
" by the spectator and the corner is torn 99% off by the magician. The spectator then finishes the tear and places the corner in their pocket. They then tear the card up and place the pieces into and envelope and it is sealed. Abracadabra, the envelope is now opened to reveal the card restored with the corner missing. Guess what, the corner matches perfectly. Now the magician asks the audience if they would like to see the trick again. Once again the card is torn up and now placed into a coin purse. Abracadabra, the coin purse is opened by the spectator to only find a piece of paper with "check the envelope" written on it. They check the envelope which is now magically resealed and open it to find their card restored and now laminated with the corner piece missing that of course matches the one in the spectators pocket.
Very strong magic able to be accomplished by minimal prep time and this wonderful gimmick. The gimmick also comes with a few routines (the one above is not included) and others can easily be imagined. I give this product a ten out of ten for strength of effects possible, quality for money, and the ease of use. If you don't have it I highly recommend it. Difficulty is nominal (with very little handling practice needed).
If there are any questions that I can answer without telling exactly what it is, or over some handling tips feel free to ask.
Brent