talkmagic.co.uk

Hi,

When I was on holiday in America I bought a stripper deck and the 'gimmick' that makes the stripper deck work (trying not to give too much away) was hardly obvious. I had to buy a new one for certain reasons and bought one off MagicBox.co.uk (as it's the only place i could find that had a bicycle deck one). The problem is, compared to the last one, the 'gimmick' is more obvious.

Does anyone know of any places that sell stripper decks with less obvious gimmicks? Also how difficult would it be to create my own (for last resort of course!)?

(I guess quality doesn't really come into it but I wasn't sure what else to put as the title!)

I hope you can understand what I'm asking - just trying not to give too much away about it

Thanks for any help
Matthew

I believe the Magictricks.co.uk stripper decks are Bicycle backs...

Under the "Cards" section of magic, one of the last pages of stuff I believe. £5.99 if memory serves me correctly

Not all stripers are made equal, I'm afraid. I buy them in batches and have noticed there is some variation. Having said that, if you handle the deck nicely from the point you take it out of your pocket and make it seem inconsequential to the trick, the idea that the deck is gaffed doesn't really enter the spectator's mind.

If you really need a subtle gimmick, it pays to buy strippers in person. given that the seal is going to be broken, you can have the dealer remove it from the packet and "activate" the gimmick before letting you judge it for yourself. He should be okay with this if you intend to stock up by buying a few.

Thanks!

I bought one of MagicTricks.co.uk (I'm guessing they're gonna be the same but it's worth a shot! ) - now that I've messed around with it a bit I'm not so put off by the one I got today.

Matt

I bought another one from penguin a few days ago. it arrived today. I dont think the gimmick is obvious. Its great quality for £3!

this isn't the first time I've heard bad things about Bicycle stripper decks But I've never had a problem.

i bought my stripper deck from Neil Lester in the US:
Neil M Lester: cardsbymartin2@juno.com

the "gimmick" typically done down one side only is done at one end BUT down BOTH sides. therefore, when looking at the bicycle back... it looks almost perfectly "square" to the eye.

you need to specify you require a "PRO style" stripper deck. great deck, only problem is if you drop them it will take you a while to "re-orientate" the deck because the gimmick is well done.

There's several variations of stripper decks and lots of names... tapered end, belly cut, hindu cut, etc. etc.

What makes the gimmick obvious is looking at the backs of the cards. Try to flash the backs as little as possible.

I use a taper-end stripper regularly throughout a whole performance, and because it's gimmick is the short side, it's barely noticeable, and yet can be activated during a simple overhand shuffle.

Bicycle ones are very good usually. The ones supplied on NUMS are from Murphys, and they're crackingly good. However, I have seen some less refined, more 'home-made' looking Bicycle versions, which wouldn't really pass as usable to a serious card worker.

Bobby_cat wrote:

great deck, only problem is if you drop them it will take you a while to "re-orientate" the deck because the gimmick is well done.

Surely if it takes more than 2 seconds to correct the stripper deck then the gimmick cannot be THAT well made. If you cannot do this with your stripper deck then I'd say it no longer has a purpose.

magic_evmeister wrote:Surely if it takes more than 2 seconds to correct the stripper deck then the gimmick cannot be THAT well made. If you cannot do this with your stripper deck then I'd say it no longer has a purpose.

Hm...not sure, I think that fixing the entire deck is a little different from er, finding one card. You want the gimmick to be very subtle so it's not as easily noticed

Kati

Hmmmm...

I perform an oil and water variation with the Stripper as a main set-piece. The effect relies on a red/black shuffled deck being instantly sorted to 26/26 contiguous piles. This can take me usually no more than 3 seconds in a very innocent 'false overhand shuffle' move.

However... this 'cleanup' is ONLY facilitated by a well made Stripper deck.

Kati wrote:

Hm...not sure, I think that fixing the entire deck is a little different from er, finding one card. You want the gimmick to be very subtle so it's not as easily noticed

I'm aware of that but Bobby cat was talking about righting the deck if you drop it and screw up the orientations. You can easily just strip into two piles of differing orientations and turn them round and and put the back together. This is what I did in my "well-recieved" triumph effect. I've done it for quite a few people now and there is no suspicion about the "cutting" of the deck. Just amazement when I reveal the deck righted again except for their card.

B0bbY_CaT wrote:you need to specify you require a "PRO style" stripper deck. great deck, only problem is if you drop them it will take you a while to "re-orientate" the deck because the gimmick is well done.

I have an 808 stripped deck that has luckily been cut so smooth and slight that it's very hard to spot. I never use it except to make sure I've got a move properly because it's difficult to handle. I've never had a problem cleaning it in one go a second after a 52-card pickup. I do agree that if you've got a complex stack in place then you're in trouble, though.

Back in the 1950's..Oh lordy! Douglas Hood, the BMS, Birmingham, (A Penny For The Waiter trick) used to market END strippers. I've never seen them since but think about it guys. It's more natural to hold the deck by the short ends. This would also enable you to 'strip' straight into the palm! He also used to have the 2nd card down, reversed to give him an easy DL.
DIY. Douglas showed me his 'machinery' for making strippers. It was the usual SMALL guillotine for slicing paper or trimming photos. His was on a wooden board and he had knocked into the wood several (3 or 4) small nails to hold the cards in position, whilst he pushed the blade down and sliced them. Obviously the nails, acting as a guide, enabled him to have the stripping in exactly the same place each time. Get stripping lads!
Allen Tipton

Allen Tipton wrote::) Back in the 1950's..Oh lordy! Douglas Hood, the BMS, Birmingham, (A Penny For The Waiter trick) used to market END strippers. I've never seen them since but think about it guys. It's more natural to hold the deck by the short ends. This would also enable you to 'strip' straight into the palm! He also used to have the 2nd card down, reversed to give him an easy DL.

NUMS has a stock of such belly strippers in Ghosts.

My holy grail at the moment is a cross hindu/belly striped deck. That'd cover all the possibilities.