talkmagic.co.uk

I thought that TM users would want to know about a nice range of authentic TTs here:

http://www.magic-frediup.com/index.php

You can download a sizing chart and select your skin type. Some people argue that this level of authenticity is not required if you are a skilled handler, but nevertheless they may have an appeal for some of you.

Yes...

Mine is chrome and I stick a dee-lite on the end to make it even more inconspicuous... Plus I wear a hat that say "What T**** T**?"

To date no one has ever noticed.

About 20 years and counting, and I've only been caught by knowledgeable friends and family... with a regular TT

A guy mentioned these at a magic association meeting a few weeks ago - apparently they look very realistic but are too flexible for a lot of uses (especially the bill switch) and after a while the outer layer of colouring peels off... he advised saving your money...

Farlsborough wrote:A guy mentioned these at a magic association meeting a few weeks ago - apparently they look very realistic but are too flexible for a lot of uses (especially the bill switch) and after a while the outer layer of colouring peels off... he advised saving your money...

Oooh...does not sound too good...Fay Presto said she wore one with bright red nail varnish on it by mistake and never got caught.

Farlsborough wrote:A guy mentioned these at a magic association meeting a few weeks ago - apparently they look very realistic but are too flexible for a lot of uses (especially the bill switch) and after a while the outer layer of colouring peels off... he advised saving your money...

They do look very realistic (not as good as a Tom Lauten - but very good nevertheless). They are also fairly sft and consequently I wouldn't use it for most TT effects, a bill switch being a good example..

However contrary to other posts I woul say a realist TT does have it's place. Magic is progressing and due to the extra realisticness(?) of these items, effects not previously conceived are now possible.

On the whole though. This is not the TT I use for everday use.

I know it's a well-worn cliche, but I still have - and use - my very first TT, which I bought from the Supreme Magic Company back in 1983.

Unlike today's super-duper magic-polymer versions, in all their various forms, my version was made from spun aluminium (I kid you not ).

Over the years, much of the paint has chipped, flaked and been scratched/scraped, menaing that there's plenty of 'bright metal' on display. Do specs ever see my TT, flashing and glinting?

Nope!

I paid £18 for my deluxe realistic TT, because it looked nice.

I have no need for it as my normal TT is just as good, but it does look like a real T. And you can wear it without fear of being caught, not that you would

Save your money, not even cups justifies this purchase.. unless you just like collecting them, which if.. who am I kidding.. when I take up magic again, I will probably do slowly over the years.

I think it's more to do with confidence to be honest. We've all heard (and get somewhat tired of...!) the stories about people not getting caught with fluorescent green ones blahdy blah blah, but ultimately if you act like you are terrified of getting caught, you probably will be! If a realistic TT makes you feel more comfortable and you can forget about it and just do the trick, then maybe it's worth the money, at least to begin with... like all those classic storylines... "and then he realised that the shoes weren't magic, and he'd done it by himself all along!"

I've just bought a couple of metal TTs for cigarette/match use - one was a goblin which is rubbish (although if you squash it slightly it's a much better fit than the cylinder it comes as) but also got a metal TT from MagicNevin.com which is better - has more capacity and is a generally nicer shape, but the colour is very poor, much too pale with a bright white nail. An hour with a few tins of matt humbrol sorted that out! (Incidently, if you're covering yourself in paint when painting your own TTs, here's a tip - put them on corks).

Its true a standard tt is very deceptive, Ive been caught only once but a few times people have asked about fake thumbs, on another occasion someone actually said "I know about those fake thumbs but you don't have one of those!"
the only thing Ive really done with my tt is vanishing appearing silks and small objects which is a shame because it deserves so much more

If you can't pull off something as fundamental as a bill switch with this deluxe TT, then it can't be as good as a standard TT.

Technique accounts for everything.
I performed a bill switch recently for somebody who knows about TTs, but had never seen a bill switch before. I did it about a foot away from their face, and completely baffled them. So I don't see the deluxe as a necessary item.

beeno wrote:So I don't see the deluxe as a necessary item.

It isn't a necessary item for a bill switch. Nor is it a necessary item for any standard TT effect.

But I can think of several ideas where it could be a necessary item and as such I have added one to my arsenal (cough)

(I'm not sure why I coughed, but Eric Morcambe used to, and if it is good enough for him, it is good enough for me)

(I am not suggesting EM used a TT)

(I am also not suggesting he didn't)

(but it is unlikely)

It IS a nice TT, and I did actually use it, but I just dont think it is neccessary.

You can be bold with it, and it does seem to hold a nice load too, and did I mention it looks like a real T ??

I dem the deluxe tips quite often in the shop. For the Bill switch, a little piece of playing card inside the deluxe tip, solves the whole problem and allows a perfect 'slide'. It is held to the inside of the tip by the sillicone, and the note, slides really well against it.

Brilliant Idea Dom.. will get mine out tonight and make use of it..

I do love it.. I wouldnt have paid £18 if I didnt.. I just dont think its neccessary as the spec would never / should never see it anyway.. It does feel nice though.. and I got goosebumps over the reality of it