Kenton's Black Tie (Kenton Knepper)
http://www.magicshop.co.uk
£19.99
Difficulty
(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)
They claim on the website 1, but I think it is more a 3, but its a great lesson in stage misdirection and once you have that down, I would agree with the 1.
What 'they' say ...
Finally a modern thumb tie, with the distinctive Kenton touch.
Plastic cable ties (the type police use to subdue criminals)are examined. These ungimmicked "plasti-cuffs" are strapped around the performer's thumbs by a spectator. NO crossing of thumbs, bending them down or any of the usual stuff. This is as legit in appearance as you can get. Still, the performer's tied arms penetrate rings, chairs, poles, people - you name it. Kenton applies his novel and original concepts to the thumb tie problem and the results are startling. As you would expect, ample psychology and suggestion are examined with fine precision.
Black Tie is for professionals. Kenton gives precise details of his secret methods and psychology. You must be able to create your own routine. Basic texts on magic can supply such routines if you do not know any. Kenton does NOT give complete routines for you to copy. But all who wish to learn the real inside work of Kenton's original thumb tie, how to perform it, how to use Kenton's various options, what to keep in mind as you perform thumb ties... all of this and much more is here. This is NOT the same old thing. Penetrations can be made visually. Yet you are seen to be bound. Your thumbs are NOT in two loops - but one. Just like real-life police ties. Even though spectators see your thumbs are being "cut into by the cable" you may instantly release yourself... Even if you have never been able to do any kind of thumb tie before. Nothing to hide, add or take away. The cables are normal. You need nothing but these cables and Kenton's secret work.
You receive every nuance as used by Kenton and other famed magical personalities on stage and television, in over 35 pages with clear illustrations.
Includes several practice ties so you may begin right away.
What I say ...
I was looking for a thumb tie that was going to work for a good number of people in a youth setting that included a goodly number of 30 somethings. I spent about £50 on different stuff just to get my head around thumb tie principles and practice, and finally chose the Kenton tie over all of them. It does just what it says in the blurb!
When I got the trick i was vaguely dissapointed that it was only a thin booklet and the black cables were nothing special -well wouldn't you be after forking out a penny short of 20 quid! But guess what? That's the point! Nothing complicated (how we like it in magic) but a VERY powerful effect.
This tie does not rely on gimmics or on fiddly hand positions during the tie phase. Oh no, its a shade short of brilliant because it is as clean and honest a tie as you can imagine. A shade because there is one tiny floor, but I found an easy way around it which meant noone was suspicious. The floor is only visible from the people you choose to inspect the tie close up, but its easy to make a workaround. General audience see from one end to the other of the trick that you are tied - the black band of the tie creates incredible visual imagery visible from a good 100 feet away.
My intention was to use a replica sword and plunge my hands over it, but the mechanics of working the trick made it impossible - you are limited to moving your hands in an upward motion really, though there are suggestions of how to move downwards but I am not as yet confident enough in my misdirection to do that move. Standard ring catching etc is fine though. The famous Kenton 'indirection' techniques worked superbly. I added my own twist by getting people to remember how strong clothing ties are on clothes when you buy them, how much they hurt to snap and mostly you can't snap them, and that the cables used in the trick are 20 times thicker.
Needless to say, I immediatly displayed tied thumbs after catching 3 hula hoops; got caught around a chair; and was only 'released' by my thumbs being cut free after I got trapped around someone's legs. There was laughter, there were mobile phone pictures, and there was even a scream from the girl throwing the hoops when she saw my handes 'penetrate' a solid hoop - hahahahahaha! Just the reaction you need!
I hammed it up by using a download of mission impossible music - nice and thematic for the moment (MI3 is out at the time of writing) - and showed at the beginning it was 'impossible to escape' and ran around like in an insane manner for some 3 minutes with the music playing attempting to escape before finally showing that I was still well and truly fastened.
Overall
If someone had told me it would be this good I would never have thought twice. One of the best illusions I have ever done. Great for large and small audiences, though if you are into close up I would give it a miss as you would lose much of the insane impact. After spending £50 on research it was well worth it. I recomend getting a cheap booklet (about a fiver) as a partner book on thumbties just so you get some ideas of performance materials as that is not included in Kenton's material. Finally, you can get the correct black cables easily and cheaply - £3 for 100 online!
9/10
