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I received the Kevlar pen yesterday. f***ing awesome!!

Still dont know how to use it properly if at all, but it does look cool

Anywho, when I get my anchor point and try to get a note floating.. im scared that I am going to break the IT.. Kevlar IT is meant to be the strongest available.. able to float a can of coke .. but I still think subconciously Im going to break it because of all the bad luck ive had with It when Ive tried it.

So.. can anyone give me any tips on using it? does anyone have the Kevlar pen? its supposed to better than the spider pen as it is much stronger..?

I was floating my £5 last night and I looked like I was floating a new born baby the way I was going about it

what is 'snagging' the line?
how do you 'hook up'?
any tips on the lighting conditions?
yada yada yada..

I do expect the majority of answers pointing me to Michael Ammars easy to master thread miracles which means I will have to spend £60 as the reels are not discussed until the 2nd volume and it seems pointless buying 2 without 1 but hey..

hey i.d.
lucky you, i sure would love one of those.
when i got my itr i felt kind of the same. what i ended up doing was just testing different weights on it till it snapped and pulling it with my hands till it snapped, then i learned what i could get away with. (also how to replace t****d)
snagging: loose stuff getting caught on buttons etc.
hook up: attaching the end of something to something with something
lighting: use common sense, wear black, the darker your surroundings the better. i try to get the light source behind me so my shadow falls forward. if all else fails make the spec stand a couple of meters back.

brill that will do me...

Im getting on ok with it, going to splash out on Ammars DVD end of month so hope is on the horizon

yes, good idea.

It's worth remembering that some bulletproof vests are made of kevlar and it really is the best possible stuff. Just be confident, and if it does break, get ready to run like hell!

Hi I.D,
Interested to know how noisey the kevlar is. I recently bought a cheap ITR to play with to see if i liked it, and my biggest problem was the ammount of noise it made.
Obviously, that's what you get for cheap products, but what about the Kevlar?

Hi Paul -
The type of thread shouldn't affect the noise at all, it's how smooth (or unsmooth) the mechanism is. I have the ITR 2000 Kevlar Micro reel, it is pretty good although to say everyone knocks the noise for the cheapo indian ones, they must be *really* loud because this one isn't silent as I was expecting!
Having used kevlar I'm not sure I'd now go back to using any other thread - infact if I wanted to use thread without a reel (which I wouldn't, it's the most frustrating thing in the world) I would buy a kevlar refill for my reel and take it off that! It's just miles ahead of the other stuff. I really wouldn't be confident doing something with cards for example with anything else.

Hi Farlsborough,
sorry yes, I meant the kevlar TR not the IT. I've looked at my cheap version and have made some modifications that have lead to it being much quieter. I think that it all comes down to workmanship to be honest.
No idea what is in my ITR, but it allows me to send a credit card around my body, with a good 1m clearance, so i like it very much.
Am just interested to know which ITRs are the most highly thought of, without including the spider.

Hi Paul -
The reels at www.myitr.com are very well thought of. Obviously that's an american company and you'll probably want to source a UK dealer, but for checking out models etc. that might be a good place to start - that's the home of my kevlar super micro 2000, which I'm very pleased with.

Two words of advice: you do to a great extent get what you pay for, as you may have found with the cheaper ITRs (although if you're happy with yours don't upgrade for the hell of it!), but at the same time magic products can get a bit silly. I paid about £20 for mine I think, and I'm pleased with the value - a good quality product with an established creator and all the support lines in place, but we're not getting snobby ie. "I'd never pay less than £60 for a thread reel!"

Secondly, size isn't everything - the tiny, 2" reels are hyped up a lot, but ask a lot of seasoned thread workers and they will swear by the full size reels! For the majority of hiding places, it doesn't really matter if your reel is 2" or 8". However, the extra length of rubber band that the longer reel gives does offer a higher degree of smoothness and ability to pull out more thread, so if you are going to buy again, don't jump for something just because you can fit it inside your ear or whatever!

Hope that helps.

ID: Gaining confidence with thread takes time, rehearsal, performance and a knowledge of what the thread will do and will not do.
Too many magicians with thread go straight into the effect, mess around a few times and then scrap it.
Impatience is fast becoming a trait of modern magicians. They want everything to be there almost at once.
Forget the ITR fpor a few weeks and:
Use a strong white thread at first. This will allow you to see what and where and won't break whilst you study and rehearse the handling and sequence.
Then change to a strong black thread. Later the ITR.
It's a longer road but it will give you the confidence you need in the stuff and allow you to establish the 'balance' between you and it.
Allen Tipton

I think that's great idea on the use of IT, you def get used to where it falls when not hooked up gain confidence in the limits it has.

Also just spend time around the house with the IT set up and get on with your everyday life to help you understands its limits and learn to behave like its not there.

thanks Alan

Nice tip Allen, I had gotten very frustrated with ITR's for the reason you said ( lack of patience ). definitely going to dig it out and give your practice ideas a go, cheers mate.

Some great advice there, a classic example of why I joined this site. It makes a change from petty insults, arguments and kids barely out of nappies talking like they know it all.