talkmagic.co.uk

how many of you guys use fanning powder for your cards ? not sure weather to get some for when my cards start to stick.

When they stick it just shows that it is grimy. Put them through a washing machine on a cold setting - works every time. Don't do it hot though or you'll ruin the cards!

Buy new cards?

They don't cost a lot and a new deck looks a lot nicer than a powdered old deck.

Unless you're a big Jeff McBride fan* I wouldn't bother buying any.

*Sorry

Lawrence wrote:Buy new cards?

They don't cost a lot and a new deck looks a lot nicer than a powdered old deck.

Unless you're a big Jeff McBride fan* I wouldn't bother buying any.

*Sorry

That just flew straight over my head until about 15 seconds later .

New cards are a slippery as a politician anyway, so to be perfectly honest I really don't see the point in fanning powder.

Fanning powder also makes some sleights easier to perform because the cards are not as slippery as in new condition, but they spread evenly. A good little bonus for a DL;)

kaala wrote:Fanning powder also makes some sleights easier to perform because the cards are not as slippery as in new condition, but they spread evenly. A good little bonus for a DL;)

"breaking in" the cards would be more cost and time effective though.

It's normall just Zinc Sterate. Often found in Science Depts. in schools.
Could try the local chemist.

In the 50's they encouraged us to out a LITTLE in a plastic bag; throw in SOME of the deck and just shake & shake. Repeat with the next dozen or so cards.

Then Jack Hughes brought out the card slicker.He credited it to Ken Allen,the famous manager of Abbotts, USA
Later there was a Jumbo Card version.
It was basically 2 small pieces of wood--about 4 inches long by 1 and a half inches wide.
The 2 blocks were 'hinged' together with a piece of green felt.
It opened and you put a little fanning powder inside. Then reclosed.

Each card then was slid through and was thoroughly coated .

No mess and not too much powder on the cards.

I have tried to add an illustration, but the Forum refuses it.!

Allen Tipton

Fanning powder was an essential part of the magicians kit many years ago, however the manufacture of playing cards has improved so much in quality these days (with air cushioning and the likes). Added to the fact that cards are quite cheap and we live in a throw-away society, fanning powder is almost obsolete. Most magicians buy new cards rather than pep them up with powder as perhaps they would have done forty years ago.

The only real consumers are the card manipulators and card fanners (with their color changing fans etc) and they are a dying breed.

Peter

I sell Fanning Powder. Well the thing is I don't, as when a customer asks about it I tell them it is indeed simpler and cheaper to buy a new pack of cards.

Incidentally never mix up your tubs of fanning powder with slush powder as I did to a customer two weeks ago. I watched perplexed as my 'slush powder' simply floated on top of the water. 'It's defective!' I cried before realising that maybe it was my glasses that were defective.

Someone once--I think it was Harry Stanley of Unique Studio fame, recommended Car wax!!!!. I tried it as a teenager. The cards were slippy indeed. But with one card, it made a very good Slick Card. A gimmick I doubt which, is used these days.

Allen Tipton

I've been itching to say something

The zinc stearate, (fanning powder), keys the cards together rather than provides slip.

It helps to produce nice even fans where every card is visible. To my mind it is esential if you intend to perform any sort of card fanning act.
Probably a bit over the top for general card work though.

Allen, I've played with car wax to make slick cards, there's a whole chapter in Encyclopedia of Card Tricks don't use it now though, and I can't imagine trying to fan a whole pack treated thus. They'd be all over the floor for me I'm sure .

I've tried the plastic bag for applying fanning powder but still find individual treatment of each card with cotton wool more consistant.

All the best,
John.

Allen's talk of Harry Stanley recommending car wax reminds me that I heard that Shimada on his manipulation video also recommends was wax. Sounds crazy though.

Peter

Fanning powder does indeed produce a far more evenly spread fan and if you are learning to fan, then I think that it also makes the learning far easier. Once you've got the knack then you can start to dispense with the powder.

My view is that fewer magicians actually know about fanning powder and the benefits and this is part of the reason why it's sale has declined over the years. Although I don;t use it as much these days it can still enhance the life of a worn deck depending onwhat you use your cards for and a tub of powder when used properly can last a couple of years.

Think how many decks you would go through in that time and if you how much more life you could get out of those decks then it can be a cost effective method of extending deck life.

While fanning does require a a knack.

To consistantly produce fans with every card visible and equidistant from its neighbor requires treatment of some sort, fanning powder being an example.

This I think is truer than ever now, as the quality of playing cards has diminished so much, certinly in the last 30 years that I've been using them. USPCC being particularly bad in this respect.

That being said I still can't really see an advantage in using fanning powder for general card work, the handling involved would mean you were constantly repolishing and retreating individual cards.

I have a partcularly greasy skin and wear cotton gloves when preparing a fanning pack. I don't touch the cards directly untill I'm happy that the fanning powder has been evenly applied throughout. I then re-apply to individual or groups of cards as required during use.

All the best,
John.

The BASIC & COMMON SENSE rule for EVERYTHING is:

If whatever you try helps you & fits whatever you want to achieve--THEN DO/USE IT.
After trying 'it ' out if it works for you --great!

The trick, the method, the gimmick, the handling, the moves, the costumes,the style HAS TO BE YOUR INDIVIDUAL CHOICE,

You may be right.You may be wrong. But
it is YOUR CHOICE.

Allen Tipton