Carpenter's Nightmare by Menny Lindenfeld
Price: Varies but expect to pay between £20 and £25 depending on your source.
Available from: Many places but not emagictricks.co.uk at the time of writing, try bargainmagic.co.uk for comparisons and latest deals.
Difficulty: Certainly no more than a 2 and it's mainly showmanship rather than finger flinging.
(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)
What it says on the tin: Forget Everything You Know About the Laws of Nature. The performer displays a large, solid nail at his fingertips. He concentrates on the nail and it begins to visibly bend in the middle! Ever so slowly it continues to move as the performer concentrates until the nail is bent at a 45-degree angle! The nail is then immediately handed out for examination! Carpenter's Nightmare is a highly visual and very easy to perform effect that looks just impossible. Quick Set Up and Reset. No Switches-The same nail stays visible throughout the entire performance. No Pulls Attached and No Sleeving. Instantly Examinable.
Review: Whilst we're all sure that a Review of this was done ages ago, we just can't find it so here goes again! What it says on the tin just about describes the routine - they could have added No Added Salt or Sugar, No Saturated Fats as well because, like the references to Pulls and Sleeving, they're totally irrelevant! In effect, the magish shows a large 4" round headed nail held only by the thumb and two fingers of one hand, the head and the point of the nail plus a lot of the stem being visible all the way through. Whilst the magish murmurs incantations or gets someone to gently rub the backs of his fingers (oooo-err!) the nail starts to droop until the head is at a 90 degree (not 45 degree as above!) angle to the point. The nail is then handed to the specs who can confirm that it is indeed bent and would take tools to straighten out. It can be left with them as souvenir if you're feeling generous. There's a similar effect called Hurricane Nail shown on Penguin were Oz Pearlman does this at a frantic pace and 'bends' the nail roughly as though it were being bent in a hurricane. Personally, I think that's the wrong way to present this as it's far more effective if the back of the fingers are just stroked lightly and the nail droops as though by mental force alone.
Overall: A nice, fairly easy effect to do and, without giving too much away, you can freely hand out the bent nail as a souvenir provided you don't mind buying a bag of suitable (4" Round headed) nails to use as replacements. You can make great play with the ease at which spoons and forks can be craftily bent by hand but not a 4" Nail!
Value for money: Perhaps a little pricey at £20-£25 for what you actually get but I'd say it was worth it for an effect which packs small, plays big, can be ready to perform almost at the drop of a hat and can be used for table hopping quite successfully with a moment or two in private between tables.
Score: Perhaps a good 8 out of 10.
C.U.P.S. Rating: Well, I bought it ages ago and I reckon it's a great effect to have. Suggest you check your credit card balance and conscience, then decide for yourself!
Those who have Xpert might like to know that it can be used in an 'advanced' Carpenter's Nightmare routine. Modesty forbids my mentioning who wrote it but if you have access to the Xpert Owner's Section you'll know all about it
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