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Do some props look more suspicious because of the material that they are made from?

Example. Does a wooden chop cup look less suspicious to a lay person than a metal chop cup? Does a metal coin stand look more suspicious than a wooden stand when the coin vanishes?

I was discussing this loine of thought with some friends at the weekend and most seemed to think that people were generally more suspicious of metal props as there is a perception that items can perhaps be engineered to a higher level.

As a collector of wooden props my own view is that an audience appears to be less suspicious of a wooden prop.

I was wondering if people would be willing to share their thoughts on this.

I think a lot of it may be the association between metal and technology. Back in the old days when everything was made of wood you could by a fish'n'chip supper for tuppence there wasn't the technology there was today, so the chances of something wooden having a secret mechanical (or electrical) device in it seem lower than if that same object were made of metal.

Metal things are made by machines in factories and are probably filled with secret switches and funny devices, whereas stuff that's wooden is clearly all made by some old dude living in a forest who has wittled each Chop Cup from a single tree. No room for funny business there clearly...

I agree for the most part. Regarding the chop cup example, I think a standard metal chop cup is going to look suspicious regardless, although your skill as a performer will no doubt have a part to play in how your spectators react. Personally, I think something like a chop mug would be better in some respects. Incidentally, is there such thing as a chop mug? If not, there should be.

Wood somehow offers a sense of tradition, reliabilty and therefore innocence. IMHO. I could be wrong. Metal's OK and, in the case of a sword or knife, is more realistic than a wooden alternative. Plastic tends to be a bit suss but, again, it depends on the item in question. Not much help there, sorry !

Replicant wrote:Personally, I think something like a chop mug would be better in some respects. Incidentally, is there such thing as a chop mug? If not, there should be.

Yes, there is! Although carrying round your own special mug is just as suspicious really, unless you carry round a cup of coffee and finish it off at the table. Or ask the waiter to serve someone's coffee in it, either way you've got to deal with the dregs soaking into whatever form of ball you're using.

I think as with so many things it depends strongly on the effect, and the persentation. If you use a prop, and make it obvious it's a prop, and do something that could only be achieved if the prop was gaffed, then you're asking for trouble.

In terms of the chop cup - I think it's perfectly reasonable to expect that if a magician wants to show people a cup and ball trick, he'd have his own aesthetically pleasing cup to use... just like if you do a lot of writing, you probably have a nice posh pen. All you have to do is let the spectators examine the cup and the ball briefly at the beginning, and away you go... by the time the second piece of fruit has appeared, the last thing they're thinking about is whether there's anything special about the cup - having a cup gaffed as the chop cup is doesn't do anything to help you materialise a lemon!

Interesting. I think that iof something looks realistic, such as a sword then this would be expected and a wooden sword would need a valid reason for being wooden to remove suspicion - if you understand what I mean

However, some of the specs views may be psychologically based and will depend on their general knowledge. With the chop cup, metal looks more suspicious to some because they automatically associate metal with magnetism where as with wood, magnetism may not be a consideration.

Skill does come into the equation as you still have to perform well with the props but I'm talking here about the props alone.

dat8962 wrote:With the chop cup, metal looks more suspicious to some because they automatically associate metal with magnetism where as with wood, magnetism may not be a consideration.

...but when they've inspected the ball and the cup together and found that they're not magnetic...

Slightly off topic but I really like props made in well polished dark wood with lots of brass - boxes, cups, tables and so on. They could have been made yesterday but always give that aura of olde worlde tradition and longevity so must be completely innocent....

Farlsborough wrote:

but when they've inspected the ball and the cup together and found that they're not magnetic...

Of course you're right on this but it's not necessarily the point that I'm trying to find out about. before you start a chop cup rooutine, if you put a wooden cup on a table next to a metal cup, would one just look, or be perceived as being more suspicious than the other and why?

If you look at Die-Ception which is available in wood and metal, would one just appear to be more suspicious than the other because of the material used. Perhaps they do or perhaps they don't.

I'm trying to guage people's views on the props WITHOUT the routine. Interesting responses so far.

I've never really thought about it before. I personally can't really imagine that it'd make all that much difference, unless your prop is obviously something out of the ordinary. I'd have thought that a metal cup would look less suspisious than a wooden one because it's much easier for someone to gimmick a wooden item than a metal one.