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After a suggestion by Russ himself, I've taken it upon myself to give him some feedback, which may also help other users!

Here goes...

I'm a firm believer in simplicity, not so much from the perspective of performance (as many effects require very complex handlings), but I believe that the spectator should see a very simple effect, but in it's simplicity, there's an impossibility which makes the magic!

And, Russ's 'Just Passin Through' is one such effect which has such a simple basis combined with such an unbelievable illusion. You can't ignore it's power - a BORROWED banknote becoming 'pourous'??? How?

The first time I bought an effect of this type (Wenk's Misled) I was hooked on the concept of 'Matter through Matter' (I won't mention penetrations - because Mandrake will almost predictably make an innuendo out of it!).

The effect has 'come of age' in JPT... and the routine can be built in stages - culminating in the magician piercing the bill with his FINGER before handing it back to the spectator.

My experiences of performing this effect to a 'live' audience are very positive indeed. My performance normally involves taking out the pencil and just waving it about whilst I talk about 'money being produced with a new type of paper - which is VERY hard to copy'. I then explain that the Royal Mint appealed to the greatest inventors in the country to create a material which simply could not be forged.

And I continue: "The top scientists, the paper experts and even the forgers themselves all came up ideas - but there simply wasn't a viable solution.

Then, out of the blue - a magician gave a suggestion of using a fibre which, under the correct circumstances, can become completely porous!!!"

OK, so it's a tall story - but during this time, I just get the audience used to seeing the pencil.

Next, I ask for a banknote - a nice NEW crispy one...

Now, here's the only flaw in the 'gimmick'. Our UK notes are all different sizes - unlike the US notes - which are consistently the same size. Now, this does NOT present a problem as such, but suffice to say that a very thin scroll-saw blade will help you out immensely here... as most of our notes are wider that the US notes.

Anyway, the speccy who offers you the note is asked to take the pencil and examine it, as you 'swap' it for the banknote.

Then, I ask another audience member to sign the note (subtly - as not to deface it too much!) with a Sharpie. Whilst this is going on, take back the examined pencil, do the 'switch' on the off-beat and then take the note.

All of this places the emphasis on the banknote - and the heat is totally taken off the pencil.

Then, do the three-phase routine - the fold penetration, then the zigzag penetration, finally, pocket the pencil and do the finger penetration.

All of this done with the signature in view all the time - which strengthens the effect immensely. And of course - there's the kicker ending (finger through bill) which, if done after lots of practice - is a finale well worth including.

The reactions I've had from this are amazingly strong - much more so than the standard 'pen-thru' effects, where the only explanation is a gimmicked pen. The other bonus of this effect, of course, is that the pencil is TOTALLY examinable both before and after. If it were possible to buy those pencils and get a supply in - I'd even be tempted to 'snap' the pencil and hand it out as a souvenir - just to show that there's no internal secret workings!

This was a bonus of the Wenk 'Misled' effect - I bought a bulk-load of yellow pencils from my local store, and I'd hand out the pencil to the spectator who'm I borrowed the money from at the end of the effect... a simple finishing touch.

Another tip I'd add to this section is the one concerning the 'dirtying' of the note during the effect... It seems that using nice clean crispy banknotes almost minimises this to zero.

Also, being a graphic designer - something in my arsenal is 'fixing spray' - available at most art stores. This stuff is sprayed on chalk, charcoal and pencil sketches after you've finished to hold the 'dust' which forms the image on the paper. A liberal dosing of this invisible and non-tacky spray seems to help, too.

I can't recommend this effect enough. It's perfect for inclusion in almost any repertoire - being a fusion of illusion and 'real' magic. Plus, as far as audience participation goes - this is a great effect to 'wake them up'...

Nice one, Russ!

watching the demo on penguin at the weekend, I second greg wilson's comment..."it's like being a lay person all over again!"
what an awesome trick............havent seen anything like this since the copperfield version years ago.......

Sorry guys, I only just spotted this thread so haven't had chance to respond to the penetration point above. And what's more, I'm not going to! (Innuendo - isn't that an Italian suppository?)

Anyway, nice routine - am still trying to get sufficient time alone to sharpen up my fumbled attempts at Just Passin Thru but I'll get there. Eventually.

(The scene now fast forwards to the day when Mandrake has shuffled off this mortal coil and, in the presence of many hundreds of mourners (yeah, right!) is about to perform the ultimate disappearing act courtesy of the local Crem. As the coffin is slowly lowered a voice is heard from within, ' At last - I finally perfected it - lemme out!!!')

Talk about late on the scene - I have only just invested on in this trick but gosh golly, I love it. Might have to go and get myself some fixative today though...!

Out of interest, has anyone sharpened their pencils? I guess you'd have to be careful not to twist to hard etc, but I'm thinking it might be a good idea, or surely people will as "why are you carrying a pencil you can't use...?"

Gah, I already have Misled, I don't need another one...do I?

BTW, one of the things that I did pick up from art lessons is that cheap hairspray works well as a fixative for charcoal so you don't need to buy the expensive stuff at art stores...

Kati

katrielalex wrote:Gah, I already have Misled, I don't need another one...do I?

Not unless you want to take a serious step backwards. I really don't understand why anyone rates "Just Passin Thru". Compared to Misled it's trash.

With Misled you do the penetration, palm off the gaff and hand the pencil out for examination with the note. With JPT you do the trick and then switch the pencil for another one, which is no mean feat when you consider the pencil is as thick as a tree trunk. Then while they examine the pencil you swapped out (assuming you got away with it) you go wash your hands because you're now covered in grey marks from the lead.

Not only is this a step backwards from misled it's also a rip off of Eddie Taytelbaums dowel penetration which doesn't even get a credit mention in the instructions.

Andy.

AndyHurst wrote:

katrielalex wrote:Gah, I already have Misled, I don't need another one...do I?

Not unless you want to take a serious step backwards. I really don't understand why anyone rates "Just Passin Thru". Compared to Misled it's trash.

With Misled you do the penetration, palm off the gaff and hand the pencil out for examination with the note. With JPT you do the trick and then switch the pencil for another one, which is no mean feat when you consider the pencil is as thick as a tree trunk. Then while they examine the pencil you swapped out (assuming you got away with it) you go wash your hands because you're now covered in grey marks from the lead.

Not only is this a step backwards from misled it's also a rip off of Eddie Taytelbaums dowel penetration which doesn't even get a credit mention in the instructions.

Andy.

Passin thru is one of the worst pen thru effects out there!

your basic penetration is the best closely followed by Alan Rorrison's misleading misled.

I have had JPT for a while, and recently bought Misled.

Shoot me as you will, at the moment I favour JPT. Why? Well, it's easier, for a start. Ok, so I may change my tune when I've practiced Misled for a few days solid infront of the mirror, but I I was able to pretty much perfect JPT after about 10 minutes - there is just so much more to think about with Misled. Then there's the niggles:

1) Getting the gimmick over the eraser/metal end of the pencil is a drag. Infact, handling it in general makes me worried it's going to snag, drop off, crack etc - it just doesn't inspire confidence.
2) You have to do all the same kind of "holding it under the bill, then taking it out and using the pencil to show where to look, then putting it back" faff which I have always thought looks suspicious, however natural your manner.
3) Ok, you can hand the pencil out to keep, but that doesn't mean you can do it with just any pencil! The one advantage is not having to pull a pencil switch - which, if done well, I happen to think is far less suspicious then the move I described above. But it doesn't get you any closer to the "hey, can you do that with my pencil" challenge.
4) In terms of close-up magic, a keen eye *can* tell the difference between colour and gauge, esp. in the second phase of the trick.
5)Because of the nature of the gimmick, you can't really do the modified P.M. to show both sides of the bill - IMHO a real strong point of the JPT routine.
6) With regard to the lead problem - easily solved with a tiny amount of innovation. Infact, you don't even have to do the brain work- Seige told you how to do it on this page


There! Fire away But, more importantly, does anyone know if it's possible to buy the pencils used in the JPT routine in boxes (ungaffed I mean)? Because that to me would seal the deal as it were.